Sleeping mattresses for the back

No. I unbolted the bottom of the seat from the floor on the day I took delivery of the truck in October 2022 and never bolted it back in. My rear seats are permanently folded down so my truck is effectively a two-seater. When I replace the bottom of the rear seat (the one behind the driver) I do so without bolting it back in place because the rear seats are permanently folded down, and I only put it back in place when I have a passenger in the front seat. Very soon I will remove both sections of the rear seat (the bottom sections) and place them in permanent storage out of the truck. I have no need for a back seat.

 

I'm surprised you haven't done that already. Moving them back and forth seems like a hassle, even if you rarely have to do so.

 

I'm surprised too.

 

I looked at how the back seats are installed and unfortunately the FJ bolts won't work. I am surprised they didn't bring that design feature over to the 5th gens because I thought a little detail like that was a superb enhancement to the FJ

 

My rear seats are completely removed! I love having the additional space. I slept inside the 4R for 17 of 20 days for a mountain bike road trip out west and was very comfortable. I prefer the flat rear surface (not elevated) to have plenty of space to sit up. 1/2 inch sheet of plywood, 1/2 inch exercise pad, 3 inch sleeping pad - 5' 11" / 177 - plenty of space!

 

Okay here is the concept I am working with so far. I have it at a decent point to where I think I am going to start ordering parts. I do have a question that someone can hopefully help with. I am trying to think of a way to use the d-ring hooks that are in the trunk space in the 4R (arrows in snip). I know I can do a strap but I want it to be as clean and easy of getting it in and out as possible. Thoughts? Thanks!

 

Hook/eye bolt with a decent size washer and wing nut.

 

This idea is gold! Maybe there is a way to make the bolts knobs. Or buy similar bolts and weld up some knobs to it.

 

Not being to sit up completely does kind of suck. Especially if you get a cramp lol. I sleep with head towards the gate on a the Hest foam roll-up mattress which is 3 or 4 in thick, on a leveling platform. That is borderline too high to the roof as well. I can sit up in the back with my head bent a bit, but I cant get out the door sitting up. I have to kind of slide out.

 

I am 5' 11" and being able to fully sit up is a must have for me. Easier to change clothing, easier to ruffle thru your bag of clothes and gear next to you. I am more of a minimalist / "Keep It Simple Stupid" kinda of guy - because I am lazy, stupid and unskilled. But for me, traveling solo there was plenty of room inside the 4R without the need for built-up storage / sleeping platform, etc.

 

With the third row I lose another 5-6 inches in head room. I also have since turned to have my head at the back which gives a little more room like you said. But I do feel like an idiot trying to slide out the side door lol.
I don't get how people sleep on the tall platforms, they must be kissing the roof!

 

Here's what I did: I removed the d-rings and cut the plastic bottom out. Found a good stained chair leg that was uniformly straight. Cut height from bottom of platform to trunk base. Drill press down through the middle. Large m4 (m6?) Bolt through the platform in to the truck (the base has a built in nut) secured by a nylock and washer. Just an idea.

 

I was thinking about something like this in the front. However, I'm concerned that the solid connection creates a long lever arm for moment on the bracketed nut where the d-ring was, which will occur with loading in any non-vertical direction. The cabled connection to the D-ring when it's mounted on the bracket doesn't suffer from that. However, I don't know how much that nut can take, so I can't quantify the risk.

 

Ah. I will report my later findings, but using the sturdy wood (walnut) and flat surfaces, combined with to-spec drilling eliminates the flex you're alluding to. I'm not concerned at all about it. I've slept (200lbs) on it with my fridge, loaded and unloaded on inclines, etc.

 

That was my set up last weekend. Doubled up the Luno mattress on the 2nd night.

 

I dont sleep next to a floor jack, but I’m not going to judge that one bit. No siree…. In fact, I don’t see a reason not to try that myself!

 

I did shift the set up around a bit better and covered it up with my clothes bag. But it was by my feet so not too bad. It rained the 2nd day and I had though about putting it under my ride but didn’t want that thing stolen.

 

Looks great!

 

I considered doing a fiberglass and aircraft foam core layup for mine but haven't got to it yet. It would be light and strong.

 

Well it was fools gold lol, the hinge in the seat bottom in the 4runner is completely different and doesn't even have visible bolt heads. I don't want to remove plastic covers and panels to get a visual of how it is assembled, but I think the easier way would be to try something like this on the front part if the hinge that mounts to the body, also under a plastic cover. Sorry for the false hopes. But I don't know why Toyota didn't adopt some of these very simple smart design ideas into the 4runner too

 

Oh, and those knobs are P/N 79226-35010, and are an M8-1.25 pitch. Here is an illustration of how they work on the FJ.

 

That's a bit more robust than how they're attached in the 4R. I'm planning to pull out my seat bottoms for road trips and they don't look suited to a lot of on/off cycles.

 

That's a shame

 

I can see leaving the plastic cover off and just doing knob bolts on the lower attachment points. I’ve taken mine off a bunch from that point. They don’t seem particularly fragile.

 

@McSpazatron Can you take some photos of how it looks with the cover off, and maybe indicate where the detents are for the cover? Would also be cool if you are able to confirm the bolt size is the same.

 

This might help for locating the detents https://www.to4runner.net/removal-1983.html

 

Excellent

 

Bummer. Maybe calling your Toyota parts desk might yield some results? They might have an updated part number

 

Definitely not discontinued. I just duck duck goed the part number and many results popped up.