I have recently purchased a Kia Sedona dirtbag camper. It did not come as a dirtbag camper, I had to put it the work to get it to that point from its original minivan status. So here is how I converted my Kia minivan into a dirtbag camper for all seasons.
Going into this, I knew I wanted to be able to fit my skis underneath the bed platform and still have plenty of storage. I also wanted to avoid taking out the middle row of seats because, after watching a number of YouTube videos on how to, it looked like a royal pain in the ass. Plus, the seats could still be used if needed. So I needed to come up with a hinge of some sort that would allow the platform to shrink down to the size of the trunk should I need to use the middle seats.
1) With a rough plan in mind I ventured off to Home Depot for a piece of 3/4 inch plywood, 2x4, 4x4, and hinges.
2) After flipping back and forth between building a real frame for the platform and just letting it sit on top of Tupperware bins, I went with the Tupperware support system. I went with this option because it would be easiest to beta test and change as needed, whereas building a frame was all or nothing.
3) Having decided to use this much less labour intensive method, all that remained was to measure and cut the plywood into 2 sections, and connect the 2 using hinges. One section is sized to fit over the area of the middle seats, and the other fits over the rest of the back.
4) In order to reduce the amount of splinters received while sleeping, I stapled some old, itchy fleece blankets to the plywood.
5) With the hard part done, all that remained was to throw some soft stuff on top of the platform and hit the road.
It may not be the fanciest camper but, it gets the job done. Here's hoping it has a long and well used life. Long live Bodevan.