The Great Debate.... on beds!

[Gaunt Dusk]

Heyo, I have a conversion van and I'm using the winter in a cheap living situation (only thing cheaper would be van dwelling, and I'm a cheapskate. WHOO!) to try to decide what to do with my conversion van. I'll be honest. Sleeping comfortably is probably the most important thing to humans, we spend about a third of our lives asleep so in my opinion being picky about what I sleep on is perfectly reasonable. That being said, I'm not that picky right now. I sleep on a roll up mattress, single person. I got it with the original thought that I can roll up the bed and use the space it occupied to do... things! Great things! WOnderful things! Or lazy things.
The idea of course that a roll up bed requires absolutely no effort to set up of any kind and is easy to put away. Also if the cops come knocking, how are they supposed to know for CERTAIN that I'm living in my van if there's no bed (that they can see).

However, this bed layout looks great. http://www.cheaprvliving.com/live-conversion-van/ Okay it's not as discreet as my much more simple idea, but I could put a thicker bed on there. I've measured the width of my van and it's 66.5 inches, making it a little short of the 75 inches needed to fit a twin size mattress in there and the windows are about 41 and a half inches wide, meaning I could fit a twin size, width wise, in between the windows in the back over the wheel well like this one and it would be fine. Problem is I have no idea how to build a bed over the wheel wells with ideal storage like this.
There's a brief summary on the blog post of what he did but I never took shop class (Probably should have). The best I can honestly think of is to get a 66 inch long piece of wood, put it over the wheel well and put legs under it and nail them in place, although I have no idea if that will actually work. Sounds like it would in principle.

Then there are beds like this. http://iamsamthevan.blogspot.com/2009/12/building-sofabed.html Which are even fancier than the bed over the wheel well. Plus I wouldn't have to worry about fitting a 75 inch mattress in a 66 and a half inch space.

I already took out the couch that turned into a bed in the van because I felt it was too large and took away my freedom to organize things the way I wanted. Also, took away from space I could be using that was underneath the couch and filled with metal bars and stuff. Plus, it was leather and I don't want to sleep on leather. Whether that be faux leather or not.

So tell me about your bedscapades? Personally I think I'd prefer the setup from the home blog article, it just looks so well done, but I don't know how to do that, unless my simple solution would work to emulate it.

So yeah, your preferred sleeping setup?

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

So yeah, your preferred sleeping setup?

I just have a cot. It works great. I'm going to tape some bubble wrap to the underside for insulation. If I need to haul more stuff than I can fit in the van, I can just take down the cot. If it's a real nice night and my tent is set up, I can take the cot outside. I can live in my van, or in 15 minutes I can have it completely empty, after all it's just a cargo van.

 

[sassypickins]

I'm working on posting a build thread where I'll have this included, but since you're asking specifically about beds, here's what I did.

The idea was to create a living room in the front part of my van so I built a bed to go behind the driver's seat and I put a swivel base on my passenger seat - like this:

The kitchen went down the other the side and the bathroom is in the back. I'll finish off the roof/hi-top edge later.

This is the underside of the main bed/day couch:

The framing is lightweight and inexpensive, all 2 x 2 glued, screwed and further strengthened with little corner braces. It is screwed into predetermined points on the van frame through the wall covering and insulation. (BTW, whatever you decide to do, make sure you take photos and measurements before you cover up any ribs and horizontal fastening points so you can find them and know how long a screw you will need that won't go through the outer skin. I had to buy wood and self-tapping metal screws of varying lengths for all my needs and it was a bit of a challenge for sure!) The bed has 3/4" ply for the platform and can support a lot of weight. 32" wide is plenty for me and ok for hubby. The distance between the legs along the length of the bed is determined by the type of bin I wanted to store in each 'section'. The bed is extra long because I wanted to use the end of the platform to hold my cooler. One back leg is shortened to fit over the wheel well.

This pic shows how bins can stack underneath and a ratcheting strap keeps them in place for travel:

I built a 2nd, smaller bed to also store under here and slide out when I want to use it. Two of the big bed's legs are put in place after the little bed is slid out. The legs are just 2 x 2's and ain't supposed to be fancy. I inset all the front legs an inch and a half so we wouldn't stub our toes or kick the legs out of whack.

Here's the small bed:

The legs are positioned to avoid the side door well and the end of the bed sits on a 2 x 2 ledge glued and screwed to the kitchen unit. This bed's platform is only 5/16" thick but with the cross framing this is strong enough for me when I use this bed. This bed is only 27" wide but again, ok for me.

When both beds are out there is an aisleway of about 10" - like this:

I love this arrangement when my DH travels with me. It is easy to get up in the night and we have lots of room to slide our shoes and clothing bins under the other person's bed where stuff is easy to get at. The back doors become our front door. For us, the benefit outweighs the necessary rearranging for day use, and when I travel alone, I don't fool with it at all.

I would be curious to see if a setup like this could work for vans without hi-tops or the extended length.

 

[highdesertranger]

wow it looks to me as if you have some building experience. what you have done so far looks good. have you thought of a murphy type bed, that folds up against the wall? my buddy has one in his toy hauler trailer. so the bed doesn't take up space when not in use. highdesertranger

 

[sassypickins]

Thanks, HDS, just enough to have some fun. I did consider a murphy bed but I wanted a day couch. Now the DH can stretch out in his recliner and I can lounge on my couch. Oh wait, no, we're out hiking 10 miles.... not!

 

[NMLady]

My bed is all the way at the back of the van, across the back doors. My friend came up with a wonderfully simple plan for the bed. It is twin/single size. He found (in his shed) a piece of fairly thick plywood that was nearly the right size. It was already wide enough, but a little too long, so we only had to cut a bit off.

The plywood stretches from one wheel well the other. The wheel wells support the plywood. He then added a 4" x 6" under the bed as a support. None of these pieces of wood are attached in any way. If I need to move the bed, I can do so easily.

On top of the plywood platform, I put memory foam that I already had. I had a piece of memory foam for the double bed that I had in my last van (which had one of those bench seats that folded into a bed). I folded the memory foam in half to fit, so I have a very cushy "mattress." I sleep better on this bed than on many beds I've had when I lived in traditional dwellings.

Some people will want their beds higher than the level of the wheel wells. I would have wanted my bed higher (to provide more storage space underneath), but there is a long air conditioner/stereo console directly above where I've set up my bed. Because I am a shorty, with the current set up, I can still sit up in the bed. If I had made the bed any higher, I would constantly hit my head on the console. My situation was a perfect combination of using materials my friend already and working with the van's configuration.

 

[MrNoodly]

My bed is my number one priority. I went lengthwise because I'm too tall to fit widthwise. I got an all-foam Twin XL (six inches longer than a regular twin) mattress. It's about eight inches thick. I added a four inch memory foam topper. Plush city. It's on a steel bed frame with a custom made two inch thick plywood storage compartment between it and the mattress. The bed also serves as my chair. The bed doesn't fold away, but I don't care. It works perfectly for the way I use the van.

 

[Reducto]

If you buy a foam mattress you can cut it to fit. I narrowed mine by 6" to give myself a little more storage space.

 

[SoulRaven]

The space for my bed is also about 68x40.

Solution: Coleman SUV air bed without the pillow part inflated. Have used it for the last six weeks nightly and it has not let me down yet.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HUG41JI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[MrNoodly]

Reasons I dislike air mattresses

1. They're cold in cold weather

2. They're sweaty in hot weather

3. When you push against them to sit up or change positions, air just shifts from one place to another

4. Fitted sheets don't stay on

5. You need to be careful not to puncture them

6. They're really hard to have sex on

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Mr. Noodly is basically correct about air mattresses.

However, if, for some reason you MUST use one, problem one can be solved by adding extra insulation on top of the air mattress. A layer of foam can work, as can several old wool blankets doubled over.

As for problem six, that just means you need to study your Kama Sutra and learn a few more positions.

Regards
John

 

[LeeRevell]

I have no problem using air mattresses in winter, even in temps in the low twenties. The much-ballyhooed "suck the heat from your body" thing is seriously hyped out of proportion.
All it takes is proper prep and set-up. I place a closed cell foam pad under it to help prevent the heat transfer, then use a GI wool blanket atop it. Then I use a sleepingbag unzipped as a blanket. I toss and roll ( bad back) so a closed bag is too confining. I sleep well. At times I have gotten hot even in freezing temps.

 

[GotSmart]

I replaced my passenger seat with one of the captains chairs from the back. I had to have the base modified, but it reclines and swivels. I sleep in it quite well. I face it front when driving, and back when sleeping.

 

[ccbreder]

I have had no problem using air mattress for any reason. Can't get sex? Ain't the mattress.

 

[cdiggy]

Best sex I ever had was in a tent on an air mattress... Damn thing had a leak though

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

me and the ex wife used an air mattress for a while. made for some bouncy castle laughable moments during sex lol sleeping on it was not so good. they make ones that are really thick now tho Ive slept on that were great, they sit as high as a box so ing and mattress bed when in flated, not sure if vandwelling compatible tho.

 

[MrNoodly]

they make ones that are really thick now tho Ive slept on that were great, they sit as high as a box so ing and mattress bed when in flated, not sure if vandwelling compatible tho.

I slept on one of those for two months while I lived in a friend's utility trailer and built out my van. Hated it. I happily left it behind for him to use in his pool.

 

[One Awesome Inch]

The thing about where to put the bed is an important decision. For me insulation is super important. That means there is no way I can fit a bed across the back as I am about 6ft tall. Since I want 2 inches or more of insulation the laying it behind the driver seat option is the only way to go. That said, I think you can get more room by just making the bed more narrow. 74 inches by 30 inches should work great for me. Still leaves over 3 feet between the bed and opposite wall.

I really like this setup:

 

[Canine]

I've used air mattresses and hate them, but do not tell people to avoid them. The good ones certainly work well- it's just a comfort thing. They are way better than sleeping on cold, rocky ground, or on a thin blanket on a solid sheet of plywood. I really want to try that memory foam. It seems you can get a lot of cushion out of about 4 inches worth. And it would be easy to fold/roll up if you needed to take it out for whatever reason. I've used the memory foam pillows and they are decent. Kind of warm to lay on, but that can be a good thing.

One Awesome Inch, I like the dragonfly.

 

[LeeRevell]

I have a couple good single size air mattresses and one twin size. Never had a bit of trouble from them. The twin works well in my mini van. I sleep better on it than on my bed at home. One reason to put a blanket or sheet over it is the flocking atop it makes rolling over more difficult.