Over the past few months, I have been converting the back of my truck into a living area. In foreseeing the need to eventually move out of the office, this seemed like a natural progression for my lifestyle desires. After all, office living does not last forever.

Having spent many wilderness vacations living out of the back of my open-air pickup bed, I had a decent sense for what I was looking for. There were two initial things that topped the list: 1) A simple, secure sleeping space and, 2) Something covert that would allow me to park anywhere and not be noticed. Since I’d been sleeping under the stars–or beneath giant tarp–the first order of business would be to create a more permanent shelter back there. Although I will say that for the many times I slept under that tarp, no one was crazy enough to check and see if anyone was crazy enough to be sleeping under there!

Warm & cozy up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit!

Clearly I needed a camper shell. Since I live in a major metropolitan area, finding a compatible, matching shell wasn’t too difficult. A few days of searching on Craigslist, a day trip down to San Diego and a few hundred dollars later, and there I was with my shell.

The beginning of an era.

At first, I tested my budding truck-home out in the office parking lot with a simple backpacking air mattress and a sleeping bag. This was not ideal, but it worked. I slept just as well, if not better, than I had been sleeping in the office. What didn’t work so well in doing so was being exposed by the non-tinted windows. After cutting up my old tarp into window-shaped pieces (rest in peace, fearsome tarp) and taping it to the window trim, I found myself struggling to keep the poor man’s window treatment in place throughout the night. Even when it was up, plastic tarp hardly makes the place feel like home. It was evident I’d need a better solution: Velcro and felt.

I purchased a few yards of felt and cut four pieces into window-sized portions. Then, I affixed Velcro to each section of felt and stuck them to the inside of the shell. The result has been flawless. Once I figured out that sewing the felt into the fabric of the shell was more effective than an array of adhesives, I had the best privacy imaginable. Not only does the felt block out most light and peering passersby, the dark color makes it appear as if my windows are just darkly tinted. To this day, it’s the most valuable feature on the truck.

Limousine tint? Nope, that’s for sissies.

I keep the driver’s side felt down at all times, as it never interferes with visibility. From time to time, I roll the passenger side up, either to access a beautiful view while parked or to see the blindspot in traffic. The front-most window felt remains rolled up at all times, unless I’m physically in the back. And the rear-most window felt stretches its full length to velcro to the ceiling fabric, allowing me to see out of the back while I drive. If I’m ever leaving the truck somewhere for an extended period of time, I’ll lower that, too. Just to deter opportunist thieves who might see some goodies inside.

This flap flips up and sticks to the ceiling. It’s pretty awesome.

After solving my two initial problems by creating a secure, covert sleeping space, I started to address the need to introduce comfort and aesthetics. My top priority was a bed. But before I could find a proper mattress, I’d need to design and assemble wooden surfaces inside the shell for the eventual storage and workspace. This was the fun part. I decided to conceive of grand ideas. A folding cabinet, a place for food and a water jug, a refrigerator. Even a bookcase.

I’d have to start by building a foundation. Thanks to some help from a friend, I was given access to a woodshop and got to work bringing my ideas to life. The first step was soon complete: A wooden floor, with elevated shelving above the wheel wells.

Diagonally shot photography add drama to otherwise dull pictures.

I now had a platform to store my keys, wallet, and phone as I slept. I also had the dimensions ready for my bed–the exact width of a twin mattress. I immediately purchased a 3-inch thick memory foam mattress. This proved to be a bit too thin for my extroverted hip bone. Because I wanted to ensure I could still sit up straight in the back, I figured I only had a couple more inches to spare. So I went to a local foam store (they even have two branches in L.A.!) and purchased a two-inch thick sheet of regular foam. When the clerk asked me what I’d be doing with it, I told him I was making a crash pad for road trips. He nodded and said a lot of people who live in their cars buy that exact sheet of foam. “You don’t look like you live in your car though,” he said. “Mostly, those guys just smell real bad.”

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, homie.

After cutting a few inches off the ends of both foam pads, I placed the memory foam on top, covered them with a bed spread and voila! New bed! I can’t describe how restful that first night on the mattress was. That’s when I started to prefer sleeping in the truck to sleeping in the office. Pure luxury!

The construction in the back was starting to come along, too. I removed the rear window to the truck, leaving only the folding window of the camper shell. This allowed me to crawl in and out of the back without going outside. I’d improve this later, but at first it added piece of mind. The fire marshal would be proud.

Heaven in a truck bed. Also note the slide locks installed on the inside tailgate. This is because the outside tailgate lock doesn’t lock, requiring some creativity to secure the interior.

I also added a second level to the shelving above the wheel wells. This meant I could still see out of the back, but now I had a chest-level (when seated) platform for cooking and working.

Notice the passenger-side felt folded up for visibility.

My truck was beginning to feel like a home. But there was still a long way to go to complete the project. From here I’d began to think of ideas for food storage, lighting, power sources, and ventilation. With a road trip planned for late March, I had my work cut out for me.

That’s it for “part I”. Click here for the second half!

– T.O.H.