Mid-gate Impossible? Best cab sleeping solution for one? - or kookiest idea yet?

Jhodgesatmb

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I'll be in the hotel down the road.
Me too, but there are times when a nap by the side of the road is useful and it is really painful sleeping in a car (or bus, airplane, train, etc.) most of the time.
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Idea Of The Day

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Elon Musk say that the Vault is climate controlled, and that the mid-gate drop might be an option?

Even if it doesn't drop, he did say it was climate controlled, so I'm guessing there will be a lot of truck cap companies making some sort of simple cap that could be a cheap and easy way to sleep.

With a 6 1/2 foot bed, there should be plenty of room.
 
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John Forde

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Elon Musk say that the Vault is climate controlled, and that the mid-gate drop might be an option?

Even if it doesn't drop, he did say it was climate controlled, so I'm guessing there will be a lot of truck cap companies making some sort of simple cap that could be a cheap and easy way to sleep.

With a 6 1/2 foot bed, there should be plenty of room.
No headroom. On a 6" mattress you have 28" above your head and 18" above your feet. Coffin-like.
If the Tonneau fails you are trapped.
One tiny window. --- I have 300 drawings of toppers & campers, some will get built!
 

Idea Of The Day

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No headroom. On a 6" mattress you have 28" above your head and 18" above your feet. Coffin-like.
If the Tonneau fails you are trapped.
One tiny window. --- I have 300 drawings of toppers & campers, some will get built!
I wouldn't even think of sleeping without a cap. Even with lighting, it's definitely out of the question, but I'm sure all the big accessory companies (LEER, A.R.E., BestTop, etc.) will make a perfect top with plenty of headroom for those looking for a low cost way to camp out.
 

Ogre

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Elon Musk say that the Vault is climate controlled, and that the mid-gate drop might be an option?

Even if it doesn't drop, he did say it was climate controlled, so I'm guessing there will be a lot of truck cap companies making some sort of simple cap that could be a cheap and easy way to sleep.

With a 6 1/2 foot bed, there should be plenty of room.
He said "It's a good idea" or something like that. I think he was more confident about the climate control in the vault, but even that sounded a little iffy.
 


Ogre

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No headroom. On a 6" mattress you have 28" above your head and 18" above your feet. Coffin-like.
If the Tonneau fails you are trapped.
One tiny window. --- I have 300 drawings of toppers & campers, some will get built!
Vehicles are required to have an emergency escape latch of some sort on any space big enough for a person (trunk, hatchback, etc). I don't think actual entrapment is a big worry.

It is a coffin though. I'd only camp in the vault with some kind of tent/ camper top, or if there were a midgate and I could have the window above my head.
 

flamaest

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No headroom. On a 6" mattress you have 28" above your head and 18" above your feet. Coffin-like.
If the Tonneau fails you are trapped.
One tiny window. --- I have 300 drawings of toppers & campers, some will get built!
You've got some good point here, but please note:

There are plenty of 4 inch mem-foam beds for campers; heck, you can even get by with a 3-inch one if you are a back sleeper.

Get stuck if cover fails you say? I am 99% sure there will be a safety latch to drop the CT bed gate. Any OEM enclosed space in the vehicle [which could fit a person] requires this by Fed mandate.

Those interior height sizes are plenty. In comparison, the trunk pass through in the model-3 is just about the same height as this, ~25 inches, and plenty of folks sleep in those.
 

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I’d been considering something along these lines also. If the front seats folded all the way flat, you could sleep 2. Particularly if the yoke raised up and retracted to its maximum limit.

If the mid-gate didn’t happen, this would be a nicer camping option than the vault.

Also opens up the possibility of sleeping for 4 Inside the truck.
I like the flat front seats concept. That would work well for a couple
 

Ogre

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I like the flat front seats concept. That would work well for a couple
Until my wife's purse falls on the brake pedal and some in-car activities causes me to slide my foot across the console putting the truck into reverse.
 

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Until my wife's purse falls on the brake pedal and some in-car activities causes me to slide my foot across the console putting the truck into reverse.
I don't want to know what activities put weight on the steering and press the controls in the right sequence.

-Crissa
 


Idea Of The Day

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He said "It's a good idea" or something like that. I think he was more confident about the climate control in the vault, but even that sounded a little iffy.
True. It’s funny how often somebody will ask for something small like that and his one sentence replies leave you wondering the likelihood of seeing them come true. Meanwhile, something that seems much more difficult, such as 4 wheel steering just pop into existence.

I’d love to see a full list of standard and optional features that will be in the final version.
 

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No headroom. On a 6" mattress you have 28" above your head and 18" above your feet. Coffin-like.
If the Tonneau fails you are trapped.
One tiny window. --- I have 300 drawings of toppers & campers, some will get built!
I'm 6' and sleep comfortably in my model 3. Just drop those rear seats and you have more than 6' of room since I can lay flat in there. Coffin-like is good enough for me if it's truly weather proof!
 

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A better solution is tilting the right front seat to max tilt and putting a cot over it with an air mattress. Here are two crude images: one with the bed low and to the rear - off the dash, and the second is higher, more forward and puts the feet on the dash.
CT Max rt frnt seat tilt Bed off dash.jpg
CT Max rt frnt seat tilt bed on dash.jpg
You're right... those are some crude images. ;)
Though you did get the direction of sleep right versus the original.
You'd want your head to the rear for more headroom and so you could more easily get into the driver's seat, instead of having to flip yourself around.
 

Ogre

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You're right... those are some crude images. ;)
Though you did get the direction of sleep right versus the original.
You'd want your head to the rear for more headroom and so you could more easily get into the driver's seat, instead of having to flip yourself around.
Nope.

Unless head room is a big problem, you want head forward so you can stargaze out the front windshield. The rear window is going to be way too dark to stargaze through (tried it in the Model Y).

The more I see this concept, the more I like it.
 
 




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