[net.misc] Wanted: Help with carpetting a truck bed!

jrh (04/08/83)

I've got a pickup (Toyota) with a camper shell on the back and I would
like to make the back of it a more comfortable place to ride, sleep, etc.
I have a piece of old carpetting thrown back there but it's not very 
comfortable and gets wet if I drive in a hard rain. I would like to lay
some carpetting on a piece of plywood or something but I'm not
sure how to go about it. So, I turn do you, net.readers, and ask you:

		1. Has anyone out there had any experience in doing
		   such a thing? If so, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

		2. What kind of carpetting should I use? How 
		   about that astroturf stuff? I need something
		   durable and waterproof.

		3. Should I put a padding under the carpetting?
		   If so, what kind?

		4. Should I use plywood or masonite or particleboard or 
                   what? 

		5. How should I attach the carpetting to the plywood,
		   and the plywood to the bed? I would like to be able
		   to remove this installation easily in case I need
		   to use the truck for something else.

		6. Could anyone suggest a different approach that
		   I might take.

Remember, I want something comfortable, durable, and removeable.

				Anxiously awaiting replies,
				     J.R. Holliday
				     inuxd!jrh

amyh (04/12/83)

About making your truck bed a more comfortable place to ride ...
I suggest you eliminate the water leaks if at all possible.  With a
shell on the back of our light-truck, we add a full-length, full-width
(between wheel wells) pad of 2" foam.  On top of the foam, we throw a
heavy (four-pound) down sleeping bag for warmth and additional padding.  
Between them, the foam pad and the down bag do a pretty good job of
evening out the temperature; otherwise it gets pretty hot over the
catalytic converter.
At the end of the truck bed (front end by personal preference), we add two
bolsters whose width totals the width of the bed, and whose cross-section
looks like
		   _____
		  /    |
		 /     |
		/______|

These were obtained from a foam rubber supply - I covered them in a washable
sturdy fabric.  They provide a backrest if the rider(s) wants to sit up.


This may give you some ideas.  During "off-season" we put the foam pad and
bolsters on a day-bed in the family room (foam goes under the regular
mattress).

A Heidner
{microsoft|lbl-csam|uw-beaver}!fluke!amyh