Introduction: RAV4 Car Camping Platform With Folding Legs

By fisherck.com
About: I am a mechanical engineer currently working in the Aerospace industry. I enjoy working on DIY projects in my free time, ranging from laser cutting to 3D printing. I have too many hobbies, and haven't yet figu…

The following tutorial details how I built a car camping platform for my RAV4 (model 2023, but I believe this should be compatible with any of the latest generation RAV4's). I drew heavy inspiration from a couple tutorials, with the primary change being the use of folding legs to minimize its profile when stowed, and tie downs that loop around the front seat to allow additional storage space under the front of the platform (instead of having legs that extend all the way down). As such I will be a little light on some parts of my tutorial (and instead point you to the tutorials I based mine off of). It took me so long to write this tutorial that I have now had the chance to use it a number of times over the spring and summer, and can give an overall review of my design, with possible modifications!

Tutorials that I heavily pulled inspiration from:

https://www.reddit.com/r/rav4club/comments/u7kq5g/full_size_mattress_sleeping_platform_with_rough/

https://getpackup.com/blog/2020-11-23-suv-sleeping-platform-a-diy-guide-to-sleeping-inside/

Supplies

Supplies:

Tools:

  • Hand saw
  • Circular saw
  • Staple gun
  • Utility Knife
  • Measuring tape

Step 1: Cut the Plywood

The initial step is cutting the plywood sheet into the 3 pieces that will become the platform sections (I used a circular saw). I used 23/32" (~0.7") plywood, which worked pretty well for me. I recommend an interior grade plywood that doesn't have any formaldehyde in it. I will be relatively light on details here, as I used another tutorial for the basic plywood dimensions. The tutorial is on reddit here (and the 4 related pics are -> one, two, three, four).

The key dimensions are:

  • The largest is 33x46in, and will need additional trimming at the front two corners to wrap around the area just behind the back seats where it is less wide
  • The other two pieces are 20x48", and two of the corners on each piece need to be trimmed just a bit back to 46" so that the middle piece will fit, and both will fit in the back when stowed. NOTE: If you are tallish, you might want to make these two sections longer. I go more in depth in the last section below on how much longer you could make this.

I started with a rough cut, then fit the pieces in my car to see what needed to be trimmed down a bit more. I checked to make sure that all pieces fit when stowed and set-up.

Once the pieces are cut to size, I spray painted the plywood to help seal it so that it wouldn't be at much risk for getting wet. Considering how long it took for the spray paint off gassing to stop though, I don't know if I would actually recommend this as the risk of this getting soaked should be relatively low.

Step 2: Installing the Hinge and Carpet

Then I put on the carpet, cutting so that about 2" of the carpet wrapped around the under side of the platforms, and used a staple gun to fix the carpet into place.

Lastly I cut slits into the carpet to put the piano hinges on (I used 3 piano hinges instead of 1 big one) to connect the front and middle sheets. Then also cut two slits for the eye plate ring hooks that go on the end of the front platform piece.

Step 3: Installing the Legs

Because the back seats of the RAV4 don't sit flat, if you want the platform to sit flat, you're going to need to cut the legs on the front two platforms to different lengths. To do this I put the platforms in my car, and raised them with random stuff until the platforms were level. I wanted the back platform to sit ~7" above the floor so that there would be enough room under it to store stuff. I located the two legs on the front most platform as far forward as I could to the edge of where the lowered seats ended, and had to make sure that the leg locations in the middle and front platforms were not located on the hard plastic areas where the back seats connect to the sides of the car when fully upright. See attached pictures for the lengths I ended up using for my legs (apologies for the dual use of units).

Step 4: Additional Options

Last up are add-ons that I have to help improve the set-up. These are optional, but I think worthwhile:

  • Velcro (hook side only) that goes over where each platform meets. This helps secure them in place, and will eliminate any risk of getting pinched between two platforms.
  • Silicone foot pads on the bottom of each foot will help prevent scratching the interior of your car.
  • 2 tennis balls with a slit cut in them; you can place these onto the metal bar that sticks out of the sides of the interior that the backseats use to lock into their upright position. They stick out, and I've banged my legs onto them more than once. The tennis balls help soften the impact.

Step 5: Complete! + Final Thoughts

  • I used 23/32" (~0.7") plywood with relatively small folding legs, so I was a bit concerned about the plywood bowing with two people on it. After having used it though, I had no issues. I am relatively light though, so depending on your height and weight, thicker plywood, or reinforcing lumber like many of the other tutorials online is always an option (it will just increase the profile of the platform when folded). You could also add folding legs to the middle of the platform to prevent bowing if needed
  • I raised the platform the 7" above the floor so that I could store stuff under it. The tradeoff to this was losing headspace (which I thought was worth it). You could drop the platform a few inches to trade storage space for head space.
  • I'm 5'7", and the length worked perfectly fine for me. If you are a few inches above that, it might be worth lengthening. My platform is roughly 74.5" at the longest in the center, and 71.5" at the shortest at the sides. The two limitations for lengthening the platform are 1) how far the front seats can scoot forward, and 2) allowing the platforms to fit in the back when stowed.
  • For limitation 1, I measured that the drivers side seat had a roughly 5.5" gap, and the passenger side front seat had a roughly 6.5" gap with my platform (see pics). You could theoretically extend the platform 5.5" more before hitting the front seat.
  • For limitation 2, when all platforms are fully stowed in the back, there is only a ~1" gap, meaning you could only extend the middle and front platform segments 1" each (2" total for the platform length), and still have all segments fit in the back when fully stowed. BUT if you raise the back platform (the back platform can be fully deployed with the back seats up), and only keep the folding legs down on the middle and front segments when stowed in the back, you can push the middle and front segments all the way back so that they touch the raised backseats. This would make limitation 1 the limiting factor, and allow you to extend the platform to that limit.

And that's it, hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Overall I've been very happy with the car camping platform. It's great for car camping, be it for a weekend at a crag, or grabbing some sleep at a trailhead the night before an adventure.

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