- Rommel said...
Excellent! Ive looked at all the different designs of Bed Platforms for the Element and yours is the best and the one that I will emulate. Keep up the good work! Incidently there is a mod on the EOC that involves an interior door handle to open the rear hatch from the inside.
...EG2E (EOC)
- 1:46 PM
- said...
Awesome! In another life I could be so easily tempted to park next to you!
- 1:54 PM
- said...
Very, very nice set up. I am still a bit confused about how the mattress looks like it is two levels in some photos but completely flat in the later ones but I think I need to study it more.
- 2:20 PM
- Rishi S said...
Dude...Rishi the Engineer. I like it! Can't wait till next time you visit NoCal so I can see the craftsmanship in detail.
- 2:32 PM
- Gabe said...
I dig it! I want to see it soon.
- 2:54 PM
- Sunshine said...
Hi rishi....your work is definitely worth fat praise :) heeeheeeheee!!!!
You've done an excellent job there..... seriously, this eliminates any need for tenting, etc.... your Hona element is so multifunctional..... and needless to say, but I will still do so, your craftsmanship is also par excellence..... keep it up!
- 3:01 PM
- said...
Very cool.
- 11:02 AM
- Robin said...
wow, that is awesome! can you hook me up with this set up?
- 10:26 PM
- rishio said...
Hey Robin,
What do you mean hook you up? You have an Element?
- 10:14 PM
- Robin said...
Yes, but we're feeling pretty confindent and heading out to Home Depot to try one of our own! Great job... you've inspired us!
- 9:50 AM
- said...
Thanks for posting detailed and well explained photos. I am looking at buying an Element and this answered a lot of my questions about size and possible bed configurations. Now, I just need to find out about that inside handle...
- 9:21 PM
- rishio said...
The inside handle doesn't look too complicated.. a few people have done it on the Element forums.. I'll get to this sometime in the future.. maybe i'll find someone better at this sort of thing to help me out...
- 9:37 AM
- said...
Pretty cool, but it you get rear-ended really hard, that sheet of plywood is going to slice you in half like a guillotine. Maybe if you cut it up into three or four sections width-wise, it would fold up rather than be shoved forward into the front seats.
- 7:42 PM
- rishio said...
hmm.. I thought about safety and anchored down the platform with 4 3/8"x 10 1/2" steel turnbuckle. The nice thing about the element is that there are hooks all over to allow you to hold things down...
- 7:49 PM
- David Glover said...
Well done.
- 8:41 PM
- Joe said...
looks Great!!!! You should post it on instructables.com !
Looks amazing!
Thanks
Joe
- 8:45 PM
- said...
Totally Awesome! Logistically, is it easy to just park someplace and sleep? Also, food and bathing? Or is Cali just that cool!
- 9:02 PM
- said...
Great job with this. I'm curious as to the logistics of living in a car. Do you have crazies knocking on the windows at all hours?
- 9:19 PM
- kevin said...
I'm one of the weirdos that always wanted an Element, and this just makes me want one more! Excellent job.
As far as opening the top rear door from the inside, try the remote trunk release kits that use solenoids to trip the latch. Most are designed to use a key fob, but you could easily mount a switch in the dash somewhere to trip it.
- 9:42 PM
- SagePixie said...
this looks awesome!
I lived in my car with my dog for awhile and had no problems. (In So.Cal) I had a gym membership that I used in the mornings to work out and shower and get ready for work.
- 9:53 PM
- said...
Wow! That's pretty sweet! Most excellent job!
- 9:55 PM
- said...
yep... pretty dang cool.
- 11:13 PM
- said...
Quite a few years ago, my wife, two sons, and my medium sized dog had to drive from Colorado to East Coast Florida in my Chevy S-10. I built a platform just like you did but with cheaper materials (It didn't look as goos as yours) and put an air mattress on top of it. I stored out suitcases underneath. The topper I had on the truck was higher in the back than in the frony but, the front area had two small cupboards on the roof which made for a great place to store snacks. My wife and I swapped out the driving and my sons swapped out sleeping with us in the back. My poor dog sat in the middle and stayed awake most of the straight through run.
Great instructable you have there.
- 1:41 AM
- mechgt said...
Wow, I'm completely jealous. I've got an Element also, and I love it. It does seem like it was designed to be compact, yet fit EVERYTHING just perfectly. Excellent post man.
- 3:42 AM
- Robert said...
Amazing, I'm envious. I live in the deep south and between bugs and heat there is no way I would survive.
- 5:05 AM
- John said...
that is absolutely fantastic!
I've been pining for an Element, and this is one more reason to get one.
Thanks for the extremely detailed information!
- 6:53 AM
- John Haydon said...
Nice! I've been kicking around the idea of building a cargo platform in the back of my pickup (the things I carry don't stack well), but I couldn't figure out how to do it inexpensively. The Home Depot legs look like a great solution. Thanks for the inspiration -- and sleep well!
- 8:31 AM
- chris said...
Great idea! Great mod!
- 9:25 AM
- said...
If you are not arlready working for the manufacturers of the car, they should head-hunt you immediately...
The comment about being rear-ended worries me though, if you were,then it looks like the board would hit you end-on, right on the lower spine.
I've been thinking about this and clearly for safety, you really need a "crumple zone" in your bed.
The easiest might indeed be to make it in three sections, which you lay down on brackets that are mounted to the inside of the car (you then lay the mattress over them). Any pole that goes from the front to back of you bed could break loose in an accident and spear you.
The brackets should be attached to the sides of the car and nothing else, so they are free to move if the car is deformed.
I know it might be a lot of re-working of your wonderful idea, but it would be worth it. A bad accident with it as it is, doesn't bear thinking about it.
Incidentally, which mattress did you use?
My favorite part is the idea of the moon roof - That would be fantastic for me in a thunderstorm or heavy rain!
- 10:08 AM
- Aimee S said...
Genius!!!
I was just thinking about how i could pull of something like this w/ my 2007 CRV for roadtrips. Unfortunatly the seats are not removable and the back one's do a funny fold and tumble forward thing that would force me to make the platform uncomfortably close to the cealing.... I'm going to go draw it up right now!
- 10:33 AM
- rishio said...
Thanks for all the comments - it's enjoyable for me to read all the thoughts..
I'll say more about living in my element in the next blog.. such as where I sleep, eat, go to the restroom, shower..etc...
I'm learning as I go along so I appreciate all the ideas and solutions that are better than mine..
- 10:33 AM
- rishio said...
John, the legs are a great solution. You can go to home depot and size them to whatever length you want and it's very easy to remove. The whole platform can be removed in 5 minutes if you want to just use it for camping and toss the seats back in when you are done..
- 10:35 AM
- BashoWa said...
Sick mod, sir.
- 11:05 AM
- mitch said...
Hey Rishi! I remember you laying in the back of my Fit the last time I saw you...and now I know why =) Cool mod!
- 1:06 PM
- rektide said...
What do you do for air ventilation?
- 3:27 AM
- rishio said...
Hey Rektide,
Ther moon roof above my head pops up. The rear windows on each side of the car pop out. It's pretty nice that these windows pop out instead of rolling down since you don't need power to open/close them and it doesn't give the impression that someone is in the car with the windows popped it versus rolled down...
- 9:19 AM
- said...
Anazing! I want a car like that too :D
- 11:54 AM
- Robin said...
We built the platform as you and the time traveler have done but instead just used a futon mattress thrown on top of two layers of carpet padding. This mattress is really comfortable, but in this set up it just felt like I was sleeping on padded plywood. Is that bed from Cabella's really comfy? Honestly? We're just using this for our weekend getaway's to the beach and have just been grabbing a campsite so I'm really looking forward to your next blog "I'll say more about living in my element in the next blog.. such as where I sleep, eat, go to the restroom, shower..etc..."
- 7:19 PM
- rishio said...
Hey Robin,
That's great that you guys built the platform. To be honest, the Cabela bed is really comfortable for me - I would rate it the second most comfortable bed I've slept on - but maybe I'm different than most people in that I prefer to sleep on a really firm mattress than a soft one. Sinking into a matress is really uncomfy for me and the Cabela is quite firm.. You might want to read the reviews in the link I provided to the bed...
About my next blog, I'll get to it pretty soon. I'm still figuring things out as I go!
- 10:54 PM
- said...
Dude, i just read your post on the EOC, awesome... the pics, the E, the journey... i wish you well bro
- 4:23 PM
- said...
Hey! I saw your post on the EOC... what you are doing is so inspiring!! I'm ready to move in to my E!!
- 9:23 PM
- Christopher Vigliotti said...
Dude, if you were to manufacture them for-sale I totally want one.
- 1:11 PM
- Robin said...
Unfortunately I'm not sure what trips we'll be taken in the E now that some f'er creamed her. I'm waiting to find out if she's totaled... is there some kind of "protection" this e owner's club offers? i mean, you know... to take care of this guy? haha
- 8:26 AM
- Mike said...
Rishio,
Very cool! I followed some of your posts on the EOC board and was very happy to see this blog and learn about your progress. This idea is very appealing to me so I look forward to your next post about the practicalities of living in the E.
Two questions about the bed set-up:
1) I can't tell from the pics - do you have to remove the front seat headrests when you recline the seats and fold the mattress back?
2) Can you post a pic of how you had to modify the mattress to fold back? From the pics I can't tell - is there a cover over the mattress and did you simply put a slice in the top (the side you sleep on) of the mattress so it would fold?)
You are an inspiration to those of us looking to lead a simpler lifestyle!
Namaste,
Mike
- 8:39 AM
- The Chicken Lady said...
THAT IS AWESOME! Wow. Thanks for sharing!!!
- 9:22 AM
- rishio said...
Hey Mike,
I'm a little bit behind in getting to the next post as I've been occupied with some photoprojects recently. It's high on my to-do list though!
>>
1) I can't tell from the pics - do you have to remove the front seat headrests when you recline the seats and fold the mattress back?
<<
Yes, you have to remove the head rest
>>
2) Can you post a pic of how you had to modify the mattress to fold back? From the pics I can't tell - is there a cover over the mattress and did you simply put a slice in the top (the side you sleep on) of the mattress so it would fold?)
<<
Basically I unzipped the mattress cover and took the foam out. I cut it at about 47" of length and put the two pieces of foam back into the cover. Since I cut the foam inside I am able to fold it on top of itself. Does that make sense? I would be happy to show you photographs but I have some other important priorities right now. The mattress part is pretty simple..
- 11:25 PM
- rishio said...
Hey Robin,
That's terrible.. what happened to your Element! Hope you move on and continue your adventures in some form or another. Let me know if you are up and running again if you get a chance.. And yeah.. I'm kind of slow on posting blogs these days - but I definitely will...
- 11:29 PM
- Robin said...
Yeah we just found out our E's not totaled, that makes me happy. My E is my baby... and I'm taking some time off from work right now, so I don't know who would have sold me another one if she needed replacing! But she's in the body shop for a couple weeks more... which is really unfortunate because we like to get away every weekend and we live in her for those times as well. Maybe by the time we get her back you'll have some tips for us! Of course, we're in Nor-Cal and things can be pretty different from So-Cal. The good news is the E really holds up in a good smashing.
- 3:57 PM
- said...
You seem to be loving of an E lover.
You chose an Element and
an E-510 for your gears. Is your girl friend also start with an E?
- 11:57 PM
- Michael & said...
I love your design!! I am a brand new E owner in Alaska where it's right on to live in your vehicle ('cept in winter, brrr) and your design is awesome! It is the same idea as the bed platform in our cabin! I am fired up to try this for myself!!
- 3:16 PM
- judilyn said...
Very clever design, and most inspiring. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Judie Ashford
- 7:27 AM
- Rob said...
Nice layout, I am living in a Honda Odyssey now and your setup looks tighter and more organized. I also have to carry my window cleaning supplies with me so that takes up a lot of space too. I lie the Element also for MPG. When I am around town or sitting at McD's using the wifi with the ac on I get about 10 mpg:( At any rate thanks for all the detail in the pictures it gives me something to think on. Praise GOD
- 9:20 AM
- kittiebug said...
It seems to me that we both bought the Element for the same reasons: travel, living, and comfort. I've been trying to design a bed for the back for a while now, and I think I've finally found a winner. Thanks for sharing!
- 3:02 PM
- Robin said...
we built this set up ourselves and no longer wish to use it. if anyone is interested in purchasing it from us let me know... we're in northern cal. email me at rbnee4@aol.com and i'll send you pics.
- 4:55 PM
- rishio said...
- 1:32 AM
- Glenn said...
Soooo good. I've been considering a VW camper bus, but something restored costs around $35k. I am considering building upon this design and having a full wooden box for the bed installed with traditional drawers built in to the side. I would also only build a platform half this size so I can have the additional rear seat for various purposes such as a computer rest, cup holder, dog bed...
- 7:24 PM
- said...
Thats pretty cool man rad stuff. so do you plan on spending the next good portion of your life in the element? If you were to sell this car, how much would you sell it for?
- 8:23 PM
Post a Comment