Product use and safety
Four things decide whether this product is safe. They are at the top. Everything below is detail you can come back to — and the rated loads for your exact platform.
Read this first01The four that matter
If you read nothing else on this page, those four cover the things that actually cause harm.
Numbers02Rated loads — find your platform
Rated load is the recommended maximum, evenly distributed. These match the figures on each product page.
| Platform | Sleeping surface | Drawer | Table / worktop |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEVEL | 180 kg / 400 lb | 30 kg / 66 lb | Pull-out worktop 15 kg / 33 lb |
| PRO | 180 kg / 400 lb | 50 kg / 110 lb | Clip-on bamboo desk 15 kg / 33 lb |
| SOLO | 110 kg / 240 lb | 50 kg / 110 lb | Clip-on bamboo desk 15 kg / 33 lb |
| CORE | 180 kg / 400 lb | No drawer | — |
| BOX | Not a sleeping surface | 30 kg / 66 lb | [[BOX TABLE]] |
SOLO is rated lower than the others. Its sleeping surface takes 110 kg, not 180. It is built for one person. Do not assume the figures from another Teraglide platform apply to it.
PRO platforms built for other vehicles — Subaru Outback, Jeep Wrangler and other custom builds — carry the same ratings as PRO for Model Y: 180 kg bed, 50 kg drawer, 15 kg desk. If your platform came with a printed spec sheet, that sheet is the one to follow.
Headrest and side wings (PRO)
The headrest extension and side wings support specific parts of your body. They are not built to carry the weight of a whole person. Do not sit on them. Do not use the headrest extension without the side wings and straps fitted.
Getting it in03Setting up
Lifting it into the car
Platforms are heavier than they look. Lift with two people, or split the platform first.
- LEVEL — 39 kg in total, but it comes apart into three pieces: a 10 kg and a 16 kg frame section plus the 13 kg drawer. The heaviest single lift is 16 kg. There is no need to move 39 kg at once.
- PRO — platform 26 kg, drawer 19 kg. Fit the frame first, then the drawer, then the bed panel.
- SOLO — platform 15 kg, drawer 19 kg.
- CORE — 13 kg, one piece.
Assembly
LEVEL arrives fully assembled. The only setup is a one-time leg adjustment for your car, with the tool in the box. PRO, SOLO and CORE arrive flat-packed and need a one-off assembly on arrival — the tool and instructions are included. After that first time, every platform folds and unfolds with no tools.
Check the bolts are tight before the first trip, and again every few trips. Anything that carries load and moves will loosen eventually.
Strapping it down
Always secure the platform to the vehicle's factory anchor points with the straps supplied. This is not optional and not only for rough roads — it is what stops the platform moving in a sudden stop.
On the road04Driving with the platform in the car
Fold the platform fully into the boot before driving. Never drive with it unfolded, partly extended, with the drawer out, or with the worktop or desk deployed.
Nobody travels on the platform. It is a sleeping and storage surface for a stationary, parked vehicle. It is not a seat and not a bed for a moving car.
This platform has not been crash-tested and is not certified as a vehicle safety device. It does not change how your car behaves in a collision, and it is not designed to protect anyone.
Loose items are the same problem in miniature. Anything left on top of a folded platform can move in a sudden stop — put it in the drawer or in the footwell.
Overnight05Sleeping inside the car
Carbon monoxide — the one that is actually dangerous
Carbon monoxide has no smell and no colour. In an enclosed vehicle it can reach a fatal level while you are asleep.
- Never run the engine while you sleep, and never run it for heat overnight.
- Never use a gas, petrol, paraffin or solid-fuel stove, heater or lantern inside the vehicle — this includes cooking in the boot with the tailgate down.
- Cook outside the vehicle, or with the tailgate fully open and air moving through.
- Park well away from other vehicles that are idling.
Ventilation and condensation
Two people breathing overnight put a surprising amount of moisture into a closed car. Leave a gap at two windows on opposite sides so air moves across rather than sitting still. Rain guards let you do that in wet weather.
In an EV, the car's own climate hold is the safe way to stay warm — it does not burn anything. Our own overnight test at −7 °C used 24% of the battery over nine hours and the windows stayed completely clear. That was one car on one night, so treat it as a data point rather than a specification. More on ventilating an EV overnight →
Children
Supervise children around the platform. The hinges, runners and gas struts all have pinch points, and a folding bed top is heavy enough to hurt a small hand.
Never leave a child or a pet alone in a closed vehicle. Temperature inside a parked car rises far faster than most people expect, and that is true regardless of what is in the boot.
Fire
The platform is not fire-resistant. Keep naked flames, hot stoves and anything that has just been cooking away from the surfaces and away from bedding.
Looking after it06Care, storage and wear
Gas struts
PRO and LEVEL use gas struts to hold the bed top open. Keep fingers clear of the strut and the hinge while it moves. Do not force a strut closed, and do not hang anything from an open bed top.
Struts weaken with age. If the bed top starts to drift down on its own instead of holding, stop using it propped open and contact us for a replacement — replacement parts are available for five years.
Moisture
If the platform gets wet from spills, rain or condensation, dry it fully before storing it. Avoid leaving it in standing water or exposed to rain for long periods. Store it in a dry place between trips — LEVEL's transport box doubles as its storage case.
Checks before each trip
- Bolts tight
- Straps present, not frayed, anchored to the factory points
- Drawer runners stop cleanly in both the open and closed position
- Gas struts hold the bed top up without drifting
Scope07What this product is designed for
Teraglide platforms are designed for sleeping and storage in a stationary, parked vehicle.
They are not vehicle safety devices, have not been crash-tested, and are not designed to be occupied while the vehicle is moving. Fold and strap the platform before driving.
Used outside those conditions, the product is being used outside what it was designed and tested for.
This does not affect your statutory rights as a consumer, which vary by country and which we do not attempt to limit. Faulty or damaged goods are covered — see returns and warranty: one year on defects, replacement parts available for five years.
Compliance08Materials and market compliance
Materials
LEVEL — powder-coated steel frame with adjustable legs, and a high-density engineered panel with a colour-through core, made in Korea to E0 ultra-low formaldehyde emissions. The pull-out worktop is bamboo.
PRO, SOLO and CORE — black birch hex plywood, bamboo, and a carpet-lined drawer base on PRO.
Everything is designed and built in New Zealand, in a workshop running on 100% renewable electricity.
European Union — update
The EU General Product Safety Regulation requires a responsible person established in the EU for products sold to EU consumers.
We are appointing one now. Their name, EU postal address and contact details will be published here and on every product page as soon as the appointment is complete. If you are ordering from the EU in the meantime and want to know where that has got to, email us and we will tell you plainly.
[[EU RP]]
No CE mark applies to this product. Furniture of this kind falls outside the scope of the CE marking directives, so a CE mark would be meaningless here — we would rather say that than display a badge that means nothing.
New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Japan and the UK
New Zealand. Built here. Covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act — goods must be of acceptable quality, which includes being safe in normal use and in foreseeable misuse. That is why this page covers cooking and engine use as well as assembly.
Australia. Deaths, serious injuries and serious illnesses associated with a consumer product are reportable to the ACCC within two days. Tell us and we will act on it.
United States. Composite wood in finished goods is covered by the EPA's formaldehyde standards under TSCA Title VI. We are confirming third-party certification with both of our panel suppliers and will state the position here once we have it in writing.
Canada. Two things apply: incidents are reportable to Health Canada under the Consumer Product Safety Act, and composite wood in furniture is covered by the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations. The same supplier certification covers this and the US requirement.
Japan. Japan's F☆ system for formaldehyde applies to building materials rather than furniture, so it is not a barrier to import — but we know it is the number Japanese buyers look for, and we are asking our panel supplier whether their emission data supports the F☆☆☆☆ claim.
United Kingdom. Sold under the General Product Safety Regulations. Northern Ireland follows the EU rules, so the EU note above applies there too.
If something goes wrong09Report a problem or an injury
If anyone is hurt using a Teraglide platform, or if a part fails, tell us straight away — even if you think it was your own mistake, and even if you do not want anything from us.
We have legal reporting deadlines in several countries measured in days, and we would rather find out a part has a problem from one honest email than from the tenth customer.
Tell us what happened, which platform you have, and your order number if you can find it. A photo helps more than a description.
Manufacturer
Skycraft Limited, trading as Teraglide
New Zealand
info@teraglide.com
Last reviewed September 2026. Rated loads on this page are read from the same source as the product pages. If a figure here disagrees with the spec sheet that came with your platform, follow the spec sheet and tell us so we can fix it.