My 99 EX-Camper Build

[Blown]

Funs stuff and nice work!

I made a sleeping platform with 4" foam, gained storage under, and gained a pull-out table/tailgate. I am 6'2", can sit-up in the back, and my lady is a bit claustophobic. I made all the space I could in back.
The nightstand, in the middle is my subwoofer:

Most everything goes on top accept for a small ice chest and food box for road munchies"

It is the best bed I have had for camping and we do not have to set a camp. We just move the ice chest and food box to the front seats and sleep. It has been great for arriving late, gettng sleep and setting a camp the next day.

 

[TsherryUSA]

Funs stuff and nice work!

I made a sleeping platform with 4" foam, gained storage under, and gained a pull-out table/tailgate. I am 6'2", can sit-up in the back, and my lady is a bit claustophobic. I made all the space I could in back.
The nightstand, in the middle is my subwoofer:
View attachment 325417

Most everything goes on top accept for a small ice chest and food box for road munchies"
View attachment 325418

It is the best bed I have had for camping and we do not have to set a camp. We just move the ice chest and food box to the front seats and sleep. It has been great for arriving late, gettng sleep and setting a camp the next day.

Nice platform system. In the future I may remove the rear seats. For now we don't have a great place for storing them, so they shall remain in the vehicle.

 

[TsherryUSA]

Found some mostly-snow free forest roads yesterday. Did a Summits On The Air activation of Blind Cabin Ridge.

 

[TsherryUSA]

We took the 99 Ex to Idaho for a week of living in an off-grid tiny house on a cattle ranch near Council, ID. We worked remote during the day and explored the mountains in the afternoons, evenings, and weekends. Got some SOTA activations done as well, including my first FA and first All-morse code activation.

The Ex made it up some very rough roads and performed great. Didn't get stuck in any snow or mud pits either

 

[EB4X]

Did you happen to travel to / through Bonner's Ferry, ID ? "My" Explorer was initially for my buddy/wife THERE, who, all things considered, moved out of California quickly to there and stated they needed and inexpensive somewhat reliable 4x4 SUV to tool around the hills / mountains there, WITH not much to choose from there / price / rust etc.....so I got this one setup here in So Cal to have shipped over there....longer story short, things didn't work out and she became mine.

 

[TsherryUSA]

Did you happen to travel to / through Bonner's Ferry, ID ? "My" Explorer was initially for my buddy/wife THERE, who, all things considered, moved out of California quickly to there and stated they needed and inexpensive somewhat reliable 4x4 SUV to tool around the hills / mountains there, WITH not much to choose from there / price / rust etc.....so I got this one setup here in So Cal to have shipped over there....longer story short, things didn't work out and she became mine.

No, we were much farther south. Stayed in Council, ID and headed up into the mountains near Brundage ski resort / McCall area.

 

[sandsprayer]

That's cool
Made a subscriber outta me!

 

[sandsprayer]

Your dog showed no interest in the fox?
Damn, my dog is highly trained yet pretty sure he would be very reactive.
Have fun!

 

[TsherryUSA]

Your dog showed no interest in the fox?
Damn, my dog is highly trained yet pretty sure he would be very reactive.
Have fun!

oh he was interested! I just tried to keep him far enough away that he'd still mind my commands. I didn't want to try to find a vet while on vacation.

 

[joney]

Been working on this build on and off for a few months now. We finally got a chance to take it on a 6 night dispersed camping trip through southern Oregon about a month ago. Things are getting dialed and I wanted to share.
First, some nice photos of the kitchen area:
View attachment 321238

View attachment 321240

View attachment 321241

View attachment 321242

Okay onto specifics. Did a 2 drawer system 36" deep x ~42" wide to fit between the wheel wells. I used heavy duty 300lbs. rated drawer slides, which at the time of building felt like overkill. After the trip though, definitely worth it. Can set my 7 gallon water on a fully extended drawer no problem. Wood is 3/4" ply sande from home depot. As of now it is unfinished, but I may clear coat it in the future.

I don't have a table saw, so used a circular saw and the kreg straight cut jig. Worked okay. Good enough for me, but I don't know if I'd make and sell these.

Fit test:
View attachment 321244

Drawers assembled, with fronts:
View attachment 321245

I anchored the drawers with Harbor Freight D-Ring hardware and tie down straps under the rear seats:
View attachment 321247 View attachment 321248

Somehow I don't have a good photo of the the bed insert support, but it follow the methodology of this design from Solid Wood Worx:
This photo also shows the false top that is sized to fit my stove.
View attachment 321251

I plan on building a second false top for the right drawer, but need some 1/2" ply. For now, one of our cutting boards works perfect as a second surface:
View attachment 321252

Right now both drawers mostly hold the kitchen. The left drawer holds the camp stove, fuel, cast irons, percolator, plates, and other odds and ends. The right drawer holds other kitchen stuff and emergency supplies.

Next post, I'll go into the electronics and lighting. Thanks for reading!

Love what I see ! All is removable for when you're not camping? Will definitely be following your progress! Wouldn't mind setting up my 98 like this!

 

[TsherryUSA]

Love what I see ! All is removable for when you're not camping? Will definitely be following your progress! Wouldn't mind setting up my 98 like this!

Technically, yes it is removeable, but I leave it in. Right side drawer has emergency kit, tow strap, shovel, etc. etc. Left drawer has spare reusable shopping bags when not camping. Sometimes hiking gear or anything I want kept out of sight at the trailhead will go in it too.

I need to remove and put a proper finish on the drawers. I'm just undecided if I want to find a grey paint to match the interior, black, or a wood PU finish.

 

[TsherryUSA]

I finally got around to painting my drawers. $4 worth of paint from the local ReUse store. The blue looked a little more dark grey in the store, but I'm still happy with it. Will hopefully look a little more stealth compared to the bare wood too.

 

[WormsExplorer]

Really like how your build looks. Hope to see more in the future. I just read your entire build.

 

[donalds]

Really like how your build looks. Hope to see more in the future. I just read your entire build.

Yea love threads like this

 

[EB4X]

Funs stuff and nice work!

I made a sleeping platform with 4" foam, gained storage under, and gained a pull-out table/tailgate. I am 6'2", can sit-up in the back, and my lady is a bit claustophobic. I made all the space I could in back.
The nightstand, in the middle is my subwoofer:
View attachment 325417

Most everything goes on top accept for a small ice chest and food box for road munchies"
View attachment 325418

It is the best bed I have had for camping and we do not have to set a camp. We just move the ice chest and food box to the front seats and sleep. It has been great for arriving late, gettng sleep and setting a camp the next day.

How effective is that front wind fairing ? ...some of those actually create "some" wind noise but of course do more good to mitigate rack noise.... Did you have the rack on first without it or installed both at the same time ? And if happy with ...link for same model?

 

[TsherryUSA]

Really like how your build looks. Hope to see more in the future. I just read your entire build.

Yea love threads like this

Thanks to you both. I hope it inspires someone else to build out their truck for camping. We recently did a 2 night trip to Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Found a beautiful spot in a huckleberry field to camp out. Next on the list might be adding a canopy.

Last weekend I drove out into the Oregon's High Desert for some Summits on the Air activations.

 

[karlos2]

Nice pics. I enjoyed watching your Youtube vids also.

 

[donalds]

Please pm me your YouTube channel

Thanks to you both. I hope it inspires someone else to build out their truck for camping. We recently did a 2 night trip to Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Found a beautiful spot in a huckleberry field to camp out. Next on the list might be adding a canopy. View attachment 342700
View attachment 342701

Last weekend I drove out into the Oregon's High Desert for some Summits on the Air activations.
View attachment 342702

 

[WormsExplorer]

Please pm me your YouTube channel

Me too please.

 

[TsherryUSA]

s

Please pm me your YouTube channel

Me too please.

Thanks ya'll. Sent PMs, but going to put the link here as well:

It is mostly focused on Summits on the Air ham radio outings: https://www.youtube.com/c/UpsectionN7KOM

Cheers!