WillN to Go
Member
It fits much better but still isn't 100% perfect IMO. Kind of an odd situation where they said they would send me a sample for testing once it was ready. Months later I reach out because I hadn't head anything with a response that they were still working on a sample. Then, out of the blue, I get an email saying it's live on their Amazon store and I can order it. I thought that was weird so I emailed back citing our original agreement and they agreed to send me one to test. Upon receiving it I noticed that the measurements weren't quite what I had send them. It still fits MUCH better than the 3/Y version but it really could have used another round of revisions to dial in.
Somewhat related, I wanted this to be an all-in-one solution for S/X which requires a thin inflatable mat underneath to make up the gap where the seats fold as well as two larger inflatable bags for behind the front seats to make up the gap where the folded back seats end. Those got lost along the way somehow even though I provided them tons of measurements and details as well as pictures of similar items created for other reasons. I brought all of this up to them but it's been radio silence mostly so... *shrugs*
To support the head of your mattress over the gap, a piece of cheap lightweight luan plywood (1/2") is sufficient. just make sure it extends a couple of feet under your mattress so your weight will support the cantilever. It doesn't take much. If you do have things in the foot well, then sure the last few inches. I would never use the support pillow - just takes up too much space. For my Prius V, where the back seat doesn't fold flat, I made a bed using the lightweight luan 1/2". Ran 1" strips about 2 inches in from the sides as 'beams' to stiffen it. Propped it up level. at the headrest and about mid calf. Worked great for years.
I think this is really close to being a finalized polished product that I'm willing to help on and have already invested plenty of resources to the cause but it seems like they're not willing to see it through to the finish line. I lead the horse to water but... you know the rest. At this point I have little faith that this is going to get that last little bit of effort needed to make it a slam dunk solution.
1. I bought a big sheet of the foam stuff used to insulate the outside walls under external siding for residential construction. You can find it at home supply stores and they tend to be blue or pink in color. I think a sheet was like $25 and you can cut it in half and stack it two tall to fill up that gap behind the seat. This isn't easily stored when not in use and can become slightly dented damaged if you're not careful. Not an ideal solution but it works. An inflatable mattress to the same dimensions would be perfect though as you could easily break it down each day if you wanted and store it far easier when not in use.
2. Often times we'd have our bags/suitcases propped back there or various other make-shift solutions. I tried cutting a set of TV trays but they became unstable with the mods I made. I've got a set of metal/plastic TV trays that I was going to modify to the proper height as a more permanent solution. I've seen it posted online that you can buy these for a little over $100 from Amazon and cut the legs down for the proper height. I got them but never got around to modifying them.
3. I've had a few sets of the insulated shades from HeatShields and we had pretty good luck with them. One thing I didn't like is how they announced "Hey, we're camping inside of here" to anyone within a 2-block radius. I also don't think we got a ton of benefit from the insulation factor either. So for our Model Y I opted for much cheaper and black options on Amazon. I did a ton ("too much" -my wife) of research on the options and then just picked the ones that best fit our needs at the lowest price. We haven't camped yet long term but I tested them out and they seem to fit fine. An added bonus is they stow much better now w/o being super thick designed for insulation. These are purely for privacy and light blocking which is all we really wanted.
The reality is we'll likely abandon the Model S camping idea entirely. Our new Model Y will likely be the chariot of choice for longer road trips now so we've acquired all of the gear to make that an ideal camping solution. Lots of advantages over the Model S for camping so I think we're going to be very happy with it for the same types of outings.
