My wife and I have spent many nights sleeping in the back of our Xterra at trailheads throughout Colorado. Typically, we’ll drive to the mountains after work on a Friday, then 4x4 up some rugged road in the dark (those new Xterra Off Road lights are going to come in handy) –- sometimes for an hour or more –- to reach some remote trailhead. Then, the next morning, we’ll get an alpine start and tackle a mountain or two.
Staying in a hotel, which can be hours away from our chosen trailhead, simply isn’t an option sometimes. And setting up –- and later tearing down –- a tent can be a pain in the ass.
Sleeping in the back of the X is such a luxury. No weather to worry about; no bears to contend with; no rocks or sticks poking you in the back.
We usually just throw some sleeping pads in the back, unroll our sleeping bags and call it good. But I came up with a better idea. I decided to pimp out my X with a sweet bed. Here’s how I did it:
Step 1: Purchase foam. We looked around town for a foam dealer (fabric/hobby stores, bedding/mattress stores, etc.), but none of their prices or options came close to what we found online. We ended up buying a 3-inch-thick, California-king-sized mattress topper made out of memory foam for about $100.
Here it is all wrapped up, fresh out of the box (one of my dogs became interested right away):
![Image]()
Step 2: Gather tools. Here are the essentials that you’ll need:
![Image]()
Step 3: Remove seat cushions (they diminish headroom):
![Image]()
Here’s the clean slate:
![Image]()
Step 4: Take measurements. I’m an artist, not an engineer, so I kind of ballparked some of these numbers:
![Image]()
Step 5: Unroll the foam and mark it up.
Here’s my other dog finally taking notice of my project and thinking this is the largest dog bed in the world:
![Image]()
Marking it up (again, I don’t have a Type A personality, so it’s not perfect, but it’ll do):
![Image]()
Step 6: Cut (these scissors sucked, so my pincher muscles got a good workout):
![Image]()
And the finished product (Notice how I didn’t make it square, straight up from the wheel wells. That’s because I wanted to give arms, elbows and feet places to go beyond that area between the wheel wells):
![Image]()
Other tips/notes:
Pile up bags/gear/clothes directly behind the front seats to fill in that space and to give your head something to rest on. If you’re tall you can move the front seats forward and/or flip them forward to give you more room. I’m only 5’6” (and my wife is even shorter) so I fit just perfectly without having to move the front seats at all.
For added luxury, cover the foam with a sheet. I’ll probably pick up a bright red silk sheet for mine.
It took me longer to write all this and upload photos than it took me to actually make this bed.
Sweet dreams!
Staying in a hotel, which can be hours away from our chosen trailhead, simply isn’t an option sometimes. And setting up –- and later tearing down –- a tent can be a pain in the ass.
Sleeping in the back of the X is such a luxury. No weather to worry about; no bears to contend with; no rocks or sticks poking you in the back.
We usually just throw some sleeping pads in the back, unroll our sleeping bags and call it good. But I came up with a better idea. I decided to pimp out my X with a sweet bed. Here’s how I did it:
Step 1: Purchase foam. We looked around town for a foam dealer (fabric/hobby stores, bedding/mattress stores, etc.), but none of their prices or options came close to what we found online. We ended up buying a 3-inch-thick, California-king-sized mattress topper made out of memory foam for about $100.
Here it is all wrapped up, fresh out of the box (one of my dogs became interested right away):
Step 2: Gather tools. Here are the essentials that you’ll need:
Step 3: Remove seat cushions (they diminish headroom):
Here’s the clean slate:
Step 4: Take measurements. I’m an artist, not an engineer, so I kind of ballparked some of these numbers:
Step 5: Unroll the foam and mark it up.
Here’s my other dog finally taking notice of my project and thinking this is the largest dog bed in the world:
Marking it up (again, I don’t have a Type A personality, so it’s not perfect, but it’ll do):
Step 6: Cut (these scissors sucked, so my pincher muscles got a good workout):
And the finished product (Notice how I didn’t make it square, straight up from the wheel wells. That’s because I wanted to give arms, elbows and feet places to go beyond that area between the wheel wells):
Other tips/notes:
Pile up bags/gear/clothes directly behind the front seats to fill in that space and to give your head something to rest on. If you’re tall you can move the front seats forward and/or flip them forward to give you more room. I’m only 5’6” (and my wife is even shorter) so I fit just perfectly without having to move the front seats at all.
For added luxury, cover the foam with a sheet. I’ll probably pick up a bright red silk sheet for mine.
It took me longer to write all this and upload photos than it took me to actually make this bed.
Sweet dreams!
