SLEEPING in a JT

[AstroZombie]

this is an oddly intriguing thread LOL

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[AstroZombie]

You have to take the head rests off.
I used a foam wedge and square to fill in the seat area.

That pillow tho!!!

 

[AstroZombie]

STEALTH... as in a market parking lot... or on a side road... WAITING FOR THE TIDE TO CHANGE ? <which was why I was going to buy a 4 runner...but I love the Gladiator>

We had a 2021 4-Runner limited. It was nice but i hated it. The gladiator drives way better IMO. The 4-Runner was a fulltime 4x4 too and you could just feel the rolling resistance. Really, i hated it. Everytime we drove anywhere it just seemed to struggle.

 

[Lost1wing]

I need to go *stealth* -- thank you for suggestion.

That kind of "fishing trip"!

 

[Labswine]

Haven't had to in a JT but, this time of year, temps down in the single digits, back in early '14, had to in an '03 WJ. Seats were very comfy but I froze my tuckus off, even with a blanket and bundled up like Nanook of the North. I had nearly zero dollars in my bank account, and less than 1/4 of a tank of gas so I'd idle for about 5 or so minutes to get some heat then shut off for an hour until I was uncontrollably shivering then some heat again.

Reason? Left a total biotch of a wife, left her finally, and yes, the man's moving out luggage...Hefty trash bags for clothes and anything else I could grab...and anything else I could fit in the back with the seats down. Eventually, I went to where I was working at the time and spend the next night at my desk, sleeping in my less than comfy office chair. Wasn't a good time for me

 

[BlackRuby23]

This is all fine and dandy until your stomach does an angry gurgle at 3 am....

 

[g8tor2020]

This is all fine and dandy until your stomach does an angry gurgle at 3 am....

I've had this happen to me once while camping wasn't pretty.

 

[smuckers]

When I started sleeping in the cab I just remove the passenger front seat and rear under seat storage. Then folded up the rear seat and put down a 2” foam sleeping pad. With your feet under the dash I had enough room to sleep. Also, I liked that I could sit in the backseat and stretch out my legs and work on my laptop. My only criticism is you don’t have room to bend your knees if you are a side sleeper.

When you removed the front seat, did you have to do anything special with the wires? Did any sensors go off like the airbag or seatbelt?

 

[Zachanadandy]

Inside the Jeep always seemed such a massive advantage over any other sleeping arrangement. If you’re a solo camper and under 6’1” or so, you should be able to sleep front to back inside the JT.

I don’t know what the percentage of bad nights in a tent I’ve had but it’s probably up around 50%. Wind, rain, uneven ground, visits from strangers, visits from other vehicles, animals. all these issues are mostly resolved being inside the vehicle.

inside the jeep you can chill with built in lights, usb power, fire up the car heater before bed, fire up again in the morning.

I think you need a better tent setup. I've never had a good night's sleep in a vehicle as small as a gladiator interior. I've had hundreds of great nights sleep in a tent. Rain isn't an issue in a quality tent. Uneven ground is poor location choice. Visits from strangers? Are you camping in downtown San Francisco? Other vehicles headlights aren't an issue if you're smart about tent placement and/or where you park your vehicle (also works as a wind block). Don't bring food in your tent and you'll likely never have a visit from animals. If I'm trying to catch a nap between double shifts I'll fold the seat back. If I need to spend an entire night in a city I'll get a hotel. If I was a pilot car driver basically living in my vehicle it just wouldn't be a gladiator or at the very least there'd be a roof top tent. There are some interesting ideas in this thread but in the cab is the last place I'd be building a sleeping quarters. The freedom panel hammock looks like the least comfortable idea of them all. Sport bar digging into your neck, other sport bar digging into the back of your knees, no support at all for your lower legs. It doesn't look comfortable enough to last through a meteor shower let alone trying to sleep on it all night. I'd rather throw a sleeping bag in the bed.

 

[SaiintNick]

Inside the Jeep always seemed such a massive advantage over any other sleeping arrangement. If you’re a solo camper and under 6’1” or so, you should be able to sleep front to back inside the JT.

I don’t know what the percentage of bad nights in a tent I’ve had but it’s probably up around 50%. Wind, rain, uneven ground, visits from strangers, visits from other vehicles, animals. all these issues are mostly resolved being inside the vehicle.

inside the jeep you can chill with built in lights, usb power, fire up the car heater before bed, fire up again in the morning.

I had the perfect setup for my Wrangler. The Jeep crapped out on me in Vegas and it was going to be weeks before they could get the part so I said show me Mojaves.

Since the Gladiator can't compare with the Wrangler as far as sleeping inside and all the camper set-ups are in the 5 figure price range, I was determined to find a solution. This is what I came up with. I use a 42"L x 26"W board and my dry goods camping box as a base. Then I use two 2"x4"x4" blocks to level out the board by the headrest. For the bed I use two 35"L X 22"W dog beds which are actually more comfortable than I thought. My dog never used them so they fit perfectly. I'm 6'1", but never sleep straight and if I do I can sleep diagonally and fit fully stretched. I've always liked the simplicity of sleeping inside. Being able to control the temp. I also have window vents from my Wrangler for air flow.

I have very little headroom which sucks, but thats one of the many things I lost when I went from a Wrangler to a Gladiator. I wouldn't camp multiple days like this, but I would do a night or two maybe especially on long trips where I don't want to pay for a hotel. My dog sleeps on the floor on the driver side. It's the best option for sleeping inside that I could figure out and since I see the Gladiator as a short term vehicle there is no reason to take out a mortgage on a better solution.

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