RTT or interior bed platform?

What about something like this?? Might be pricey tho...

https://www.portafab.com/aluminum-honeycomb-panels.html

 

I like the idea of the aluminum panels, but I found birch plywood pretty cheap. I started measuring and cutting and mocking things up.

I thinking about putting an opening in the sides by the rear doors to put smaller items through. The center section will be full length. Maybe I'll put a long drawer in one part.

 

Progress...

I attached the sides to the two bottom pieces. Then I started figuring out how to space out the 3 sections. I'm hoping to finish it later this week. I'll put up some pictures when it's done.

I'm very happy with how it looks so far!

 

following. excellent tips on this thread.

 

I have a RTT that I mounted to a trailer I built. I can put camping gear in the trailer and still have room in the hatch of the 4R. I can detach and go wheeling without needing to pack up to do so.

 

Subd

 

That's what I have for the 4Runner Faster to setup and take down then my buddy with his RTT.

 

Interesting thoughts in this thread, and some nice workmanship on home built stuff, too.

I had this debate with myself and ultimately went interior platform.

Background: my wife and I (or sometimes just me) take frequent road trips and we camp out of the back. We've ranged as far as both coasts and the Arctic Cir and the longest trip was one month to Alaska. We (or I) have spent an estimated 100+ nights in the 4R since we got our first one in 2015.

I decided to go interior instead of RTT mainly for ease of use and ability to use in more "renegade" situations, eg parking lots, rest areas, etc (obviously I'd prefer not to stay in those places but sometimes you gotta just stop). There's also the issue of cost of the RTT, storage of it when not in use, loss of roof top storage space, decreased MPGs, and general appearance (looks like shit, IMO). Interior use also is more safe/ secure, and you can run the heater as needed.

I use a simple plywood platform that levels the back 2.5", and I remove the rear seat bottoms and mid floor trim cover and fold the rear seat backs forward, and I slide the front seats all the way forward and place 8 gal Action Packers in the footwells. This gives a 7+ foot long flat area that can be accessed via hatch or rear doors.

I use a "full" size air mattress which fills that space nicely and is comfortable.

The air pump runs off the OEM inverter, which is well placed to fill the mattress.

There's a few interior add ons to make the rear area more liveable - a bungee net on the ceiling to hold clothes and towels, an interior hatch and rear window control set into the hatch door, and a shotgun mount for bear/ human self defense. The slightly elevated rear cargo area platform allows storage of flatter items under it - I have an axe, shovel, hammer, lug wrench, some tools, and a blanket stored under there.

The platform stores easily against a wall / behind shelves, but I leave it installed all the time now - mainly out of laziness.

When we stop, gear that is carried in the cargo area gets put in the front seats and/or roof. Setup takes 5 minutes, max.

I do like the drawer / slider versions some people have built and if I had more skills I'd like to go that route. This serves its purpose well, though, and I'll likely just keep it.

Construction is of two 1/2" plywood sheets on top of four 2x2 (actual size 1.5" x 1.5") runners. The material was cut to fit exactly in place so there's no movement of the platform even in off road situations. Cost was approximately $30.















I also added a Slumberjack Roadhouse tarp for more extended camping in one spot, but, full disclosure - I haven't used it yet.

 

Mine sleeps TWO! with all of my gear still in the truck

 

All that, a dog & a fridge?
Please do post pics. That sounds phenomenal.
Where is your luggage?
Thanks.

 

Got the frame done.



Top installed



I put this larger opening in the side for storing smaller items.



Loaded with fishing gear, recovery gear, tools, camping gear, and my cooler.



I bought a 2" memory foam mattress topper. It's tight, but it fits!

I'm completely satisfied with how it turned out. I'm hoping to test it out soon. If I'm still happy with it, I'll sand all of the cut edges and maybe paint it.

This is one situation in which my height, or lack thereof, has its advantages. This setup would not work for anyone much taller than 5'6". The overall length is only 67".

However, if the rear seat bottoms were removed, the platform could be extended.

 

Totally what I would plan if I traded my taco in for a runner.

 

Looking good.

 

I just did a 5000 mile, 2 week trip across the U.S. with my son. I have slept in my 4R before, but it just didn't work well for me because of the inside length. (I'm 6') I had zero wiggle room end to end. And for this trip it wouldn't work at all because there were 2 people, who wants to unload all your stuff and set it outside when you sleep? Not me. So I just took my Kelty 3P tent and it worked fine. I should have taken a 4P (if not bigger) popup style tent, tho, like the Coleman in a previous post. 2 people in a 3P tent equals no room to get dressed, etc. Looking back on things, a RTT might have been more convenient, but with the added cost (and MPG loss) I'm not sure it would be worth it. If you get all your guy lines pre-made and store them on the tent, a modern tent goes up really fast.

 

I was just thinking about this thread.

I forgot to update on my setup after using it.

With just the 2" foam pad, i still felt like I was laying on a piece of wood. I added another foam topper and it's pretty comfortable now.

I don't have a picture of the most recent setup, but here's how it looked on the first test run.

I actually picked up a full size fitted sheet and wrapped that around the 2 foam pads and it feels pretty much like a bed in a travel trailer.

I might eventually look into an actual mattress. I'm also thinking about putting in some flush mount tie-downs to keep things from sliding around when I'm traveling, or on the trails.

 

My wife and I used to camp in the back of our old 3rd gen. While doable - the RTT option is more comfortable (for us) we also have a 7year old so we opted for the RTT route. We’re from the PNW so we like to camp in all seasons and being able to run a buddy heater, sit up and play games if the weather turns, read a book without waking everyone else (because there is more room) is pros we won’t trade.
EDIT: Most RTT companies have ‘outlets’ where people can sell through the retailer their old RTT. Sometimes nothing wrong with them sometimes a simple seam sealer fix. And you can get them for a grand even 2 grand off.

 

Any info on how you did the rear window controls and hatch release?

 

Thank you! I was curious about that as well.

 

Thanks

 

Yep

Seller is a good dude, and mine has been flawless since I got it.

 

Mine has been flawless also but now hardly use it since I don't sleep inside the vehicle anymore.

 

Thanks for this post! I'm working on making one before a trip to CA next week. When you said "Construction is of two 1/2" plywood sheets on top of four 2x2" does that mean you stacked two 1/2 plywood sheets to make a 1"? I used something close to 3/4" plywood and it seems like it sits a bit higher than the seats.

 

Correct. Wood is measured in some retarded format that is not the actual dimensions of the wood, but you need to be able to make a actual 2 1/2" high platform. 2 1/2" is exactly the height of the seat backs above the floor in a two row model row, when the second row seat backs are folded fully forward.

The easiest way I found to do this was using 2x2 runners (actual 1 1/2 x 1 1/2) and then two pieces of 1/2 plywood on top of each other (equaling 1 inch) (totaling 2 1/2 inches). You pretty much have to buy a 4x8 piece of plywood anyway so you aren't really wasting any of it doing it this way. It's also hella sturdy, being 2 layers of plywood 1" thick.

There are probably other numerical combinations of wood thickness you could come up with to achieve the same thing, but I'm not a very thoughtful man and this was easy.

Related: I'm at like 5+ years with this same platform. It's been in 3 different 4Runners. It currently has a rubber topper and the D-Rings were moved more inboard from where they are pictured (you don't really need to tie shit down in the corners, more like in the middle of the things you are tying down), and the D rings still fold flat enough to still use as a sleeping area when covered with a mattress. I've also figured out that the gaps on the bottom work to store an axe, jumper cables, other flat-ish objects. It lives in my 4Runner all the time now. Super handy.

Edit, I realized upon re-reading my above post I repeated myself a bit but it has been a minute since I posted that so forgive me...

 

What kind if D-rings did you use? I've been thinking of putting some in my platform for the cooler and other stuff.

 

Harbor Freight, baby! Bolt them down through the platform with a BFW* under a stop nut, don't screw them into the wood.

*Big Fucking Washer

 

This kind of shows them...

 

Thanks for your quick reply! I measured 2.5" too. I think the issue I'm running into is that it's a gradual rise so when the 23/32 (3/4" ish) plywood meets the top of the lip it ends up not sitting flush with the folded seats. I could maybe try to sand it down. How does yours look so flush?! I guess it's not the end of the world, but it's really bothering me, haha. Good call on the bumpers too, going to pick some up tomorrow.