New Car Addition to the Bumblebee Van Family

Meet Knight Rider - the new newest adventure.

Knight Rider and the Bumblebee

Year: 2016

Make: Subaru

Model: Forester

Features: new, backup camera, that's about it.

Our family has grown in size again! Meet our new Subaru Forester, black in color and named Knight Rider. Although the Knight Rider is no comparison to the Bumblebee in size, space and livability, she is just as epic and many an adventure is planned for the "mini-van." Now, even though we are fond of camping and pulling out one of our many tents, we decided to build a platform for the Knight Rider to make long term adventures (like an upcoming cross-country road trip) more comfortable in all weather and conditions! 

Four boxes in place

After a lot of research, we decided on a minimal frame of 3/4" plywood to save on space and weight. There are four total boxes, two identical ones for the rear and two for the front. Each box is 3 sided, with 2x2s supporting side connections and a 1x2 completing the box for the lid. *See photo for clarity. The two back boxes rest on an all-weather cargo mat and are longer and taller to account for a slight seat bump up in the two front boxes so that the bed platform is even. When all four boxes are in the car, bolts hold them together to keep from shifting. The size of the boxes are custom to the car and the height was determined by the tallest object I'd pack - a cooler.

Boxes with fabric covered lids

The platform is a made from the four lids of the four boxes. We used cardboard to create patterns for each lid, extending the lid to fit the shape of the car. The plywood was then lined with black automotive headliner and thin (~1in) strips of plywood were attached the bottom of each lid to create a lip to keep it in place on the box. Check out the Bumblebee March update page to see how we covered plywood with automotive fabric headlining. We decided to keep the lids unattached and to make four total boxes for the versatility. We can easily take off one lid at a time to access the gear I have stowed in each box and leave just two boxes set up for a single bed versus the four for a double.

Headpieces for bed extension

The length of the platform with the front seats pushed all the way back (room for long legs!) is approximately 70" long. We are 5'9" and 6'2" so we moved the front seats all the way forward and in the upright position for extra space. Seeing we are using 3" foam pads ($25 each at Home Depot!) for sleeping on, we needed a way to support our heads with the extra space. We measured out two small rectangles of plywood and attached them to the front lids with hinges. *Shown in the picture. The headpieces can be folded back onto the lids when driving and laid forward, resting on the seat backs for sleeping. 

Complete with just one cushion

And, with that, the cargo boxes and platform are finished!! It's a really simple design and crude in some ways, but it's portable, easy to handle with one person, maximizes storage space and weighs little. The finishing touches are two covered pads to sleep on and curtains for all the windows! As mentioned before, the pads are 3" thick multipurpose foam (not the best for the back, but better than a backpacking pad!) and we covered them by cutting up a king size flannel sheet and creating two fitted sheets with elastic. The curtains were super easy. We bought a single Eclipse light-blocking curtain panel and undid all the stitching to maximize fabric. We had 7 sevens to cover - two front, two back, two tiny cargo and one back. The front and back ones have elastic rings at the top and bottom to hook around the door frame holding them in place. The cargo and back curtains are attached with suction cups - which are really cheap and work extremely well. If we had a redo, we'd probably make them all with suction cups! You know those super cheaply built and slightly expensive dash window shades? Buy a roll of Reflectix and make your own! We had some leftover from the van build so we cut it to fit our front dash windows and it keeps the car beyond-belief cool.
Feel free to comment with any questions! Here's to your next adventure!

Cheers to your next adventure!