Truck bed/cap camping/storage build

charwest

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Documented briefly here in case helpful to others looking into similar projects:

My wife and I have a 6' bed (supercab) 2019 ranger that we want to be able to camp out of, and inside of when its brutally windy or wet. We need a lot of storage not just for camping/outdoors equipment, but also work supplies as sometimes we live on the road.

The cab itself has been turned into a storage unit. The seats are removed and the rear wall replaced with plywood with a flexible system where i can bolt on whatever hooks and attachment to secure our cooler, toolbox, and some bins and clothes.

The bed has an ARE cap on it, and i built a bed into it with underneath storage. the front left has a fully enclosed plywood chamber with a locking trapdoor. the next chamber moving to the right fits four maxtrax, a plywood jackbase, and a thin sheet of 1/4" plywood that provides temporary (weak) roof-rack capability if we need to strap something wet on the cap temporarily. the cap has Thule tracks on it and we can easily put a rack and/or tent up there if we decide to go that route in the future.

moving to the right, the next chamber fits two enormous plastic bins and one medium plastic bin. the next chamber is a longer drawer that pulls out and fits on the tailgate with our stove and cooking supplies and food. the last chamber up front takes random supplies like our compressor, camp axe, a come-along, rope, windshield scraper, and our big picnic blankets and camp chairs. there is another trapdoor in the bed to access the front of this far-right chamber.

the bed is plywood with indoor/outdoor carpet. on it will sit our 2" memory foam mattress and i will make tubular clothing-storage zip-up containers to line the sides of the truck bed.

the tailgate has 1/4" oak veneer plywood on it to provide a flat comfy sitting surface that doesnt get hot in the sun. it has a coat of deck sealer, so it feels like wood but water beads up and its easy to clean so far.

we have an 80w solar panel to mount on the roof of the cab, which will wire in to charge our 12v 18Ah/300W inverter in the bed with LED lighting and to keep our electronics working.

To sleep in it, I have to sleep fully diagonal (I'm 5'9" or a little taller) and my wife sleeps straight. the rear left has a cut out in the full bed to allow us to put taller items or dirty gear in without messing up the bed area. this would be uncomfy if you are any taller than me, or you woudlnt be able to sleep flat. the topper takes up some of the precious 6' bed real-estate and makes it more like a 5'8" bed at head height when you are raised to this height on the platform. and yes- no way you can sit up in this rig, but we dont mind tight spaces and generally will be tent or hammock living.

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charwest

charwest

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Very nice job. I admire your attention to detail and craftsmanship.
thanks. the reward was taking it for a proper spin for a long weekend. fully loaded, truck camping for two and it survived some offroad and abandoned logging roads without turning into sawdust.

thanks to everyone for your input in this and other projects along the way
 


Aragorn

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Do you have pictures of your solar setup?
 
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charwest

charwest

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Do you have pictures of your solar setup?

sure, see below..

the solar set up is admittedly pretty amateur looking, but its working well for us so far. probably mostly becuase we are spending all our outdoor time in sunny parts of the country and we dont have a heavy power need. ie: no fridge. some photos and explanations below.

IMG_9041.JPG


the panel is an 80w flexible panel. i would have preferred 100w for faster charging to maximize charging under heavier use in less light, but 100w panels that i have found do not fit over the cab. in practice we have never discharged our battery bank below 75% or so, so 80w seems to be working fine.

the panel is centered over the cab, as close to the antenna as i can get it, and the leading edge has a bead of silicone under it. then the edges are all taped down with white gorilla duct tape. it isnt pretty, but it presents a smooth interface and doesnt increase wind noise on the highway. there has been no peeling in over a month and a half of use, much of which is in the sun, dust, ambient temps over a hundred, etc. i also needed to put some tape down to secure the panel wires.

IMG_9042.JPG


flexible panels don’t work as well as the (cheaper) boxed panels, but the other upside to these slim flat flexible panels is their smooth profile makes for a stealthy contour that you don’t really see unless you are above the truck. the truck in its current iteration could park anywhere without advertising that there are two folks living inside.

IMG_9039.JPG


from the panel i have a 6' MC4 connector running down the rear driver side of the cab. this was a mistake, and i would use a 8' extension cable next time, as it is only barely long enough to reach my current powerbank in the bed. the connectors have white electrical tape on them to keep dust out, which generally would be unnecessary but this is all cheap chinese junk off amazon and i have a very low level of trust in anything, its IPX ratings, etc. these wires are secured with some cable harnesses to the cab to stop them from flopping around, which would presumably eventually fatigue and break the wires or connectors.

IMG_8611.JPG


the wires continue down between the cab and the bulkhead of the bed and enter one of the oval black bed plugs. what those plugs are for (pictures above, with holes drilled in one) i honestly dont know. i could pop them out easily with a little force, or the second time more gently with a flat head screw driver to push in the two tabs on the top. i drilled holes for each connector and put rubber firewall plugs with a hole in them to seal around the wires. the solar extension cable here is a heavy duty 10 or 12g wire in a fat protective sheath, probably overkill for this low amperage duty but i like the heavy wire so as hopefully to stand up to the offroading and bouncing around on the car.

IMG_8683.JPG


the above photo is peering into the cabinet trapdoor. there is a piece of foam on the bed floor. after everything was in place i liberally siliconed with a caulk gun the rubber grommets and wire at the entry into the bed and secured the wires to the bed wall with a few zipties.


IMG_8620.JPG


looking into the bed, the driver side front of the bed is where the powerbank lives. i chose a relatively small one off the internet, a ninjabatt 300watt model. it has pure sine inverted 300w inverter, plus many 12v, 5v USB, and a cigarette lighter socket. it works for our fan, laptop charging, LED lights, and cellphones. as i said before, this would be a far too small setup for a fridge, or for other heftier draws.

the wires for the solar run along the bottom side of the bed up front, into the locked cabinet driver front, and then up into the powerbank.

IMG_8615.JPG


you may not see it well from this photo, but i also wired 12g cable from the primary battery to the bed, which is piped into these two fused cigarette lighter sockets just below the powerbank. my idea was that with a small panel and a small powerbank, this would give me backup power in case i overtaxed the solar system. or if i needed higher amperage. or if i was in a really dark place (in a prior life, i van-camped in a parking garage for almost a month once, no solar there!). however in practice i have yet to use it. one silver lining of having the primary battery wired here, is that if i discharge the primary battery somehow out in the boonies, i can easily wire my solar panel directly to the battery via these connections and charge it up without cutting or taking anything apart.

what would i do differently next time?

i would buy a nicer flexible solar panel, but as of the time that i made this there were no name brand 80w panels or squarish 100w panels available. the one brand that looked good was sold out. i would also use a 8' mc4 extension cable. i had bought a 6' originally thinking i would run the connectors through the holes in the top of the bulkhead, but decided not to becuase i didnt want to cut and resolder the connections and have the wires inside the living space of the bed.

for folks who want a beefier setup, get bigger panels, there is ample room for an additional 150-200w on a topper (i kept this free so that i could put a rack or tent up there in the future), a bigger powerbank, and hey-presto- youre golden.
 
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Ranger 4 Play

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sure, see below..

the solar set up is admittedly pretty amateur looking, but its working well for us so far. probably mostly becuase we are spending all our outdoor time in sunny parts of the country and we dont have a heavy power need. ie: no fridge. some photos and explanations below.

IMG_9041.JPG


the panel is an 80w flexible panel. i would have preferred 100w for faster charging to maximize charging under heavier use in less light, but 100w panels that i have found do not fit over the cab. in practice we have never discharged our battery bank below 75% or so, so 80w seems to be working fine.

the panel is centered over the cab, as close to the antenna as i can get it, and the leading edge has a bead of silicone under it. then the edges are all taped down with white gorilla duct tape. it isnt pretty, but it presents a smooth interface and doesnt increase wind noise on the highway. there has been no peeling in over a month and a half of use, much of which is in the sun, dust, ambient temps over a hundred, etc. i also needed to put some tape down to secure the panel wires.

IMG_9042.JPG


from the panel i have a 6' MC4 connector running down the rear driver side of the cab. this was a mistake, and i would use a 8' extension cable next time, as it is only barely long enough to reach my current powerbank in the bed. the connectors have white electrical tape on them to keep dust out, which generally would be unnecessary but this is all cheap chinese junk off amazon and i have a very low level of trust in anything, its IPX ratings, etc. these wires are secured with some cable harnesses to the cab to stop them from flopping around, which would presumably eventually fatigue and break the wires or connectors.
IMG_8611.JPG


the wires continue down between the cab and the bulkhead of the bed and enter one of the oval black bed plugs. what those plugs are for (pictures above, with holes drilled in one) i honestly dont know. i could pop them out easily with a little force, or the second time more gently with a flat head screw driver to push in the two tabs on the top. i drilled holes for each connector and put rubber firewall plugs with a hole in them to seal around the wires. the solar extension cable here is a heavy duty 10 or 12g wire in a fat protective sheath, probably overkill for this low amperage duty but i like the heavy wire so as hopefully to stand up to the offroading and bouncing around on the car. after everything was in place i liberally siliconed with a caulk gun the rubber grommets and wire at the entry into the bed.


IMG_8620.JPG


looking into the bed, the driver side front of the bed is where the powerbank lives. i chose a relatively small one off the internet, a ninjabatt 300watt model. it has pure sine inverted 300w inverter, plus many 12v, 5v USB, and a cigarette lighter socket. it works for our fan, laptop charging, LED lights, and cellphones. as i said before, this would be a far too small setup for a fridge, or for other heftier draws.

the wires for the solar run along the bottom side of the bed up front, into the locked cabinet driver front, and then up into the powerbank.

IMG_8615.JPG


you may not see it well from this photo, but i also wired 12g cable from the primary battery to the bed, which is piped into these two fused cigarette lighter sockets just below the cabinet. my idea was that with a small panel and a small powerbank, this would give me backup power in case i overtaxed the solar system. or if i needed higher amperage. or if i was in a really dark place (in a prior life, i van-camped in a parking garage for almost a month once, no solar there!). however in practice i have yet to use it. one silver lining of having the primary battery wired here, is that if i discharge the primary battery somehow out in the boonies, i can easily wire my solar panel directly to the battery via these connections and charge it up without cutting or taking anything apart.

what would i do differently next time?

i would buy a nicer flexible solar panel, but as of the time that i made this there were no name brand 80w panels or squarish 100w panels available. the one brand that looked good was sold out. i would also use a 8' mc4 extension cable. i had bought a 6' originally thinking i would run the connectors through the holes in the top of the bulkhead, but decided not to becuase i didnt want to cut and resolder the connections and have the wires inside the living space of the bed.

for folks who want a beefier setup, get bigger panels, there is ample room for an additional 150-200w on a topper (i kept this free so that i could put a rack or tent up there in the future), a bigger powerbank, and hey-presto- youre golden.
Link for the solar panel?
Excellent work!
 
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charwest

charwest

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char & tony
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Healthcare
Link for the solar panel?
Excellent work!
the one i had wanted to buy was from 'Rich Solar'. still not name brand, but at least had the size i wanted and was reasonably well reviewed. they sold out right when i wanted it.

the one i actually bought was off ebay. there were a couple sources on ebay, but neither had a brand name, neither had any solid reviews or convincing specs. but they looked about right and i bet a lot of this stuff is rebranded same old stuff. in the end i chose a cheap panel based on dimensions, and well see what happens.

i cant find the specific one today i ordered, but it looked like this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/18V-80W-Fl...157494?hash=item4b7debdff6:g:GrIAAOSwzOlemVVG

'lensun' also offered a 80w panel (search ebay for 'lensun 80w flexible solar')

but their reviews looked junky on other sites and they were a little pricier, but who knows.

of note, the IPX rating on this panel i have is not great, so i silicone caulked the connection box and connectors.

this never would have been an issue with a name brand panel, i feel, but so it goes. i guess there isnt a market for the odd 80w size. the rich solar guys who sold out said they had no intention of restocking the 80w panel in the future.
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