[drewhoo]

Firstly, would like to send a shout out to zukenutters bed-base plans and photos: here. This inspired me to try and fit a bed in something that was almost specifically designed to not fit a bed (the jimny).

The idea above is great for those who can sacrifice their rear seats, but my zook is my daily, and I need a bit more human capacity than a motorbike. I also don't want to modify the car in any way (lazy i guess).

So I looked at my jimny, folded, unfolded, folded, unfolded, folded the seats, swore, looked at youtube videos of jimnys rolling over, laughed, then a light turned on in my head, went to bunnings and then this happened:







ingredients are four 75mm strap hinges, 2x 1800x445x16mm coated wood
drilled and sawed my way to this bed base. Incredibly straightforward, only things to note are I needed to cutdown one panel to fit the steering wheel (the missus is shorter than me anyway) and the hinges sit on the underside so the panels butt up against each other and dont fold under weight.




Here is me lying on it, plenty of room, there was no creaking or flexing under the weight of me and the missus. Like my neck brace? I've got time to kill doing stuff like this cause im home till next year with a broken neck (Dont drink and swim kids)!



Folded up for transport (would wrap in a tarp in case of shit weather, I didnt paint/seal the edges).

The advantages of this design is the simplicty of unfolding and installing, without loss of the backseat or having to move out all my crap stored in the back..

I just need to glue on a foam mattress, and attach a leg that unfolds onto the drivers and passenger seat to reinforce the overhang seen in the photo.

Dont get me wrong, I understand that the load capacity of this thing might not be great. I had originally intended a small steel frame, but so far it has not proved necessary.

At the end of the day I no longer need to get out the tent if its pissing rain!! Also can get away with the sneaky side-of-the-road sleepover

[Rusho]

I like your out of the box way of thinking, it looks pretty usable but.....




































What's wrong with a tent??

[atari4x4]

nice mobile bedroom, simple & it works

what hell did you do to yourself to end up in a neck brace!

[drewhoo]

Nothing wrong with a tent! got a awesome 4 man canvas single pole job that has an awning to reverse the jimny into... but... for one nighters, especially when its raining, just can't be arsed getting it wet (did I say i was lazy?). Also means I only need to find a carpark in a national park, not a camping ground

As for the neck brace, diving into a pool, got pushed seconds before and ended up diving straight into the bottom. Broke neck c6/7 and shattered the disc. Hey, after all it was only just over a week in hospital (7 hour operation) and a neck brace for 2 months. Modern medicine hey! All feeling back in my limbs now!

[Rusho]

I know what ya mean about the tent. I hope you have curtains in it

[parfittron]

Rusho wrote:

I know what ya mean about the tent. I hope you have curtains in it

I hear the beef ones are best.

[drewhoo]

Cut up some cheap foam bed-rolls to make the underlay

Fixed some offcuts on the under side where the board meets the top of the seats...



Fastened underlay to the top using washers and 8gx15 Button Head Stitching Screws



Found that my camp chairs I take everywhere with me work perfectly as front-seat reinforcement. Anybody else would have to drill a hinged bit of wood/pipe on there...



Done I've got another simple foam mattress that I would throw over to make it comfier. The whole kits folds up and sits nicely on roof racks.

[drewhoo]

Hah no curtins yet, but nothing wrong with a bit of exhibitionism

[zukenutter]

Great variation on the theme, I like my thick mattress though ;D

I made magnetic window covers for my Jimny camper.

[Total_Filth]

I dunno man.... I mean that's a great idea, but it looks majorly cramped in there. I don't reckon I could get a good nights sleep on that thing!

I'm a fair bit bigger bloke than you though haha....


TF

[PORL]

LOL looks nice man.
Im a submariner and compared to what we sleep in that look roomy

[PORL]

LOL looks nice man.
Im a submariner and compared to what we sleep in that look roomy

[adRock]

That's similar to an idea I'm working on, xcept, I just took out the seat bases (they can be stored in the rear footwells hidden under bed base.) and fold everything (seats) flattish (rear seat bases come in handy to flatten out the bed base on the front seats).

U can then keep ply sitting in the back as a flat-back style conversion, then fold out when needed for bed, or flipped over if u need 1 back seat, removed if u need all 4 seats.

All works in concept, I have played around with it a bit, but still working on final design as I also decided to fit 6x9's in the back.

[drewhoo]

that sounds good adrock... I would prefer a concept like yours that had the base inside the car. post up some photos when you are finished! ill probably modify mine

those magnetic window covers look the goods zukenutter, definately a conversation starter with other campers haha

[Dr_Snapid]

I camp in my Jimny too. Here was me thinking I must be the only 6 foot bloke sleeping in his Jimny. Thanks for making me feel a little less odd!

Here was my approach. I have an advantage - I have 3 seats, having removed the passenger rear. Once that's out, the front passenger seat reclines right back flat on the floor. I only have 2 kids that are old enough to travel out of a child seat so the last seat was never used anyway.

The bed panels then lay on top of the reclined passenger seat. I have small timber cutouts that fit into little slots to form supports ensuring the bed is supported and not tipping around when i move. I have all the length from the dash to the back door which is just enough for a good sleep (i am 6 foot 1 and a bit). So when I sleep i have much more headroom than you do. Plus, when not using the bed, the timber panels sit across behind the front seats forming a strong shelf to carry my gear (obviously this requires the remaining back seat to be folded, but I'm on my own) and as a bonus, they are in the car.

Go buy a screen door replacement screen for $10 at bunnings and attach to the front windows with magnets and you have an unreal little camper. I also have a tarp awning and dual batteries with a rear power socket.

I will post photos but this forum is rejecting them as too big, i'll resize sometime.

Big kudos for your approach, too!

[zukenutter]

Another great Jimny camper. I really like the space you have beside your bed. The worst bit about mine is the lack of room to organise/keep my stuff. Well done.

[Dr_Snapid]

Yes I have great space next to the bed, however Drewhoo does have room for the missus on his bed.

Admittedly, my missus is tiny enough to fit just about anywhere anyway, she's definately Jimny sized!

But my jimny camper is definately for 1, cos if she's with me, where the hell are the three kids (plus one on the way) gonna sleep?!

BTW heres a pic of the bed panels stored as a shelf. You can see how I've cut them to exactly fit the shape of the doors / dash etc so it's a snug fit. And, you can also see some of the slots where the little supports slot in.

[zukenutter]

I made mine with the Mrs in mind too but she just finds it uncomfortable so now mine is full width of the cab just for me. At least I can roll around during the night

[Dr_Snapid]

adRock wrote:

That's similar to an idea I'm working on, xcept, I just took out the seat bases (they can be stored in the rear footwells hidden under bed base.) and fold everything (seats) flattish (rear seat bases come in handy to flatten out the bed base on the front seats).

U can then keep ply sitting in the back as a flat-back style conversion, then fold out when needed for bed, or flipped over if u need 1 back seat, removed if u need all 4 seats.

All works in concept, I have played around with it a bit, but still working on final design as I also decided to fit 6x9's in the back.

I'd love to see pics of yours adRock

[Dr_Snapid]

I have made a build thread for my jimny (river rat) , it's got more / better photos of the bed arrangement.

Keep in mind I have 3 seats, rear passenger side is removed.