A rather easy bed

[MrNoodly]

<a href="https://ibb.co/0mDh2NC"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/k5HQBn4/Screen-Shot-2019-04-24-at-4-33-34-PM.png" alt="Screen-Shot-2019-04-24-at-4-33-34-PM" border="0"></a>

This video showed up in my YouTube recommendations. I thought it was pretty cool and not too hard if you have some basic power tools. (The video was done by Ryobi, and probably Ikea.) So I'm adding this to all this forum's other bed ideas.

THE LINK:

 

[maki2]

Sure it is a good looking project, contemporary and clean. .....but
Image the weight loads moving through the structure when you look at such things. Even people who are not engineers can learn to do that kind of thinking when designing, building, or selecting van beds and cabinets. Also for how they are attached to keep them in place.

1st note: Ikea discontinued selling those particular shelf brackets.

But the bigger issue, this is a very poorly thought out design for a bed. It would  work for occasional use for a lighter weight person, but not for an average or heavier weight person because there is no center support under the plywood or else a substantial support beam along the edges of the sheet goods. The plywood itself, even with the small doubled up strips along the edge will quickly sag. It is especially a problem for use in a van where the bed often doubles as a couch. So that means a persons full body weight is often centered along the front edge of the bed.  It works best to put  legs on the front and back edges right under person would most often be sitting to transfer the weight of their body directly down to the floor. Or divide the length of the space up and put two extra legs on both the front and back edges to distribute the load of the body weight of a person down to the floor while supporting the surface they are sitting on. 

When you design platforms, cabinets, beds etc you always have to keep in mind how the loads are supported and do anyalytical thinking of how that load is distributed on down to the floor.  If you don't have some type of a strong, load bearing beam along the long sides then you are going to have too much sag in the middle of the bed without support legs between the two ends.  I have done a lot of design work and worked on a lot of engineered structures over my lifetime so when I look at things such as beds and cabinets then I visualize the loads being placed on the structure and how it will be transferred down to the floor or back to walls or up to roofs, etc. You don't have to be an engineer and get super technical, it will become quickly obvious to the average person if they make themselves think it through.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

Very cool, 3/4 inch plywood that is pretty strong stuff, if you were worried about sagging, then you could bring the legs in a bit from the ends. It still a very heavy bed and could be made lighter and more efficient for small spaces for less.

 

[tailwind]

Pretty easy to add more of those brackets to the middle if sagging.  Then maybe could even use thinner plywood to keep the weight and cost down...?...

I used the example of someone here a while back to order a metal frame from amazon, then added some extra wood slats where the cheap ones were sagging.  It was a lot quicker and easier on my back to assemble a prefab metal frame with screws, than building a wood one from scratch, and probably cost and weighs about the same in the end.  And less wood to get moldy, etc.

 

[maki2]

Pretty easy to add more of those brackets to the middle if sagging.  

Except that you can't get those brackets, they quit selling them. That bed was featured on an older article, not a recent one.

 

[bullfrog]

I have had really good luck using a cheap damaged interior door as a bed surface covering the top damaged areas with glued on 1/4 plywood and then drilling access holes in the bottom and spraying in foam to repair the damage from underneath then filling and supporting the drilled access hole with a wooden dowel. Doors can be had from 24" to 36" wide and 80" long and will support my 200 lbs no problem. Ends up weighing less than 3/4" plywood with no flex.

 

[Homeless in Canada]

This bed platform could also be used as a table or workbench for other van building projects. But I would add a frame to reinforce the plywood.

To make the frame I would rip 2x4's into 1.5x1.5 stock.

Use a straight edge to cut the edge of the board straight. If you don't have a straight edge start by cutting a 5-6" wide strip off the long side of your plywood and use that.. The edge from the factory is perfectly straight and you can use it as a guide for making all your other cuts.

Use glue and wood screws to assemble the frame and let it cure for at least a day before putting any weight on it.

I've got a work bench I made the same way over 10 years ago. I can stand on the table and use it as a scaffolding to work on my truck and it it's still holding up.

You can fill the space inside the frame with 1.5" thick rigid foam insulation.

 

[Phyllis]

That is a pretty nice looking bed. Very clean looking. My thought is that, for me, it is very low to the ground and would have limited storage underneath. It is a clever use of shelf brackets though.