2015 Dodge Challenger Conversoin

[estedrawn]

Greetings everyone, 
    I am planning on driving across country in a few months and will be living in a new city. I have started on a conversion of my stock 2015 black dodge challenger RT into a mini camper. 
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My goal is to only make changes to the challenger which will be 100% reversible. This is intended to be a temporary living situation for about three months. After that I want to be able to return the car to stock. Also, I have the Mopar protection plan so I don't want to modify the car in any way which might void the warranty. I have thought up some modifications I things I want to make: 

1: Remove upper and lower rear seats
2: Install a flat sleeping platform extending into trunk, preferably one with storage underneath in the place of where the cushions were. 
3: Install some kind of removable window black out/ privacy shades. 
4: Install some kind of curtain/ divider between front cabin area and read cabin area. 
5: Create a kind of mosquito screen for the windows and sun roof. 
6: Protect interior from damage from excessive wear and tear/ sweat and dust and grime build up. 
7: Install additional power options such as dual battery and solar charging
8: Install trailer hitch for possible small trailer towing/ cargo carrier / hitch step / bike rack
9: Install some kind of storage system to keep my things organized and at hand

I will be living mostly in a city, so this is going to be a form of stealth urban camping. I recognize that is not allowed in all jurisdictions. In my area it is legal to sleep in your car. Check your local laws before attempting this. [/font]

 

[estedrawn]

Here is a tour of my car prior to any modifications being made: 



[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I removed the rear seats today, boy was it easy. No damage, and completely reversible. I made some crude measurements in with a tape measure and will post below in case anyone finds it helpful. So in the attached pictures, the lower half is the drawing I made of the area I measured, units are in inches. The upper half is the picture of the area measured. I did the lower seat pan from a top view, the side profile of the edge of the seat pan. I hope that makes sense, look at the pictures and it should be a bit more clear. So the next step is to start designing the bed platform, once I draw up some designs I'll upload them here. I am thinking 1/2" plywood covered in cheap office carpet[/font]



Here a vid showing how much space there is once the seats are removed. 

 

[ZoNiE]

Ummm... We're talking about a coupe, here, right? "The" Dodge Challenger? Should be interesting...

 

[GotSmart]

That only gives you 4 feet in length to sleep in. You would be better reclining in the passenger seat.

 

[cyndi]

Many of us are on a limited data budget and don't watch videos. Pictures are always appreciated

 

[estedrawn]

Many of us are on a limited data budget and don't watch videos. Pictures are always appreciated

 

[rvpopeye]

^^^^^^^^^ X2

 

[TMG51]

Yeah, for a new car with a warranty and a period of a few months I'd sleep reclined in the front passenger seat. However I am anxiously awaiting pictures of your different solution!

 

[estedrawn]

Many of us are on a limited data budget and don't watch videos. Pictures are always appreciated

Here are some pictures to reflect what was in the videos:
There is a outside view of the original stock car. I am hoping to keep the car looking stock from the outside. You can tell that the windows are already quite tinted to start with I believe that this is an advantage with respect to stealth parking. I will be taking this car on some long road trips, but I also plan on doing a lot of stealth urban camping. Not only will it be harder to see into the car, but very dark windows do not look out of place on this car at all.
When the seats are all stacked up outside the car you can see how much space they take up, the seats are large and squishy, they do fold mostly flat, opening into the trunk, but I figured if they are just big cushions then they are wasted space. I also don't want to damage the seats by having them folded for too long. 
As you can see the trunk space is ample. The challengers competitors, the camaro, and the mustang, have very little trunks space and very little rear seat space. An adult man can sit comfortably in the back seats with reasonable leg room, and impressive head room, the same can not be said of any other sporty coupe that is similar in class and function to the challenger. 
On the inside you can see that with the seats removed there is a large amount of space liberated. in the next post I'll put dimensions of the relevant spaces.

 

[GCAdventurer]

I once went on a road trip through northern Ontario in a lowered souped up 2000 Civic SiR, took a sleeping bag and pillow and off I went. After the first leg of the journey, pulled off into a wooded area, looked at the back seat for a couple minutes...pondered...and hoped into the passenger seat for a sleep. Went that route for 4 nights, stretched right out and not cramped at all. Your back area is a bit larger, but I have to agree with TMG51 on this one.
Regardless, I am still curious and want to see your build pics!
BTW, MOPAR OR NO CAR!

 

[estedrawn]

Here are the crude measurements of the empty space that was left after removing the rear seats: each attachment shows the space I was measuring and below it shows the measurement s I drew. I made them with a tape measure. I hope it makes sense. I also added a picture showing the plywood I purchased for this project. The plywood is 39"x50". That is a large storage area with the seats removed. i could have fit a piece of wood at least 60 inches i think, if not 70". I plan to design the sleeping platform using cardboard first, then cut it out of the plywood. It will have hinges to access a lower storage space. 

 

[LeeRevell]

I have slept in two cars, back in my military days.
Late '70s, I slept a night in the back seat of my '71 Dodge Polara (HUGE car!).
Early '80s I slept a night in the driver's seat of my two-seater '68 AMC AMX. It's seats could lay down flat, and the fastback rear window gave me a "moonroof"! Hehe.
Not bad for a big guy standing 6'4".
But three months would be tough.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

My brother did a cross country road trip in a 2 door civic. He took out the rear seats like you and also removed the front seat and i cut and made him a platform that went from the trunk to the front for a bed. I put a hatch in it where it went over the rear seats and front seat for storage underneath. He said it was one of his most enjoyable trips. I wish I took photos, it was years before I even knew of this website.

Nice car by the way, I would have a lot of fun crossing the country in that, a car like that would be a lot of fun on a lot of the wide open roads out West and especially in the deserts of the South West.

 

[GotSmart]

I spent a week sleeping in the front seat of a retired Illinois State Patrol Caprice.  

Every morning I would wake up craving coffee and donuts! 

 

[estedrawn]

Hello, 
 I have an update. I took that big piece of plywood I was talking about and I cut it up into pieces. I started by using some black foam board (or can use cardboard) and made templates for my plywood pieces. Then I Used a circular saw to cut out the rough shapes, then I used a scroll saw to cut out the little shapes to fit the contours. 
YES! you too can afford power tools! 
This is my circular saw: 
http://www.harborfreight.com/7-14-in-10-amp-circular-saw-69079.html
This is my drill:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-impact-drill-94436.html
This is my scroll saw: 
http://www.harborfreight.com/16-in-variable-speed-scroll-saw-62519.html

I bought those a few years ago and they provide plenty of use for a hobbyist like myself. 

The pictures show the black foam board shapes on the plywood. Be sure to use your safety gear! respiratory ear and eye protection is cheap and important. 

Also in the pictures you can see a view from the trunk looking into the cabin, with the platform set up. At this stage the platform is not screwed into place i just set it up as a mock up to see if it would fit. 

You can see I designed it with hinges and two separate doors opening downward. More to come on the platform for sure, Ill show more about the metal supports and the hinges and such. My goal is to cover them with cheap $0.38/sqft grey carpet.

 

[Headache]

YES! you too can afford power tools!

I am also a commonsewer of the fine tools at HF!  Interestingly enough, many of my tools from them are still alive!  Maybe it's because most of them are used with a light touch.

Be cautious of the darkness of your window tint.  Just a CYA public service announcement.  States can vary a bit and what's legal in one may get you a ticket in another.  They used to ignore all but the darkest but as times grow more angry and dangerous I'm seeing less sympathy from LEOs.

http://www.tintcenter.com/laws/

 

[LeeRevell]

I am also a commonsewer of the fine tools at HF!  Interestingly enough, many of my tools from them are still alive!  Maybe it's because most of them are used with a light touch.

Be cautious of the darkness of your window tint.  Just a CYA public service announcement.  States can vary a bit and what's legal in one may get you a ticket in another.  They used to ignore all but the darkest but as times grow more angry and dangerous I'm seeing less sympathy from LEOs.

http://www.tintcenter.com/laws/

You are very right! Back in my Navy Daze, early '80s, it cost me plenty to make my fully legal Florida Firebird Virginia-compliant. Those folks were crazy! I did get a couple really ludicrous "offences" signed off by the Virginia State Trooper, as even he said the state inspector went too far. Check the state you will have to get inspected in before you commit.

 

[estedrawn]

painted sleeping platform. 
As you can see the sleeping platform has now been fitted together with sturdy hinges. I painted it all black as a start but plan on using 3m spray adhesive to attach Walmart interior trunk liner cloth. To paint it I just used a 1$ can of glossy spray paint from home depot. I wouldn't use matte paint if i were you, it can tend to make dust!

 

[estedrawn]

As you can see the sleeping platform is raised off the seat pan enough to leave a good amount of storage space below. In order to give an idea of how much space is down there  but a small backpack, and a large laptop case and a rubber chicken. As you can see there are multiple steel beams providing support for the sleeping platform. These are actually 24" galvanized steel wardrobe hanger bars. 
https://www.amazon.com/Box-King-BAR24-Wardrobe-Hanger/dp/B014PCT8MY

I purchased mine from Goodwill for 50 cents each. I drilled holes to fit them over the factory bolt mounts for the original seat hinges, and I screwed them to the plywood.

 

[Happy Camper]

No rubber chicken? No trip! Glad you made room for yours...