[morey]

I have started working on Gidget's bed and I'm interested in what the community thinks of my plan:

• Full size bed mounted perpendicular to the van
• High enough that the bed will fit into the middle section of the van at the widest point and provide plenty of space underneath the bed for storage
• Low enough that we can still sit in bed on one side (other side will probably have overhead cabinets)
• Mount 2 2x6 on the sides of the van using 4 bolts on each side (2 M8x1.25 and 2 1/4-20)
• Span the van with 6 2x3 to act like slats
• 2x3 will only be screwed in on one side of the van to allow the van to flex
• Attach 3/8 AC plywood to the slats with screws
• Attach a 1x6 to the front and back to prevent the bed from flying at my head and make it look nice
• Probably go with a full size Casper mattress

Questions:

• Anyone use the stock M8 rivnuts for anything? Will they be strong enough for a bed (300lbs of humans, 60lb bed, weight of wood)?
• Are the side walls sturdy enough to do this?
• We could force some 2x3 legs under the 2x6s for extra support but our floor flexes a little bit around the edges so I'm not sure how much it would do. Thoughts?

 

[sawyer]

I don't think the van needs to flex, but I haven't considered that. I have heard of a lot of people using aluminum motorcycle ramps for frames and I just assumed they were positively attached.

 

[Roadtripper]

We did a very similar design for a bed in our van and it works great. I secured both sides of the slats as they rattled a bit too much without being screwed down. I notched the 2*6 for the slats and made sure the bed was high enough so that the bins we use for storage underneath the bed all fit easily. Our composting toilet also fits under the bed and slides forward for use.

We are able to store two folding chairs between the back of the bed and the back doors but another inch of space would have been nice so determine what you might want to store back there and leave enough room.

I attached the 2*6's with bolts through existing holes in the side panels and it's plenty strong.

Good luck.

 

[orton]

Should be fine. Complete it and test it.

If it flexes too much add 3/8" ply to the bottom with rigid polyiso insulation between the two pieces of plywood.

One comment about bed length. I am 5'-10" and had a 70" bed length in the sold Sprinter. Did not think sleeping a bit diagonally would be a problem. It was. If you limit the insulation in the window indents, you can get a 74" bed length at about 32" bed platform elevation.

 

[morey]

I don't think the van needs to flex, but I haven't considered that. I have heard of a lot of people using aluminum motorcycle ramps for frames and I just assumed they were positively attached.

In the van DIY community it might be another one of those insulation like topics where everyone has a different opinion.

Do unibody van flex and contort? I don't know.

 

[orton]

In the van DIY community it might be another one of those insulation like topics where everyone has a different opinion.

Do unibody van flex and contort? I don't know.

They definitely do twist. The question is if it makes and difference to a DIY builder. I bolted everything in the sold Sprinter without any accommodation for van body twisting. Did not seem to have any problem. My 08 Sprinter was less rigid than my 15 Transit. I approach my driveway diagonally and the Sprinter would lurch as the body twisted. The Transit does not do that. The Transit has significantly more structural tubing above the slider doors and has a wider "box" construction at the base of the walls that the Sprinter did not have. I have not made any allowances for the van body twisting on my Transit conversion. So far do not see anything negative with that approach.

 

[GROOVY2]

Wood part is plenty -- 2x6 is really strong -

Bolting to wall -
there are locations on the wall that are stronger than others -

Try to use those locations -
where the braces are - doubled metal thickness - Tie down area - Box sections -

using the holes that are in the van Already has its drawbacks - Measuring accurately-

Clamping wood in place to wall- then drilling thru wood into metal Much Easier/ Faster and accurate -
then install rivnuts -

I put Loctite Bearing Locker on outside of rivnut for stronger grip -
dont know if it really helps - but I did not have any rivnuts spin -

watch the video on this post#2 - he has a complete van build video-
shows how they build a Euro Style van - lightweight and strong enough -
http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/camper-vans-conversions/20961-euro-van-build-videos.html


almost all of the Eurovan builds use wood blocks Glued to van wall or skin -
then whatever needs to be attached is screwed into this wood blocks -

screwing into sheet metal is used when location is available --

2x2 and 1/4 " plywood - sheet metal and wood screws -

 

[JP4]

That should be plenty. You might consider going the moto ramp or Ikea bed slat route for lighter weight and to make it easier to remove. Most of the outfitters use a three panel configuration with each end resting on 1 1/2" angle iron rails. I did the same with a $100 three panel aluminum atv ramp from Harbor freight. I just drilled out the hinges and cut each one to length, glued and screwed 1/4 ply ( I'd probably use 1/2" if I did it again) and covered them in indoor/outdoor carpet. Each panel weighs 15lbs and the original ramp was rated at 1500 lbs, so they are ridiculously strong. You could set something like that right on the top edge of your 2x6 ledgers that you have on the wall. In my van, the panels fit very snugly in the rails and I've never had any problem with flexing or squeaking. To secure them when I'm driving, I run a long tie down strap over the end of the whole bed and down through a couple of the D-rings.

Harbor Freight ramps:

http://www.harborfreight.com/super-wide-tri-fold-loading-ramp-90018.html

My three panel bed:

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...other-minimalist-conversion-4.html#post140802

JP

 

[Deadwood]

I did something similar but didn't use wood. Where you attached the piece of wood I used a piece of metal strip to attache to the sides underneath the windows. I used washers to push the metal strip out about an 1/8th of an inch. I then used some telescoping bed rails that I picked up at IKEA that have a little notch on the end so that they drop onto the metal strip. With the rails in place I put a couple of pieces of 1/2'' plywood on top after I covered them in indoor outdoor carpet (home depot). I screwed the plywood to the bed rails and then place a 6'' memory foam mattress on top. It is super comfortable. Although I'm 5'10'' so I can sleep across the back of the van. I realize that this set up doesn't work for everyone because if I was taller I would have to sleep at more of an angle. But with this setup it definitely saves more room in the van.

Heres the link to the post I did. It shows some pics of what I did. I didn't use rivnuts because I was able to put a bolt through some of the existing holes and put a washer behind them for extra support. In some places I had to drill a new hole. So far it's held up great with two people sleeping on it on some of my trips.
http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...discussion/22057-so-i-built-bed-pictures.html

 

[AudeKhatru]

If you limit the insulation in the window indents, you can get a 74" bed length at about 32" bed platform elevation.

Unfortunately, I'm 76" tall, and angling does not sound good, so my bed will have to run the long way.

 

[morey]

Unfortunately, I'm 76" tall, and angling does not sound good, so my bed will have to run the long way.

I'm 71"ish tall so I hope I'm good.

The bed is the first structure we're building. If we can't sleep perpendicular to the van we will have to tear it out or modify it and go length wise.

 

[JP4]

I'm 71"ish tall so I hope I'm good.

The bed is the first structure we're building. If we can't sleep perpendicular to the van we will have to tear it out or modify it and go length wise.

I'm 71" and have plenty of room sleeping across the back at the widest point (bottom of the windows in my van).
JP

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[morey]

We finished installing the bed. Turned out great except every little bump in the road results in a squeek. It kind of sounds like the medal is flexing where the wood attaches. Maybe we should have put something like felt in between the metal walls and the 2×6 wood? Or maybe we need to take some of the load off of the van walls with a support in the middle of the platform? Any ideas?

Details on the blog.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoDm2weXm5c

Selected Images

 

[bicyclist]

Any ideas?

I doubt that a support will make any difference. The bed itself shouldn't unduly load the frame.

The first place I'd check would be whether the side supports are in contact with and rubbing the rear door frame. Rubbing endgrain is notorious for squeaks. Then experiment with some sort of buffer between the wood and metal.

Yer sure that the floor is squeak free?

edit: My buddy and I are talking about this and wondering whether the floating ends of the cross pieces might be rubbing on the spacers. Might be worth screwing them down or fitting some sort of buffer between the spacers and cross pieces.

Just experiment with a few things.

 

[JP4]

Every place I have something bolted to the van I cut a little gasket out of this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L8NSXNY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's worked out great and I don't have any rattles or squeaks. That being said, squeaks could be coming from anywhere, including the joints of the bed itself.

JP

 

[hammerhome]

Wood on metal makes some loud squeaks. I'd do like jp says and add the gasket.

 

[Deadwood]

I used the ikea bed rails that hang on a metal strip that is attached along the sides of the walls. The first version squeaked quite a bit over bumps because it was a metal bed support hanging on a metal metal rail. I ended up cutting up an old tube from one of my bicycles and that's what I used to separate the metal from rubbing. Worked like a charm. Haven't heard a squeak yet.

 

[morey]

I doubt that a support will make any difference. The bed itself shouldn't unduly load the frame.

The first place I'd check would be whether the side supports are in contact with and rubbing the rear door frame. Rubbing endgrain is notorious for squeaks. Then experiment with some sort of buffer between the wood and metal.

Yer sure that the floor is squeak free?

edit: My buddy and I are talking about this and wondering whether the floating ends of the cross pieces might be rubbing on the spacers. Might be worth screwing them down or fitting some sort of buffer between the spacers and cross pieces.

Just experiment with a few things.

Good call on the end grain. Luckily just by chance there is an air gap between the ends of the 2x6 and the metal rear door frame.

100% sure the floor is squeak free. We had the floor in for about ~3 weeks before the bed went in and it was quiet.

I thought it could have been the floating end too but I laid down back there while my wife drove around and the squeaks happen on both sides including the side which is screwed down into the 2x6.

Every place I have something bolted to the van I cut a little gasket out of this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L8NSXNY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's worked out great and I don't have any rattles or squeaks. That being said, squeaks could be coming from anywhere, including the joints of the bed itself.

JP

I'm thinking I will have to try this or something I can pick up at Home Depot. Maybe outdoor carpet would work too.

Wood on metal makes some loud squeaks. I'd do like jp says and add the gasket.

Yeah I'm going to try that next. Just a bummer that I will have to unscrew most of the platform and take it all apart.



Thanks everyone for the feedback. Looks like I'm going to need to put some rubber/carpet/felt between the wood and van wall. In order to do that I will need to disassemble the whole platform, luckily I used screws and didn't glue anything.

 

[RandomJoe]

Well, on the bright side - I have learned from your pain... I'm finishing my cabinet/pedestals for my bed and was wondering what to do about the backs when I bolt them in.

I looked for felt at Home Depot but couldn't find anything. Did find some floor underlayment that would be great - but they sell by the 100 foot roll and it's $50! I only need about 8 feet...

Had originally thought about roofing felt - it's cheaper - but didn't realize it was impregnated with asphalt or something. Yeah, don't want that... (At least the roll I looked at said it was.)

 

[morey]

After driving it around for a couple of weeks the squeaks reduced somewhat as everything settled but it was still pretty loud. After much debate we stopped being lazy and decided to disassemble the bed and do something about the noise.

We purchased felt (35% wool/65% rayon) from the local fabric store and attached it to the backside of the 2×6 bed rails. Now instead of wood on metal contact there is a thin layer of felt between the wood and metal.

Now there are no SQUEAKS!!! We have learned our lesson, there should not be direct contact between wood and the van metal.

Timelapse of taking everything out and then putting it all back:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHa0zDrDw0B/?taken-by=moreysintransit