DIY Building a Camper in a Land Cruiser! - pt. 01 - The Baseplate

This is the beginning of a new interior buildout in our 1993 Toyota HDJ80 (80 series) Land Cruiser. After installing the Campteq pop-top conversion, the interior was in need of a redesign:
First step is making sure we have a strong and level foundation to build everything onto. I had a spare sheet of 3/4in prefinished birch plywood from a previous build which would work perfectly. The baseplate needed to have a seam, so in order to make the seam strong and ‘seamless’, made and recessed a 1/4in aluminum plate. Im very happy with how this all turned out and it feels good to have a strong foundation for the build moving forward.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Great work! Don't forget some locktite on the counter sunk screws in the aluminum joiner plate. My experience is that those screws will want to walk out during off-road use.

[@FeelsOnWheels]

😃😃truly said..experience speaks louder

[@virginiacruiser.7989]

The 80 Whisperer. Great work and photography as always.

[@lacruiser80]

Thanks homie

[@derrickmurphy9859]

Very tidy professional work

[@LivingOnWheels]

Nice man! Im looking forward to seeing the whole build!

[@lacruiser80]

Thanks! Same here haha

[@mattkhachadoorian9261]

Epic! Looks clean.

[@chauhuynh426]

I will be starting my tacoma bed build as well!

[@jrstar805]

So tight🙌

[@Citizenspress]

can you build me one of these floors?

[@chadwickestey]

Wow, this is clean! Any reservations with drilling through the floor to mount the base?

[@lacruiser80]

No drilling required! This uses the factory bolt holes for the 2nd no 3rd row seats

[@FeelsOnWheels]

Good work though I prefer to keep minimum load in my car for overlanding

[@lacruiser80]

Same here! What lighter alternative would you recommend as a baseplate for a camper build?

[@FeelsOnWheels]

See..honda jazz(fit) is blessed with magic seats since beginning..what I do is to flat my back seats completely while overlanding😊keep all my loads on front seats and between the space of front seats and the flattened back seats..I do not have a power station and a fridge as of now..and inflate my bed to get a 5’10”feets space to sleep including an 8 inches space by the side of bed to keep folding stuffs. This helps me to keep my car in working shape all day..