Truck bed camping platform

Quigley

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2018
Messages
346
Location
Kingston, WA
105003

I picked up this 2008 Silverado with 73k miles not to long ago. It’s only the 4.8 but I figure it should tow the Jeep after big tranny cooler and maybe the corvette servo. Anyhoo, living in the PNW is awesome for camping and exploring.

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My wife’s car is what we sometimes take if we are going out of state. The cargo rack is cavernous and it’s a pretty good base if you’re going to tent camp. Recently got back from camping at the sand dunes and to be honest our tent is huge and a pain for 2-3 days camping. I was looking at smaller tents when I came across some YouTube videos showing platform beds so I decided to make my own. I’ll post up in some detail in case there is anyone else that thinks they could use one for your adventures.
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This is what I have to work with. 6.5 ft bed. I’m thinking the previous owner rarely used it. The truck came with a canopy already so I scored on that one.... no sliding rear window so I licked the pudding pop on that.
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This is basically all you need tool wise to make he platform. I also added 1 1/2” drywall screws for the top sheet. I have a table saw that can scare wood in two, but you don’t need one.

Materials list from home depot
5- 2x4x8. I used 4
5-2x3x8. I used 3
3- 4x8x 7/16 plywood. I used 2
1- 2x12x8. Center board.
2 1/2 wood screws
2 handles. I ended up not using these

Total out the door was $85 bucks but I had several pieces left over. I’d say under $60.


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I used these for the framing. Work awesome!
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The Silverado has side indents for wood placement. If your truck does not have this you’ll have to make legs. I used the 2x12 as my center brace. Absolute center would put me on top of the rib. I wanted the rib to support he bottom from kicking out so I placed it groove over. I put two screws going through the 2x4 and into the 2x12.
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The middle indent for me was smaller than the 63” and was impossible for me to wedge in there. I measure from the center beam to the outside edge and toenail two screws in each 2x4.
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Boards are only fastened into the center 2x12. Outside edge is resting in the outer grooves.
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I had to notch around my bed towards the tailgate. This was not an exact science for me, but it came out okay.
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You’ll have to make a front brace for the front edge. I cut a 2x4 down and attached down supports since there are no indents to support this board. I measured and cut everything and took it out to screw it together. I want this platform to be able to come out easily. I made mine flush to the plywood and 2x12.

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I made my legs perpendicular to the bed wall to help guide the slides. I used the end I cut off to finish the left side. I did not put a leg support towards the cab since most of the weight will be at the braces and again I want this to come out easily.
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If you with me at this point you should have a platform bed with a lot of room underneath. I only used 1 full sheet of plywood and a 2ft section of the second piece. I put the smooth side up for my platform. If you use sanded plywood it would be a nicer finish, but good god man this is for camping.
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Smaller drawer width.
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Larger width drawer.
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Massive amount of space to hide bodies or to lose shit and have to crawl back to get.
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I ripped my 6ft piece of plywood into widths length wise based on my opening dimensions. For me I have one 25” wide and one 22” wide.
I used the 2x3 to make an L shape on the edge towards the bed sides. The inner 2x12 won’t need this brace since the beam acts as your divider.
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So it will be something like this. I was going to put the handles I got, but I didn’t have small enough screws. So I used a 1 1/2” hole saw to make a grab point. I’ll probably grab the screws when I’m out tomorrow to install the handles.
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Now just compete the other side. I added 1/2” scrap of 2x4 at the bottom of the 2x12 on each side to help guide the slides and hold them up when fully extended.
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That’s pretty much it! This side holds a easy up canopy, two folding chairs, fold up table, and stove.
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Man I need smaller chairs lol

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Either drawer fits my Coleman stove. Bonus for being able to use the slide as a cook station once we are set up.

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So that’s it! I’ll update once I get the smaller bins loaded. Slides I put the shiny side down to help with movement. Rougher side May hold things in place. We have a queen size air mattress or futon for the top. Enjoy!
 
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Great score on the Chevy and nice work on the platform. Are you just going to use an inflatable mattress on it?
 
Great score on the Chevy and nice work on the platform. Are you just going to use an inflatable mattress on it?
Thanks!, we have a queen size Coleman air mattress and a futon. So I’ll see which one gives us the most room. Most likely I’ll use the futon so I don’t have to mess with the air.
 
It’s only the 4.8
Those 4.8l are not as terrible as one would think, you get similar HP/TQ compared to the 5.3, you only lose a little low speed torque. You shouldn't have an issue lugging your Jeep around. I would recommend a tuner to change shift points etc. I have a custom Diablo tuner done through DiablewTune, if you search the name he will pop up on damn near every GM forum as the go to guy. https://www.diablewtune.com/
I've never liked my stock tune when I was towing a motocross trailer setup, the GMs have an issue searching for gears when towing sometimes and always seem to be dropping to a lower gear...I've heard this before...something like a 42RLE.
I like the build, I'll be coming back for the updates!
 
Supposedly the corvette servo firms up the shift points for 1-2 and 3-4 and it’s a $50 drop in. I bet that the tune would help wake it up even more. My neighbor gets close to 375hp on a stock Colorado going with a tune. Thanks for the link!
 
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105129

So here is everything loaded ready for our camping trip this weekend. On the smaller side, I was able to fit our pop up canopy, two massive folding chairs, fold up table, Coleman grill , camp shovel, and a three person dome tent just in case.


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On the larger side I was able to fit three 25”x 17”x 8” high tubs.. could have gone bigger but these were Walmart cheapies. Camp shower, step stool , and roll up pad for the tailgate.

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All our bedding is on a queen size Coleman air mattress, sleeping bag, comforter, pillows and extra sleeping bag. It drops to 40 here at night in the mountains so we should be snug. Side vents in the cap in case I fart.

Notes before the trip... queen size is super comfy but takes up a lot of room. The thinner mattress we had off a hide a bed was uncomfortable so we are going to look for a 4” futon or memory foam for the next trip.

I have a snug top which that it is. There’s enough room to move around an lay down, but that’s about it. Mattress is probably 8”-10” thick so cutting that down will help. We have about 24” from top of mattress to ceiling, but man is it comfortable and the benefit of having everything sent up is super nice. Basically pull in set up pop up canopy and you are set.

Heading out in the morning for Mt Baker to go camping so it will get a shake down soon.
 
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