Retrofitting a bed into the back of our Magnum

As Matt reported on the LX forums:

For a few years, my wife and I have been talking about doing a big road trip across the US. Last October, to help move this along, I drove down to Antwerpen MD where I picked up a 2007 Magnum SXT with 50,000 miles and a comfort package. In the year leading up to that, we had narrowed down our road trip vehicles to either a Honda Element or a Dodge Magnum - the Magnum won out because I can fully lay down in the back of a Magnum.

For the last year, we've been driving it as our main car while we finished renovating our house, but the house is done, and now our focus is shifting to the road trip.

I'll probably go into the details about where we're going (it's a five week drive starting & ending in Philadelphia), but the main reason I'm starting a thread here is because we're modifying the crap out of the car for the trip. So yesterday, we removed the rear seats, and today, we discovered that a cheap Ikea bed frame I had fits nearly perfectly into the back of the car. We had to cut a few inches off the length, and repurposed the headboard into support struts.

So, enough jibba-jabba, here are some pics of day 1 of the process.

After we made sure it fit, we cut up the bed frame and added a hinge, for battery & tire access.

I am so happy about how well those Ikea slats fit in the back, with only a little modification to the frame. I was originally planning on something a little less comfortable, but this is a *real bed*, which will certainly make for sweeter dreams on all those Walmart parking lot overnight stops I have planned. And while it's a small space for two, Matt and I have slept on a twin before many times (aw, it reminds me of our early years) - and wedged in a car thus, it's impossible for one of us to accidentally push the other off the edge of the bed.

Plus, while it cuts down on headroom, the higher elevation of the bed gives us more storage room underneath. I think my plan to forego the cartop carrier (and remove the roof rack) might be successful, which would probably save us about $200 in gas thanks to increased streamlining.

Later this week, a 4" foam mattress I picked up for $80 new on eBay should be arriving. I'll cover it in upholstery fabric, throw on some fitted jersey sheets, and it'll be perfect. I'm so excited, I want to start sleeping in it NOW.