DIY Sleeping Platform/Drawers (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 13, 2021
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Location
Marietta, GA
Been wanting to do this for a while now and finally found the time now that my kids’ sports seasons are over. I’m not ready to get rid of my 3rd row yet so I didn’t want to spend a lot on a temporary setup. I think I have around $130 invested excluding the mattress. I’m sure I could have cobbled together some other semi custom setup (Land Shark, ARB, etc) but it would have been way more expensive.

I don’t spend a ton of nights in my LX (maybe 6-10 if I’m lucky) but I’m hoping to change that next Fall/Winter. I usually sleep with the 2nd and 3rd rows folded down with a piece of plywood bridging the gap and plastic bins between 3rd row and tailgate. That worked fine but I wanted something a little more streamlined that also provided storage. I had this setup years ago in my Suburban and it worked great. It’s a copy of Suboverland’s design…cheap, simple & functional. There’s no hardware or moving parts and there’s enough friction that the drawers stay closed in transit. I may add some latches in the future if that becomes an issue.

The box is 37”W x 32” D x 11”H. The drawers are bi-directional and close the gap on the backside when it’s time to sleep. 2 extra pieces of plywood come out of the drawers to finish out the platform. They can also be added to the front side for a higher work surface.

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Looking forward to trying it out. Gonna spend a few days on the road around Memorial Day. I plan to sleep 2-3 nights in the car as long as the heat isn’t too bad. Lows are supposed to still be in the 60’s so should be fine.
 
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Nice job!

Do you have some mock up plans of all the measurements?
 
That is a nice and simple solution, and is probably fit for the vast majority of situations. Adding a drawer stop would prevent unintended drawer over-extensions... which does beg the question is the box is free-floating? I would think some well placed and sunk j-hooks could probably secure to the 3rd row latches.
 
@sleepycruiser I don't have specific plans, just figured things out as I went. I knew what I wanted my overall dimensions to be and measured the drawers after I had the box built. I can post more specific details and measurements if anyone is interested.

@mdh384 drawer box is currently free-floating but I think j-hooks attached to the sides could easily attach to the rear cargo tie down points. Most of my adventures are pretty mild but it would be nice to have it secure in the event of an on-road collision or roll over.

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