Toyota Highlander Camper Conversion - Bed Build
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- Bed build overview for our Toyota Highlander camper conversion.
We're turning our Toyota Highlander into a camper van / camper car and here we overview the bed we built for it.
Here's a time-lapse of building the car camper bed: • (Time-lapse) Toyota Hi...
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Great idea using the slats! I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to cut plywood to fit. Bingo! Use slats! Thank you guys!
No platform needed. Read my comments. I packed all the compartments with equipment, and placed the rug over it. Very firm, no platform needed.
A piece of rug and an air mattress does the job. There is storage between the back seats, between the middle seats, where the spare tire is located, in a small storage compartment the car has in the left rear, and in the left back area. So, no platform needed.
This is awesome! My girlfriend and I just bought a highlander and are planning on building a bed in the back. What you did is basically what I had in mind but better and this video was really helpful!
I just bought a '07 last weekend and plan to do the same! Great idea!
Thanks for this video! I have a 2003 Highlander and was thinking of doing the same thing but needed some guidance!
We love our 04 Highlander, same color haha. Looking for inspiration of converting ours into an overland vehicle for an around the world trip lol.
It's built on a Camry frame.
Which is great if you're a Camry!
Not so great if you're an always on AWD SUV Camry without any hitch even.
@@garypotter5569 thanks! Good info.
We still have 2003 Highlander that has 230,000 miles on it. Your clip inspired us to consider take off the second seat and copying your idea and make it into our camping bed SUV after have been tent camping for the last 40+ years even if we also have 2014 Highlander too. Thanks for sharing. And I sub.
This is EXACTLY what I'm looking for! I have a GMC Terrain. I love the way it's hinged to make a seating. Thanks so much for sharing your build.
I have a highlander. I think your build is super clever. Love this.
I like the slats rather than plywood too. And the adjustable front support legs. That’s a great idea. ❤
Awesome! I have a 2007, we are considering removing just the 2nd row of seats. Thanks for the only video I found showing 2nd row removal!
So cool! I’m going to be camping in my Highlander this year. This is so neat! ❣️❣️❣️
Great bed platform. Superb dog !!!!!!
I feel like they told him to stay in car. Those Shepard’s are super smart.
Jackson is the Supervisor/Inspector 🐶.
I like the front + rear hinge design and the use of slats instead of plywood for your bed platform. Thanks for sharing!
Great conversion! Looking forward to seeing the camper when fully loaded.
Nice. I want to convert our 2012 Highlander with 210k miles into a weekend climbing/surfing camper; nothing long term. Love the K.I.S.S. principal.
Me on my way to steal this build design 👏 in love with it!
Love the simplicity that the 1x4’s offer. You, will love the flexibility of a back rest. Good job. Keeping it simple. Not having to lift the entire bed 👍. Look into 3 section mattress or making a 3 cushion set up - so easy to handle. Jackson 🥰
I've got the 06 Hi-Hy - thanks for the inspiring build!
I had a 2004 Honda Element for years and love the design. Sunroof. Back windows open. Back door nothing falls out. Chairs easy to put up on sides which gives privacy. Lots of room inside for hauling large items.
Big drawback: totaled car at 35mph. Crumpled plus mega scary. BMW I hit got a scratch.
I have a 2006 Highlander now and do not like the design. It’s full of upholstery! No room to haul anything. It would survive a crash better most probably - a good thing.
Nice! I'm with the rest of you, looking at options. I was going to use an old futon for the weight, feel, repurposing and I prefer to avoid plywood when possible. However, I had not considered the cross rather than length possibility that you engineered, which is way better and more configurable. I'm going to borrow it. That will create further options. Thank you. And Jackson is am amazing person, as others say :)
Good Job
Loved the 2-way lounger
Happy Trails
Awesome build! Working on something similar myself right now,. Thank you for sharing
cant wait to see more!! i have the exact same car and your videos have been really great for trying to plan something similar for the future!!
Nice! More to come soon. It has worked great and surpassed our expectations so far.
I like the slate idea, thanks!!
Raise the bed higher for storage underneath. You can then place drawers.
This is just perfect.
I have a 2001 Toyota Highlander 4 cylinder 218,000 MI she runs beautifully . do you think I could do this with my vehicle.? I know the spacing is a little different but I definitely have enough room to lay down comfortably. if you have any recommendations I would greatly appreciate it. love your guys's videos!!
Hi guys, this conversion looks great!. I'm thinking of doing the same in '06 Kluger (highlander in AUS) and this video it's very helpful. 6 months after building, would you do anything different?
Damn, this is awesome! Gonna copy,
this conversion looks great, but not too practical. Right now, the suv is empty.. NO bedding, luggage, food, cookware, etc. Once the SUV is packed, especially with the bedding it's hard to raise the front section of the bed to search for things and there's no way to raise the rear of the bed unless you get out of the vehicle. what if outside is cold, rain, bugs, unsafe environment, etc... you don't want to get out of your vehicle. I have the 07 and have built something similar to yours, but once I have packed the suv my partner and I couldn't get anything under the bed and everything is under the bed. I think you should not use screws in the in-between boards and use dowels instead. This way, you can remove the individual board to access things from underneath the bed without lifting the entire front or rear part. That's my two cents. :) I had to redo my build too before the 2 weeks road trip. Good luck with your journey.
Nice thoughts! I love the removable slat idea - didn't think about that. Thankfully our gear is pretty light and compact, so storage hasn't been an issue (although we had some worries initially whether it would be). But easily removing slats would be huge for easy access! Great idea.
That is an awesome idea and I never thought about that. I’m planning on making a similar build in my highlander and that just gave me some great ideas. You could also have the “mattress” in two sections and have the platform in two separate parts so either the front half or the back half can be lifted open from the center. Then you could sit/kneel on one half while opening the other from the inside. Thanks again for your idea and happy roadtripping!
People often forget that they need access to the spare tire! Your ability to raise the bed solves this problem
Love the way you did the floor. If you fold the front half up could you still have the second row of seats?
Good job, guys! From your research, is there a particular year of Highlander, or generation of Highlander, with the best reputation for being reliable engine-wise? Second question, when you are on the road and sleep in it, what two or three spots other than campgrounds have proven to be the best as far as safety and flying under the radar? Again, great build and great video!
Hello! I love the build! I have an 07 highlander and am looking to remove the third row seats. How did y’all go about doing that? I looked at it and couldn’t figure out where the bolts were to take it out. Thanks in advance!
Hi guys, I would be glad if you guys can give me details of pallet like height and width. I am planning to do exactly same as this one in my car
Did you guys remove the styrofoam underneath the carpeting? Going to try and replicate this process! Any suggestions would help, thanks!!
Great idea! I've got a 2006 I'm thinking of converting. Where did you end up storing the tire change tools?
Thanks! We took them out of the bulky plastic housing they were in and placed them individually in the right side.
Hi! I just got an 03 Highlander that I plan to live out of full time. First challenge is how to take the back seats out. Do you have info/instructions on that? Thx!
You mentioned what kind of mattress you using, do you have any information available? I have a 2004 Toyota Highlander and I wanna put a mattress in the back as well. Suggestions welcome
We've been using a twin-sized memory foam mattress topper. Something about the wood slat setup makes it surprisingly comfortable for daily use, and then using a mattress topper for sleeping made it perfect.
Where did you get the cup-holder tops to the wheel housings?
What is the total length from the boot to the back of the front seats (moved all the way forward). I'm 193cm and wondering if this set-up would fit for me haha
Just wondering.... looks a bit small but is there a possibility of getting a full size spare in that rear well....??? Suppose I could adjust for it.
hi! What size bolts did you use to bolt the horizontal 2x4s to the main metal car frame?
I have the same car. thanks so much for posting about your build, you have helped me a lot with mine!
Hey, thanks! I believe we used the metric #10 carriage bolt to position our L brackets, and the #10 bolts fit into the holes that were already in the Highlander frame. We didn't anchor these into the frame - they just fit snuggly into the holes that were already there, acting like pegs. Then, we attached the bed to these brackets, both via the 2x4's running horizontally across the middle of the car acting as the middle hinge supports and also via short 2x4 supports resting vertically on each side of them.
Nice.
Hey David and Katie! Just found this video and I love how much storage you have. I am wondering, what year highlander is this? I’m trying to determine if I can do the same as this with my ‘03.
Hey, thanks! It's a 2004. I *think* the highlander body style was consistent on the '01 - '07 before a redesign in '08, but there could be differences still.
hey are the bed slats 4x1 or 3x1 ?
I’m buying my wife a new car so I can turn her highlander into a camper!
Who will keep the channel when you guys split up? Who’s got the password?😂😂
My apologies but with a wife as beautiful as her I would invest in new shocks for the rig as well.
Driving prices up ugh
no
Stop