While lots of Jeepers have spent a night or two in their Jeep in varying degrees of comfort, thought I'd offer what I worked out.

I cut out a platform from 1/4" plywood that covers the area just behind the rear seats and the cargo area when the seats are down, and covered that with indoor/outdoor carpet (picture, left side).

I purchased an air mattress made by Coleman that is specifically made for SUVs: Coleman Packable SUV Quickbed. It has 2 chambers; the main chamber is exactly 5' long, and the second forms a pillow of not quite 1'.

As you can see from the picture (right side), the main chamber fits the back of the JKU perfectly. If you move the front seats foward, the pillow section fills in a bit more length.

I'm just under 6' tall, and I can sleep on a slight diagonal across the mattress very nicely. I just got back from an 11 day 3300 mile trip across Nevada, Idaho, Montana and back to California, and slept in the back every night. This was particularly appreciated in the north, where man is considered food by some of the indigenous bear population.

The down-side is that you have to drag everything out of the JKU to set up your bed, but I prefer the quiet, bug-free sleeping environment of my JKU compared to a tent.

 

That's awesome I didn't know Coleman made such a thing. I'm about 6' 3 " tall do you think I'd be able to sleep on that in the back of my JKU with my girlfriend? We are planning on driving cross country to Colorado next month and wanted to camp in the back instead of pay for a hotel.

 

Thats just great!

 

Depends on how tall your girlfriend is and how long you want to keep her (I'm sure you know what I mean).

Haven't tried a second person in the back as my wife has long since lost the desire to camp and I didn't catch the eye of any stray females during my trip.

At your height, you might want to try it out for a night or two and if it doesn't work, you'd be wise to bring along a tent just in case.

 

Very good, thank you much!! We'd only be sleeping one night while on our way there, my aunt lives in Colorado so we'll be lucky enough to stay there for free. What did you use to air it up each night?

 

Me and my dad fit good but he is 5'6 and im 5'7" so we fit pretty good but we used the pillow looking thing off the chairs that sit next to the pool

 

Careful when shutting the tailgate. I ruined one of those SUV mattresses the first day out when it got caught in the latch. I was using it without a platform though. I've since moved up to a RTT.

 

Coleman would be delighted to sell you a pump, either 12 v or battery operated (Coleman 4D Universal Quick Pump).
I don't recommend lungs, except to finish off the final few lbs of pressure.

You can buy both the mattress and pump from that big retailer that starts with the letter "A"

 

I had a cold trip a couple of weeks ago that turned out to be not very cold. Slept in the back, surprisingly comfy. So much so that I'd definitely do the same when away by myself for a single night. With the passenger seat forward and back tilted forward the rear seat headrest will go flat giving you another six or so inches of space. I stacked up two swing seat pads which were the perfect width, staggered them so one started at the rear seat hinge and folded the end over to make a pillow. The second went on top to give a nice flat surface. Im about 6'2


NB RHD Jeep
The little "shelf" below the rear hardtop window is very useful for your watch, a torch etc when in bed.
I also cracked the rear window half an inch and used some fabric to stop the draft.

 

I just completed a cross country trip and slept in the jeep about 80% of the time on a 4" futon mattress a bit heavier than a blowup or lounge chair cushions but comfy as hell. I cut some screen material and wedged it in between the window rails on the rear windows when i needed air and no mosquitoes. I'm only 5'-'8" and i have had a lady friend stay with me from time to time. To be honest i sleep better in the jeep than i do most places