Sleeping in your L300

[Delilah]

My SO and I are having quitea discussion on camping/sleeping in Delilah, our new L300. We have two benches that apparently convert into a bed. My SO figures this should be fine for sleeping but I am old and the thought of sleeping on a less than perfect flat surface leaves my bones creaking. So what have others done for modifications? Are they permanent ? Temporary? How do you manage storage. If you have pictures and diagrams that would be great.

[Albert_N]

hello ! I also have the two benches set up, however the last one is usually removed for more luggage space. On top of the front bench and a little plywood I use an airbed and it is very comfortable to sleep that way. Below are pictures of my L300. If you keep both benches, I would also use a thick airbed and have a proper sleep ;)
http://www.delica.ca/forum/bed-setup-l3 ... -5346.html

[Green1]

As the general consensus appears to be that I do not know what I'm talking about, and cause more harm than good, I am removing this post so that others are not tricked in to following my ill-advised instructions.

[snbeffort]

My girlfriend and I just returned from a camping trip where we slept in the captain chairs. It was pretty comfortable however we did talk about how we could improve the sleeping quarters. With the captain chairs folded down and the and the bench up with room in the back for gear there is enough room for a full size air matress that I just bought from Wallmart. $20. It is firm enough to support both of us without any other support and very comortable. Haven't tried it out on longer trips yet but so far so good. A cheap and easy set up for a good nights sleep.

all the best!

[RichD]

My girlfriend and I just returned from a camping trip where we slept in the captain chairs. It was pretty comfortable however we did talk about how we could improve the sleeping quarters. With the captain chairs folded down and the and the bench up with room in the back for gear there is enough room for a full size air matress that I just bought from Wallmart. $20. It is firm enough to support both of us without any other support and very comortable. Haven't tried it out on longer trips yet but so far so good. A cheap and easy set up for a good nights sleep.

all the best!

You can make a sleeping platform for the back of an unmodified L300 for less than $50. The cuts are simple and can be done at the store. We made ours so that it flips over and we use it as a cooking platform in rainy weather. There is a lot of storage space underneath the platform as well, and setup for sleeping takes 10 seconds. Note: we deleted the captain's chairs but they do fit under the platform and you could seat two passengers in the back with the platform folded.

I'm going to make a much more permanent and pretty solution soon but this took me less than an hour including driving to the store.

We got a Thermarest from 3 Vets that is 48"x72", so the platform is made to fit. The air mattress is another solution.

[thedjjack]

I made a slide out:

http://www.delica.ca/forum/first-delica ... tml#p61144

[Delilah]

Amazing slide out! I however, could be nominated for Canada's worst handyman so I don't think I'll be tackling that project!

I think on our trip this weekend we will start with an air mattress and then work our way up to plywood.

[Delilah]

PS Green 1 I missed the conversation and now I'm curious what was your idea?

[deLOOKA]

Since the rear bench is not needed for most of the year (winter only), this is what we came up with.

We levelled the capt chairs as flat as possible.

Built the platform to rest on the wheel arches but at the same height of capt chairs. ~ 1.5" higher then wheel arch.

As you can see the platform is not permanent. Center board is removeable.

Air mattress or unroll foamy and home sweet home.

[jessef]

All good points.

One thing I would recommend is to stay away from air mattresses.

In the winter, they suck the warmth from your body and in the summer they are hot.

Good foam and a flat surface is the key to sleeping health and comfortably in the Delica.

[BCDelica]

I agree with Jesse about air mattresses, when I was young they felt great but after the second spinal surgery they suck the heat from my back. No fun.

A sheet of plywood placed over the folded down seats topped with a memory foam bed was a fantastic place to sleep. Worked for our first Delica summer before other sleeping arrangements could be made. Also pick up some Noseeum netting and magnetic strips from a sewing store to create bug covers, and nice air flow, for different windows. We also used a plastic roll up screen hanging, via suction cup hooks, over the open sliding door; great in warm weather when the beds and camp neighbors aren't that bad.

[Delilah]

We went for our first weekend and did rather well with the benches laid flat and an air mattress over top. I have issues with the cold transfer when camping and usually fix it with a thermarest overlay.

One bonus we hadn't thought: we liked being able to deflate the mattress and reversing the middle bench so we could sit opposite each other to play cards.

[deLOOKA]

That's great to hear.

We don't have problems using an air mattress yet. It is alot warmer in the van then in a tent.

Our past long weekend camping trip in Kamloops (snow/hail/rain) gave me the idea of using those ski "hand warmers" as a warming device for the sleeping bags the next time we encounter this type of weather.

-Isaac