Modern SUV's are terrible for sleeping cargo!!!

[SHELK]

At first I was on the hunt for a van for weekend expeditions, vacation living but also for daily driver in the city. I finally decided they were too big for everyday use in a city. Since this is a 5 year practice run for my actual living in a vehicle time. 

My next search switched to looking for a SUV with seats that fold flat and six feet length in back so it can be used as a sleeper and traveling hotel. I can't believe the terrible designs. 
The Chevy Tahoe is huge but with the stupid tumble fwd seats you have only 5 feet of length in the back. The Ford Expeditions are massive but the second row seats are 4 inches higher then the flat back cargo area. Honda Pilot is too short in back to sleep???? Dang!!!! 

So them I found a few that could work, but they have the absolute worst engine and reliability reviews by far. The enclave is terrible. The Jeep Grand Cherokees are bad. 

I am really striking out. 5 months of searching and not finding my perfect match. 

Any suggestions?????!?!

Daily driver but also a vacation weekender I can live for short periods in????

 

[jimindenver]

I have a Expedition. The second row first folds down and in a second step drops level with the third row.

 

[SHELK]

Wonder if the year I saw was different?

Love that rig but second row doesn't go flat.

Hmmmmm 2007? Is there a trick to dropping them?

There is a great deal in town but I passed due to seats.

 

[SHELK]

Maybe both me and the guy that had it have now idea how to do that. We tried for 15 minutes before I left.

That would rule. Thanks!!!

 

[gargoyle]

Plenty of ways to make an SUV a rolling home.
The step seat- Build a box or two the same height as the folded seat and span the gap with a sized-sheet of plywood Add a mattress.

Folding down the front seat also adds room as far as length goes. My dearly departed Pontiac Vibe was a good example. With both front and rear seat folded, it was 8 feet IIRC from dash to hatch. Great MPG too. I had a self-inflatable camping pad that worked well.
I had to move some things around to go from driving mode to sleeper mode, but that's pretty normal in almost any multi tasking vehicle. Slide the cooler and clothes bag around, fold down seats, arrange pad, put up window shades. I had some screens for the windows and a mini 12v fan. On a few sweltering nights, I'd run the car all night with the AC on.

A friend has a Jetta and a custom sized piece of plywood that forms his bed. Pop the trunk, fold down the split rear seat, slide the plywood into place add the pad .Done.

Removing a seat or two is also an option.
Point is, you can make almost any car a camper, just gotta think out of the box sometimes.

 

[SHELK]

Okay that's a great point. Thank you!!!!

 

[MrNoodly]

Would your daily driving use require back seats? If not, remove them.

 

[Wabbit]

I have seen a lot of very nice inexpensive short box 70-80 vans lately...every time I see one I think how great it would be for a one man show.

 

[SHELK]

I have seen a lot of very nice inexpensive short box 70-80 vans lately...every time I see one I think how great it would be for a one man show.

I am kinda afraid of a van that old, not too mechanical so i prefer a 2000 or newer. 

I actually really like the astro vans but most of the ones i saw were kinda junky and old with tons of issues... the people in our area sell the good ones 2002 - 2005 with low miles for WAY over blue book... $7000 for a 2005 astro van with 120000 miles? No thanks. Seattle cars are almost all 20% over blue book or higher... it's a messed up market.

I have seen and driven a total of about 18 used vehicles. The only one i wanted to buy i was short a few hundred bucks and the guy wouldn't budge, by the time i had the money he sold it. That was a dodge ram van 2001 conversion with super low miles in really awesome shape... i missed the boat on that one!! It was sweet! 

I loved the Chevy Tahoe i drove but the tape measure killed them for me... Seats designed so strange and taking the seats out would work i guess but that seems like a hassle. Really cool vehicle tho! 
I don't always need extra passengers but would prefer to have the option of them at times. The Suburbans are super cool but in the city parking would be a logistical nightmare. Plus they are really pricey!

Still need to look at the Dodge Durango's, and the Nissan Armada... maybe they could work?

Seems like every weekend i am testing a few rigs looking for the one, it's been 5 months now! 

I will find it, i guess the old fall back is a mini van but dang they are ugly. 

Thanks so much to all of you who have suggestions! You guys and gals rock! 

 

[LilNomad]

I have a older Suburban 2500 which I have seen some convert to living space (youtube). I plan on keeping my trailer as the homebase but setting up the Suburban for overnite/day trips. Ive already removed the 3rd row seat.
LilNomad

 

[sephson]

I can understand the frustration of starting with a less than ideal platform for your road trip vehicle. I faced that dilemma myself two years ago when I was trying to find a way to actually do some traveling without having to break the bank by staying in hotels and eating out all the time. I also could not afford to purchase another vehicle, but I already had a good daily driver. I came up with a setup that allowed me to quickly convert my Kia Soul from Daily Driver to Roadtripper. It took a bit of time and effort to figure out how to do it, plus I had to work the rust off my carpentry skills. While still a less than ideal roadtripper and in many ways still a work in progress, on the whole I'm happy with the end results.

Here's my build thread. Have a look, you just may find some inspiration.

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-My-Future-Road-Tripper

You also have one advantage that I did not. You're able to search for a vehicle that comes closer to your ideal. I had to make do with what I had. I think a shift in your approach to your vehicle shopping and research would serve you well. Instead seeing how a given vehicle is less than ideal for your purposes, try thinking about how you can alter the vehicle to bring it closer to your ideal.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

If you are traveling alone, why do you need the front passenger seat?

I traveled and camped in a Subaru Forester for 3 years.  I removed  the right front seat, built up the space with appropriately sized plastic bins, folded down the rear seats, added a 3" foam mattress, and could stretch out when lying down (very important to me).  Plenty of room for me and the beagle on a 6 week trip.

If I were to do it again I would remove the rear seats and replace with plastic bins for more storage.

 -- Spiff

 

[SHELK]

I keep reading that the Ford Explorer works. People camp in them.
Smaller then the Expedition but seats fold flat. 6 feet length clearance.

Also the Expedition seats according to the manual does fold flat.
Need to look deeper into that.

Okay good. Finally might make this happen!!!!

Thanks guys!!!

 

[OutdoorFT]

For what its worth, Ive spent many nights (as a younger teen) in the back of my moms old 97 explorer. Not sure if 97 is modern or not. Im a truck guy.

 

[DuneElliot]

I pulled the third row of seats out of my 2003 Yukon and then the second row folds flat. I remove the head rests and can fit a full length twin mattress in there so it can be done with the right vehicle.

 

[jimindenver]

Being at the RTR makes me appreciate the Expedition even more now. The way in is mile after mile of bad road and I didn't understand why people were driving on the shoulder. Then it occurred to me that I couldn't feel the bad road in a Expedition.

 

[GotSmart]

Being at the RTR makes me appreciate the Expedition even more now. The way in is mile after mile of bad road and I didn't understand why people were driving on the shoulder. Then it occurred to me that I couldn't feel the bad road in a Expedition.

It says something when no road is better than the paved road.

 

[Markw]

There are a couple of YouTube videos of folks living in a Prius and from the looks of it...it isn't a altogether bad setup. Could easily serve as a daily driver and sleeping in it doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

[jimindenver]

One thought I had when planning to pack up was to pull the seats in the Expedition, even the passenger seat. That's a lot of cargo space and weight. As it is I have way too much stuff now but it could have been a lot of room under a platform where the back seats use to be.

 

[SHELK]

I was wrong! I found my ride! A FORD FLEX!

It's too small for some perhaps but honestly way better then almost all the SUV's i saw... like a modern Limo meets Big Mini Cooper or something. 17 feet long... love it~!

Anyhow so stoked... 2nd row folds forward into the front seat in what i call Limo Mode for the perfect Laptop little living room space with third row seats up... lots of storage in back and front. Then the seats shift and can fold totally flat very quick and easily with about 7 1/2 feet of clearance of perfect sleeping space in back but the front seat folds flat for storage and the leg space in front of the 2nd row opens up for storage. It has 4 different 12V plugs, but I plan to build a battery bank (need to make a plan for that) so that i can get a 12V Fan, bring my Laptop, cell phone, whatever else i need for comfort.

Can't wait to start weekending soon! Got reflectix cut for all the windows today, and some LED lights... Oh and it drives like a dream! Love this rig~ highly recommend it as a livable Wagon! (not that i plan to live in it full time, but i will be spending long weekends in it for sure).