80 series sleeping setups?

[Cypher]

I bought a "truck tent" for my old mini-truck and never used it. I later tried it out on my Land Cruiser and it was pretty nice to have. This particular size is a little small for the Land Cruiser. They make bigger ones. But basically, you can put the tailgate down and liftgate up and get about 2 to 3 additional feet of length out of the rear interior. This makes a huge difference when trying to sleep lengthwise and it also gives you room to stretch out on the tailgate while still inside a private and waterproof tent. Like if you wanted to change clothes or something. Having a mid level platform like most of us do, for drawers and such, is nice to sleeping, but pretty cramped for any other kind of moving around or sitting up, etc.

I plan to eventually order the next size up and use this from now when sleeping in the back of the Land Cruiser.

When I used it, it never rained and it was late summer, so I can't really speak for weather ability, but it's suppose to be weather proof like any other tent.

Not that I would ever mangle my LC, but it actually gave me an idea that if anyone was ever to build a mini-camper out of these things, adding a few extra feet to the rear in some kind of metal fab build would really make a huge difference in room, while not affecting off road departure angle much, if the additional length wasn't started until tail gate hieght.

i have seen a number of people use the tents with lots of success. I never thought about this in combination with an LC.

Not considering the FJC for sleeping inside while camping/exploring?

HAHAHA! it is great for wheeling and exploring but not so much for sleeping. Which is where the 80 will come into play.

last year had 2 friends of my brother in law show up at the hunt camp, both tall dudes, anyways, they decide to sleep in the 80 with the two back rows folded up and the tailgate down.......they nearly **** their pants when they were woken up by a bear aat their feet!

Whoa crap!!! Yea, that is a good reason to sleep with all the doors closed. Not that a bear with motivation couldn't make it's way in to any vehicle, but it is just a little more secure.

Pictures of my setup from # 32 of this album. It's a little tight in there but once you get settled in you are good to go. I want to get screens for the windows done for some fresh air with no bugs.

The Cruiser - MJKK Photos and Movies - Powered by Phanfare

Not bad, your seems to work more on the side of storage than sleeping room. Which is cool. i can totally see that there is enough room there to sleep in comfort.

Here's a link to my sleeping platform.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/140001-drawer-system-extension.html?highlight=drawer

Very nice!! A fridge is a must in my LC. You worked that one out pretty damn good. Nicely done!

This one work's for me. But either way 80 100 its a win win

ken

I agree they are both Land Cruisers! Man I love the what looks like rubberized finish on your platform. I bet that cleans up nicely. That is something I am already thinking about as well. The finish on the platform... Thanks for sharing the great idea.

As for the 80 vs 100, I don't see how a 100 is going to be any more reliable than a well maintained 80. Its a non-issue. Buy the one that fits your needs/wants and price range.

You have a very good point, and to be honest, right now it is coming down to front suspensions. I have never been a big fan of torsion bar setups, and I and scared to give the torsion bar setup on the 100 a second chance. Who can argue with a SFA haha. Then again, we have an FJC that we are planning on setting up to run the more technical trails, and this LC would be the expedition truck. This is tough.. haha

 

[95ToyCruiser]

Not quite as pretty as most, but about 3 hours worth of work and about $80 bucks isn't too bad.

There is carpet over the osb that has a flap to hide the draws when closed, also has 2 compartments accessable by tilting the 2nd row seats forward. This is where my Full Size air mattress, sleeping bag, pillow, and D/C air pump are kept, as well as my 10" sub enclosure.

All in all it works well for me, I haul a lot of equipment for work (home energy audits and solar pannel installer) so excuse the mess in the back.

 

[95ToyCruiser]

Oh and that's a 6' step ladder on the right, so you can see that streching out is no problem (I sleep with my head at the tailgate)

 

[romey]

with a hangin crib.

build thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/231014-yet-another-rear-storage-box-idea.html

 

[landcruisers4ever]

heres mine, a queen size air matress with my storage system and my seat folded down.

I made window screens and curtains aswell.

 

[romey]

the only thing i don't like about these set ups is the lack of head room (and even worse when you have a taller deck and an air mattress or futton) it just makes sitting up and tryin to change that much more cumbersome. havin our baby at our feet was cool though, we all just fitted perfectly...

if i were to do it again, i'd lower the deck a tad more, and keep the thermarests to have the headroom...

hey landcruiser4ever, got more shots of your screen? whadya make it out off? is it a stiff frame that you slid in? didn't get a chance to make mine this summer, i got the monsoon windows so i could maybe make a half screen and have half the window up....

 

[Bluetribal]

Here is what I am planing to do.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/members/bluetribal-albums-cargo-box-design.html

 

[IdahoDoug]

Don't miss the fact that removing the 2nd row seats and leaving the 3rd row seats in the folded position gives you a cargo floor length that memory estimates at over 7 feet with the hatch closed for sleeping. It takes 10 minutes to remove the 2nd row. This way, you can sleep in the truck on an extended trip with tons of headroom and if you need to carry 3 more people sometime in the trip, folding the 3rd row down gets the job done - they just have 4 feet of legroom! It's an easy way to sleep in the Cruiser with no construction. Obviously if you will have no need to carry anyone else you can remove the 3rd row seats in another 3 minutes for a cavernous sleeping area back there. It becomes an empty carpeted box with sliding windows and stereo - what more could you need?

DougM

 

[bugsnbikes]

actually the best part is being able to store a majority of gear under your sleeping area so that setting up your sleeping doesnt mean unloading your entire contents of the rig.....makes it as convenient as a RTT-but no 150lbs on the roof.

I initially started with a full length shelf (no heavy drawers underneath) and about 6" of height x 58"width--72"length. (no 2cnd or 3rd row seats/ 36" headroom above shelf.)

Youd be real surprised how much stuff goes in theretools/compressor/dual 6volt Lifelines/ camp stove/propane/FSM/60 liters of water/ all clothing/recovery gear/jerry cans/oil/tripod/ 2bags of camp kitchen items/ tent/ pillows/ hi lift/2 sleeping bags/2 thermarests/ bike tools/ window insultion pads).--------->pull into camp and dont have to unload any of it other than sleeping gear to sleep.

Whats left above the shelf----> wood/arb fridge/ alum. food bins/ and a ton of room to spare............which means pulling into camp late/in the dark it will take sub 5min. to throw wood out the rear---food bin into drivers seat-arb fridge into passenger seat.......ready to hit the hay.

Probably just as easy as any rooftop tent- 36" headroom-58"width-6'3"length.

Another huge benefit is that a majority of your weight is very low in your rig. A shelf/sleeping bed/understorage space encourages you to spread your gear out low and throughout the full length of the rig. No need for cargo nets and safety of flying crap in an accident situation is paramount. I have also found its a real bonus in terms of organization-as spreading gear into different areas of the rig makes for easy to find items......vs bulk packing and not knowing where anything is in the rig.

 

[landcruisers4ever]

the only thing i don't like about these set ups is the lack of head room (and even worse when you have a taller deck and an air mattress or futton) it just makes sitting up and tryin to change that much more cumbersome. havin our baby at our feet was cool though, we all just fitted perfectly...

if i were to do it again, i'd lower the deck a tad more, and keep the thermarests to have the headroom...

hey landcruiser4ever, got more shots of your screen? whadya make it out off? is it a stiff frame that you slid in? didn't get a chance to make mine this summer, i got the monsoon windows so i could maybe make a half screen and have half the window up....

I made my screens out of a 1/8 inch thinck plastic roofing peice cut two inches wide and glued screens to them, its a flexible rigid frame that bends into the window slips, I have about $8 invested in them and used them a few times, no problems so far. At some point in life I would like to get those fancy ones that mot sells but these are fine for now. Ill see if I can find some more pics for you and PM them your way.

 

[romey]

I made my screens out of a 1/8 inch thinck plastic roofing peice cut two inches wide and glued screens to them, its a flexible rigid frame that bends into the window slips, I have about $8 invested in them and used them a few times, no problems so far. At some point in life I would like to get those fancy ones that mot sells but these are fine for now. Ill see if I can find some more pics for you and PM them your way.

gr8! thanks!

 

[Chaldaean]

Looking for a quick sleeping platform for a recent trip, I wanted something that was cheap and quick.

This setup is just four sections of plywood (16" x 4') that can be placed atop bins.

The plywood is stored between the bins when not in use.

The bins are Rubbermaid "Action Packers"; they're pretty sturdy and have locking lids (sourced from Amazon.com with free shipping).

.

 

[Chaldaean]

(continued from above)

As I see it, the advantages of something like this are:

(1) It's cheap; especially if you already have the bins.
(2) Since the plywood is lashed down between the bins when not in use, you don't have to figure out a nice way to tie the platform to the truck while wheeling or driving around.
(3) It's not much of a hassle to setup and remove. It really only take about 3 minutes.
(4) Unlike most drawer systems with platforms above, the storage is accessible without getting out of the vehicle when the bed it not in use.


The cons are:

(1) Your bed isn't always setup.
(2) You have to make sure you don't need anything from the bins before you make the bed. They can be slid out fairly easily, though.

 

[SOCALFJ]

African outback drawers with bed extensions.

 

[greentruck]

I like bigsnbikes idea of keeping things low. SOCALFJ's African Outback drawers are close to that low, too. I'm a tall guy, so I need the room to move around. There is a ton of room even under a low platform in an 80. I do a lot of mountain driving, so keeping a low CoG is always a design factor, especially once a cooler is thrown in. Good thing my better half is shorter, as that makes fitting everything somewhat easier.

I do like the idea of simply folding the second row seats and having a rear platform that matches up well with it atr the juncture so those seats can still be used around town. I have some medical stuff where it actually wouldn't hurt to have the rear platform match up to the back, lower side of those folded seats. Then the rise toward the front of the folded seatback would be about right with the mattress thrown over it to have my head be a little higher. Gotta figure out if I can make half the first system work with this one or whether I'll need two different systems because it will require two different height platforms.

Ah, planning, planning.

 

[ERG80]

My set up.
Warfield Storage System and the the second row seats folded down. The mattress is thick but there is plenty of room between the top of it and the headliner.

 

[alfanator]

This one work's for me. But either way 80 100 its a win win

ken

Very nice. What material is that? Where did you get the plans and HW?

 

[alfanator]

(continued from above)

As I see it, the advantages of something like this are:

(1) It's cheap; especially if you already have the bins.
(2) Since the plywood is lashed down between the bins when not in use, you don't have to figure out a nice way to tie the platform to the truck while wheeling or driving around.
(3) It's not much of a hassle to setup and remove. It really only take about 3 minutes.
(4) Unlike most drawer systems with platforms above, the storage is accessible without getting out of the vehicle when the bed it not in use.


The cons are:

(1) Your bed isn't always setup.
(2) You have to make sure you don't need anything from the bins before you make the bed. They can be slid out fairly easily, though.

Very cool. How wide is the mattress?

 

[mshelby]

Here's the platfom I built for the back of our 80. Fits a queen size futon mattress with room to spare:

My wife & I just did a six night trip up around Yellowstone, and slept in the back of the Cruiser every night - very comfortable. It was really nice to not have to set up camp every night.

This is one of the nicest setups I have ever seen for sleeping in an 80.

 

[Chaldaean]

Very cool. How wide is the mattress?

Just measured it; it's 4 feet wide.