I'm interested. Pics?

 

Please do - I'm always interested to see what others have done with their RAVs.

I've slept in my RAV on multiple occasions with two of these memory foam dog pads. The dimensions of the pad are a near perfect fit and the 3'' memory foam is just the right thickness for me. Very comfortable. Pic in album.

 

Here's the bed fully assembled with Futon, comforter, pillows and sleeping girlfriend (she didn't know I took the pic). The front seats are slid and folded all the way forward. I’m 6 feet tall and when I’m sleeping, my head neither touches the driver’s seat, nor do my feet touch the tailgate. Widthwise, in the shoulders where it counts, the bed is just a few inches shy of a queen sized bed. We use a queen futon from Ikea in the car.

The bed is in three sections, only one of which needs to be lowered for driving. This piece is held in place by three Allen bolts and is held up by two pvc pipes which simply pull out. Once disconnected, this piece just sits behind the front seats, out of the way. Since I chose to remove the rear seats in this design, the additional storage under the bed where the rear seats would normally be ends up being quite large.

These pictures were taken with the car empty but even with the car packed, the futon and bedding just fold up like a taco towards the back door, tucked under the dog bed / shelf as you’ll see in the pictures further down.

The foot end of the bed is hinged so it can be lifted up to access the rear storage space.

Now, if we want to fold everything up for storage and put the rear seats back in, simply remove 3 more allen bolts and everything slides back behind the rear seats. I usually just take everything out but I wanted to have the option of storing it with the rear seats still functional.

Here we see the queen sized futon along with the down comforter, 4 pillows and extra blanket folded over and sandwiched between the dog bed/shelf and the bottom of the bed. The picture from the back of the car looks complicated like some crazy car camping hamburger but it's actually pretty simple. On the bottom are the items in the "trunk" below the bed, then window screens and window shades, then 1/2 the bed, next, a few things stuffed into the "bed taco," then the other side of the bed and finally the dog bed with a few blankets on top.

With this design, setting up the bed when I make camp is pretty quick and easy and only takes about 3 or 4 minutes.

1) remove the cooler and dog toys from the bed platform behind the front seats

2) move the front seats forward and reconnect the removable platform at the head of the bed with the 3 allen bolts.

3) from the rear of the car, push the top of the futon forward until it pops out from under the dog bed. The bedding will unroll with the futon and will already be in place for sleeping.

I just got back a few days ago from a 5,500 mile road trip along the east coast, down to Florida and back. Here's everything we brought on the trip with us minus the 4 pillows, down comforter and extra blanket.

The core of the bed frame that makes the bed solid and stable is made out of 2X6 wood with lots of brackets and screws. The bed is very sturdy and doesn't wobble or flex at all.

 

now that's a unique mod!

 

Wow, that is amazing! The ingenuity of Rav owner never ceases to amaze me. This is truly inspiring.

 

:shock:

OK i didn't expect that. hahaha! That's awesome, you didn't hold back one bit. :lol: 8)

I like to crash out in my car during my lunches while at work. I was thinking of doing something more like what RAVPHO uses, but something that can fold up in to the hidden storage compartment like a yoga mat (not vinyl but something softer).

 

Holy crap that's interesting. When I saw the title, I was going to say something smartass like "Aerobed with seats folded down". That's got to be the most interesting thing I've seen in a while. Now if someone can show a mod for the ultimate Rav4 tailgate party.

 

Since there's no handle for the back door, do you climb in the 2nd row and close those doors?

 

Wow, that's great!

I've gone camping with mine with my wife and slept in the back as well. We slid the front and 2nd row seats as far forward as possible.

We noticed there's enough length (I'm 5'10"), but there's a void in the floor created by sliding the 2nd row seats forward. I rolled and stuffed towels in that void to make an even surface to sleep on, but there's probably better solution. I put a thin mattress pad on top of that and slept fine.

When we go camping again next year, we're thinking an air matress might be the answer as it takes up minimal space when not in use.

 

Kudos to such a creative use of all that space. I wouldn't have guessed that a 6 footer could sleep in the back. Thanks for showing us how to do it.

Home sweet Rav! If the Rav is a-rockn' don't come a knock'n...

 

Do you set up a tent for your gear and sleep in the car? eitherway, awesome.. one of the best mods i've seen yet, i dig the matching carpet and everything.

 

So simple.
So practical.
So smart.

This can save me a fortune on my excursions!
Why didn't I think of this???
I thank you for this great presentation.

 

Home sweet Rav! If the Rav is a-rockn' don't come a knock'n...

Giggity

 

A bed for two (one of which is 6ft) and space for dogs....that is amazing.

Keep up the good work.

 

Holy crap that's interesting. When I saw the title, I was going to say something smartass like "Aerobed with seats folded down". That's got to be the most interesting thing I've seen in a while. Now if someone can show a mod for the ultimate Rav4 tailgate party.

My buddy enjoying movie night @ work. My dream would be a flip down 32" flat screen.

 

Since there's no handle for the back door, do you climb in the 2nd row and close those doors?

I was originally thinking of hacking into the back door and installing my own handle so I can get in and out through the tailgate but with the addition of the shelf, that wasn't really practical anymore so yes, I just use the 2nd row doors. It works fairly well and my shoes go under the edge of the bed right by the door so when I get in and out, my shoes are conveniently accessible. I'm not so sure my efforts to install a door handle would have been successful anyway. :wink:

Do you set up a tent for your gear and sleep in the car? eitherway, awesome.. one of the best mods i've seen yet, i dig the matching carpet and everything.

If you can believe it, there's enough storage so I don't need to leave any gear outside at night. The only thing I have to take out of the car to make the bed is the cooler which I can put on the front passenger's seat when I can't leave it outside like when it's 3 AM, I can't find a campground and just parking next to the RVs in the Wal-Mart parking lot is starting to sound mighty nice (I've got privacy screens for all the windows so nobody can see in and be nosey).

 

My buddy enjoying movie night @ work. My dream would be a flip down 32" flat screen.

Chillin! That's cool. I have a projector and a home made 8X10 screen that fits in a pvc tube that I can connect to the roof rack. I haven't tested it successfully yet though because my 400 watt inverter just couldn't cut it. For this last trip though, I picked up a 750 watt to power a small rice cooker (quick, easy and mess free hot food). I'm sure it will power the projector just fine. The next step is to install the inverter and a secondary battery, run power lines front and rear and install outlets. Maybe I'll do that when I rip out the interior to do the sound proofing. heh heh.

 

:lol: Kool! Back in 1953 my dad took the back seat out of our Plymouth and we slept back there...now I sleep with my dogs in the back of my Rav4 in total comfort (as compared to the Plymouth). Keep Kamping Kids!

 

that's a great post... and tells me the rear seats can be removed. now just need to find a good walkthrough of how to do it.

If I pick up a Rav4, that will be one of the first things i do

 

Fantastic post. Very well done.

 

Bumping an old thread here. This is a very well done setup. I was considering doing something similar, with a few mods, and was wondering if anyone has seen something like what I have in mind. Here's what I'm thinking...

Have the platform raiseable. By default, it would be as low as possible...as low as the stock load floor height. Then, when I raise it, I'd like it to be high enough to where I can completely conceal my mountain bike front wheel off) or skis under the floor. It's a very expensive bike (about $6k) and leaving it unattended is very nerve wracking. If it could be hidden that'd be fantastic. I'd probably leave the floor raised most of the time and just lower it for camping or hauling bulky items. It'd be nice to be able to throw expensive (and wet!) ski gear down there, too. I think a height somewhere between stock and window height would be sufficient. It'd have to be hinged towards the front to make loading and unloading the bike easier.

Mod 2 would be to have another hinged or removeable section to put in the narrower back seat. This way a 3rd party could come along.

 

Then, when I raise it, I'd like it to be high enough to where I can completely conceal my mountain bike front wheel off) or skis under the floor. It's a very expensive bike (about $6k) and leaving it unattended is very nerve wracking.

Sorry not Rav4's...but

This past summer, both in Oregon, I saw two of those (ugly cough cough) Ford Transit Connect's outfitted for camping. Both "home made" inserts. The first one had the mattress set up pretty high on a platform and underneath was storage on the left half and a great pull out kitchen on the right! This one was amazing. The second one I saw had a futon set up lower but it looked like it hinged in half, side to side (since they had the futon folded towards the front seats) and underneath you could see two mountain bikes along with tons of other stuff.

Granted these were nearly empty van shells with the rear seats out and the Transits have cavernous space, but what was amazing was what they'd built in!

 

Bolted In?

I am getting a lot of great ideas from this setup so thanks for posting the photos.

I was wondering if the bed platform and frame are bolted to the body somewhere or do you just rely on gravity to keep it all in place?

 

That's one dedicated camper!


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

 

I thought I was hardcore one time when I took out the back seats and threw the futon mattress on the floor for an overnight excursion!

 

I was thinking it could have two sets of legs. The short set would be rigidly mounted. The long set could be on hinges. In the low position, the hinged legs would be pointing forward and there'd be a gap between the seat back and the floor (perhaps another hingeable panel could cover this gap, kind of like the OP's removeable gap filler, but hinged).

Push the whole platform towards the front of the car and it would raise up on the tall legs to provide underfloor storage. Now the gap would be at the back of the car. Again- another folding panel may be able to cover this gap. The floor would have to be hinged at the front edge with a prop-rod or pneumatic strut to hold it open to make loading and unloading the bike easier. It'd basically be like one of those hard tonneau truck-bed covers, but inside the vehicle.

Here's what I still need to figure out...
*How to keep the thing from self-raising when I hit the brakes, or self-lowering when I hit the gas. The long legs will need some kind of lock, like the locks on folding-table legs.
*How to keep the thing from rattling on it's frame and making booming noise. Perhaps all the interfaces could be padded with weather stripping. It'd need some sort of clamp at the back to hold it firmly down.


Regarding the passenger seat...that would mostly be for biking and skiing day trips. With two levels would be able to hold a lot of gear. If we camped, he'd have to sleep in a tent.