I got the idea of a raised bed in the Trooper from a friend of a friend who spent a lot of time living in his truck. He had built a raised bed system for himself. The storage space created underneath meshed nicely with the solar powered refrigeration system, since I could place the fridge and batteries underneath. (Fridge not shown – it was kept just to the left of the battery).

In the picture below you can see the bed in the raised position. This allowed access to the refrigerator – somewhat of an inconvenience, but you get used to the routine of raising the bed and putting it on the hook quickly.

The mesh hammocks I found at a boating supply store. They are a great way for keeping stuff off the floor, and keeping it in place as the vehicle traverses rough terrain. They just swing as the vehicle rolls.

Boat people need to survive out on the wilds of the sea, tossing to and fro and so have good stuff for vehicles and people that want to survive moving out over the wilds of the land.

I sure drilled a lot of holes in this truck! The bed was attached with large hinges using machine screws. The supply hammocks were attached to screw eyes that were bolted into holes.

Above and below views of the attachment of the bed. What would I do without titanium drill bits, haha?!

Below is a view of the supply hammocks on the left side. My girlfriend made curtains that I attached with velcro that was attached with epoxy to the window trim. I’m not a very good candidate for leasing a vehicle!

GO TO PAGE 5: The (New) 4WD Solar Fridge Project: V. 2