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Thread: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

  1. #11

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    Quote Originally Posted by troyboy162
    Quote Originally Posted by slomatt
    I've been considering fabricating some kind of composite panel for a sleeping platform, something like 1/2" of foam with 1/8" luan laminated on each side. This should be lightweight and very strong, it's just a bit of a hassle to work with because you have the reinforce all of the attachment points.

    - Matt
    what kind of labor and costs are invloved with that? that really sounds ideal.
    The luan and foam are fairly inexpensive and can be found at Home Depot or Lowes. You would need to make sure you use an adhesive that will not melt the foam and apply it to the luan using rollers and then use a good amount of weight to press the layers together while they dry. As I mentioned above the difficult part is attaching the composite sheet to other materials since bolts could pull through the luan. One option is to put strips of 1/2" square wood inside the foam to use as faster locations, alternatively you could use fiberglass and epoxy to attach pieces together.

    - Matt
    2000 4Runner Sport / 4x4 / 5spd / E-locker / SS 1.2 / 265x75x16 Bighorns / ARB Prado / HD-SKO

  2. #12

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    a well engineered steel or aluminum frame supporting a 1/4" or 5/16" thick HDPE (cutting board material) would be perfect.

    ABS is too reactive to heat to be sturdy in my opinion.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  3. #13
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    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    iv been kinda workin on plans in my head for some kind of sleeping platform too.. the ideas in here for materials are great, keep em coming!
    - Kevin

    2018 Taco TRD Pro - 2.5" lift, 33" tires, everything else stock.
    2012 Triumph Tiger XC - Stock

  4. #14

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    Quote Originally Posted by troyboy162
    and steve if i could get stuff from work id have have the sweetest 10 pound carbon sleeping platform for elephants lol
    That made me lol, quite literally. :P
    [b] -Bekah <br />.=. It&#39;s not the fall that hurts, it&#39;s that stop at the end .=.

  5. #15

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz
    a well engineered steel or aluminum frame supporting a 1/4" or 5/16" thick HDPE (cutting board material) would be perfect.

    ABS is too reactive to heat to be sturdy in my opinion.
    http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant...270&top_cat=60
    http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant...279&top_cat=60

    i didnt think it would be but thats pretty dang cheap and would add greatly to strenght and weight savings.
    http://www.learn-how-to-weld.com/mig...-aluminum.html

    looks easy enough especialy when it just has to work a little bit to be strong enough


  6. #16

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    revisiting this since I finnaly made something. I have a spool gun for my mig so I made one out of aluminum. its very lightweight and I hope it will hold up but a few more legs would fix it if I start to have problems.
    - decided against two piece design for weight savings and ease of production
    - 1" 060 wall tube and 1"x1/8 flat bar
    -40' of tube and 48' of bar
    - weight is somewhere around 10 lbs
    - had to go tall to fit the new cooler

    oh and mig welding aluminum is creepy. The wire doesnt touch the puddle, its vaporized or something and just kinda shows up. Its really easy to blow holes in it too and impossible to fill big ones after they form
    Last edited by troyboy162; 10-16-2013 at 03:20 AM.

  7. #17

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    how much?
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  8. #18

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    not cheap... the place I went only had the fancy T6 aluminum so its got about $120 in material in it. Getting the extra stuff I needed to weld aluminum was another $150, but now I'll just need gas refills.

  9. #19

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    you hear here of a tent hahahha just kidding looks good.
    i sell cars to soon to ever work on them

  10. #20

    Re: super light weight sleeping platform ideas?

    Good looking. I've never welded AL but it sounds like it can be challenging.

    In the long run the aluminum is going to be better. Plus its much ligher than wood or steel.

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