So here is our kick ass 1988 4x4 Van, just bought from Seattle.
I don`t remember having the 4x4 model around when growing up in Australia (we do now i see.....turbo diesel n all, but i don`t remember them comming out in the eighties) but when i saw the 4x4 model over here (in the U.S) I just had to get one.(turns out they are kinda hard to get). Found one in seattle though.....low miles, pretty good all round condition.......nice. Great for camping, great in the snow (which is essential as we spend alot of time in the snow), and you get that great toyota reliability. What more could you want i say?
My plan is to do a camper style conversion in the back for extended road trips.
I fugured that I would post up the pictures so other people doing the same thing could get some ideas......as I got ideas from other people on this website.
So first up was gut the insides and give it a good clean out......it had not seen a vacuum in some time
Starting out with a simple pine frame, this will be the base for the slides and drawers to hang off
Rails for the plywood base were put in place
So the whole idea here is to have a bed that folds up into a seat to maximize space when not sleeping. Now i guess there are a number of ways to do that but the thing is, I`m lazy when it comes to set up time. The quicker it takes to go from driving around mode to sleeping mode the better. And i didnt want to fuss with any bed supports or brackets to be put in and out every time you want a bed. i want it all, comfortable seat turns into comfortable bed, with no fussing about......in 3 seconds or less. So this is what i have come up with.
You can see in this picture that the seat base section in attached to two thick rails that slide on the main frame.
The original plan was to have the seat base flat, but seats are always more comfortable when tilted back i find.......So I put some chocks and stops in to make that happen. Here you can see it tilted back.
Heres a better view......the rails slide back until it hits the first stop......you then lift the front of the seat up until the rail at the back goes down enough to clear the stop and you can keep pushing it back until it hits the second stop. The rail levers on the first stop and another support up the main frame a bit and keeps it in tilt.
So here we are with the other bed sections put in.
