How to make/ buy a mattress for odd dimension bed

[BenDwel]

Hi All,

First time poster, but I've got a lot of inspiration from these forums!

I am planning to convert my Ford Transit Connect and am finalizing my plans.

For my bed I am will likely have it be a 24 x 72 with the ability to expand it to ~36 x 72 using the bench/ bad combo. Both these dimensions are unusual mattress dimensions.

What is the best method (or the method you have used) to to make/ buy a mattress with odd dimensions? Do you just buy a length of foam and cover it?

 

[BradKW]

Here's a past thread that applies:  Applicable Past Thread

 

[jester]

I ordered foam from here: https://www.foambymail.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=23d6550754b9351a1dd8ee1efde85b35&

Go to 'seats and cushions', 'custom cuts'.

 

[SternWake]

In 2007 I had this company make me a 65x48x5" mattress and bought their special Denim covering:

http://www.foamorder.com/custom_cuts.php?product=conventional&shape=1

Got a medium high density foam. After 9 years sleeping on it, the middle is same softness as the edges.

NOt cheap though, but a good nights sleep should not be cheapened out upon

 

[cyndi]

I ordered a great foam mattress from the foam factory
http://www.thefoamfactory.com

The CSR I spoke with was very helpful and knowledgeable. She even suggested buying a standard mattress size and cutting it down myself. Shipping was free.

 

[Almost There]

I had my foam mattress cut down by the upholstery shop where I bought it. You can do it yourself with an electric carving knife but their equipment did a far superior and faster job than I could ever have done.

You will want to stick as close to a standard size as you possible can so that standard bedding will fit better. My mattress is a standard width but several inches shorter so I just tuck the excess in at the bottom.

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome to the posting side of the forums BenDwel !

Looks like you already got the info you needed , just find some foam you like and get out the 'ol turkey slicer !
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Perfect fit !

 

[eDJ_]

in my copy of "Nomadic Furniture #1" there is a section on making a foam mattress from Foam Mattress covers from Sears.    There is a trick to it which follows.

Top layer = 2" thick firm foam

Middle layer = 2" thick soft foam

Bottom layer = 2" thick extra firm foam

These are glued together with polyurethane glue. (it doesn't have to spread out perfectly evenly but do the best you can.   Glue two layers together first and the third to the other two a day or so later.

Make sure to mark the bottom extra firm foam so you'll know the bottom side of the mattress.  This will matter when the mattress is upholstered later.    This is dimensional support and will support your body best
when used as designed.  


In the case of a Van where wall & roof support ribs may extend into the ply wood platform for the mattress and  ultimately the mattress,  the foam can be cut with an electric carving knife. (this is best done when the foam is cold as you can get it) A Co2 fire extinguisher can cool a spot you are wanting to cut easily.

Once the mattress is finished it can be taken to an upholstery shop and covered with an appropriate fabric for mattress duty with welting on the seems to reinforce them.  (like on the edge of a carpet)   This will be custom to the Van and it may be wise to specify a heavier fabric on the bottom, or a different color. 


I'm presently using a full size Air Bed mattress in my design,  but I've padded the wall ribs with foam water pipe
insulation and will under inflate the bed some to compensate for the stress on the seams of he vinyl air bed.

I may order foam and make a proper foam mattress in time as such a mattress won't puncture or fail in the night while I'm trying to sleep on it. 

Nomadic Furniture 1 & 2 by James Hennessy and Victor Papanek can be found in .pdf form to view for free.

Using the ideas and techniques along with my Van when I worked in Corporate moving from division to division on short notice greatly enhanced my life, income, and opportunities for advancement.   I look back on those times now and realize how fortunate I was to be doing then what we talk about here today.

 

[BigT]

I did this for my Ford TC.  Simple, easy, quick.  
I bought my foam at a place called "House Of Foam" in Palo Alto, Ca.  I glued it to a piece of plywood and covered it with indoor/outdoor carpet I picked up at the Home Depot, securing it at the edges with a stapler.  Nothing to it.  
Later I built and installed a hinged leaf (shown in the last photo) so I could extend the length of the bed from 6' to 6' 10" if I wished.  

 

[TrainChaser]

It is easier to make the bed platform fit a standard sized mattress, rather than the other way around. In my first van, there was already a platform across the back end of the van. I put a piece of 4" thick foam on it, trimming it to fit. Never again!

For the next van, I made the platform the width of a twin mattress, and about 2 feet longer than the mattress, that went lengthwise behind the driver seat. The extra length became a stable platform where I could cook on my propane grasshopper stove when the weather was bad.

Choosing space convenience over a good night's sleep is a poor choice.

 

[BenDwel]

Thanks for all the helpful responses!

BigT I really like you 6" expansion hinge. I've been wondering how to be able to move the passenger seat forward to use the space for more bed while also being able to move it back again if I have a passenger and that seems like a good solution.

 

[BigT]

BigT I really like your 6" expansion hinge. I've been wondering how to be able to move the passenger seat forward to use the space for more bed while also being able to move it back again if I have a passenger and that seems like a good solution.

With a 6' cargo area, that's really the only way to do it.  You lose a little bit of storage space under the bunk when the leaf is stowed, but I felt that was better than having to find a separate place to store the leaf when not in use.  
If you make the bed 6', just don't try to make the leaf much longer than 10" or it might not deploy, even with the passenger seat all the way forward and tilted.  

Another thing to keep in mind if you go with the hinged method, is that you'll want to bolt the bed to the floor.  Because the leaf needs room under the bunk when stored, you have to move the legs at that end inwards, causing the bunk to flip up if you sit on that end.  
Bolting it down solves that problem.  The floor flanges make it easy to bolt the legs to the plywood flooring.  
You also have to make the legs long enough for the leaf to freely swing under the bed when deploying or stowing it.  

This is a very old photo.  I have since glued another 1/2" piece of plywood to the floor, making it 3/4" thick.  I also added some 3/4" wood blocks to the bottoms of the feet to allow the leaf to swing more freely.  

 

[BigT]

I made the bunk 30" wide, so with the leaf deployed it ends up being the same size as a sleeping bag.  

 

[Kezzie]

I had to replace the mattress in our cab-over. I just bought a good quality queen gelfoam bed mattress, removed the stitching along one side and folded it back. Using a long, sharp fillet knife I cut the overage from that side and stitched the covering back together again. Worked a treat, and we have a really nice, comfortable mattress in our camper. A vast improvement over what came with it in 1978.
A gelfoam mattress works because there are no springs or other infrastructure that would prohibit cutting any of it away.