Thoroughly disgusted...anchoring furniture

[waldenbound]

Well, I have my bed in the van, and I got the bright idea for anchoring it to the floor. I thought, instead of metal 3" brackets, I'd screw in 2x2s, then screw the bed to the 2x2s, sort of boxing it in.

Well, with my fabulous carpentry skills that I just know has dazzled many of you :s :huh: :blush: , I now don't have the space to store my plastic drawer storage bins. I was counting on that space, and now it's gone I bought some basic fabric bins on Amazon that are 12x12x12, I know those will fit. But I need six of them and they will be spaced out all along the length of the bed.
But I got to have that storage under the bed, no matter what.

My poor floor is getting all these holes, I keep telling myself when all the furniture is in I won't be able to see a floor, so stop worrying.
So, my mis-measuring has cost me again.

 

[AbuelaLoca]

I've been working this bed thing out in my mind as well. I bought an aluminum cot, so it will have to be anchored somehow! I thought about the box on the floor too, but I need to be able to slide the storage units out from under the bed, so the lip was messing with me. So, then I thought a three sided box with just a small 2X2 in front of the legs to keep it solid... Hmmm... but now that I'm thinking this out, maybe a small wooden box for each leg? Then the bins could still slide in and out... Oh, hell, L brackets are probably the best way to go for me too!!

 

[John61CT]

The goal should not be "keeping stuff from shifting around".

Think about a major accident, stuff flying toward the back of your head at highway speeds.

The lighter it is the less critical, but keep it in mind.

 

[Dennis]

Think about a major accident, stuff flying toward the back of your head at highway speeds.

That's when a bulkhead is worth it's weight in gold.  I need to find or build one for my van.  Helmets can get pretty hot.

 

[steamjam1]

Trust me your carpentry skills can't be crappier then mine... haha.

I also used 2x2 redwood and 1/2 sanded plywood.

 

[ArtW]

AbuelaLoca , since you're using a lightweight aluminum cot just screw down some 'plumbers' tape over the feet https://www.ferguson.com/product/pr...ing&creative=11561952628&device=c&matchtype=e
hit up your local hardware

 

[abnorm]

You need some Basic Construction Techniques.................It's unfair 'yo daddy never taught you .....................Lets figure a couple different methods............

Are the (metal) legs ROUND ?
Drill a round hole in a piece-of-wood......insert the leg........screw the wood to the floor..........add a screw SIDEWAYS thru the wood and the hole and the leg ....locking the leg inplace

Are the front and back legs in-line ?
Extend the wood to capture BOTH legs with the same piece of wood/holes/screws

Are the legs HOLLOW ?
Find a wooden or metal dowel that fits INSIDE the leg.......Predrill a hole in the center of a short piece of dowel....screw to the floor....insert  the leg on the dowel and drill and screw SIDEWAYS/Crosswise to capture the leg

Are those legs wooden 2x ?
Add a piece of wood that spans between the legs (front-to-back) called blocking.......Screw to the floor and then screw the leg sideways/crosswise into the blocking

Have you seen Beth/Almost there's construction techniques ?........She bought a KREG tool that simplifies "toe-screwing" (or toe-nailing)....you don't NEED  the tool for this:
Drill a pilot hole at a steep angle thru the leg into the base/floor.........Add a screw to hold the leg in place

You can also take a flat piece of wood or metal and screw into the bottom of the legs....(raising the leg a little in height).....and then screw that to the floor.....Up/Down 

OR angle-iron (L shape) to add screws in different directions.....leg to floor.........Sideways/Down

Always use strong screws for these connections.......STAR or Square drive DECK Screws in wood..........TRUSS HEAD (Simpson) screws for metal

Some of these connections could also be a Nut and Bolt inserted in a drilled thru-hole.........1/4"-20 hardware would be "sized-right"

Try for as much thread LENGTH into the floor as practical/possible


YMMV...........POST photos of your unique problems for a solid solution...........doug

 

[TrainChaser]

I think it might be a better idea to build the frame WITHOUT anchoring it until you get it right. Do the anchoring LAST.

 

[AbuelaLoca]

AbuelaLoca , since you're using a lightweight aluminum cot just screw down some 'plumbers' tape over the feet

Do you mean making the plumber's tape into L brackets of sorts?

 

[waldenbound]

Those are excellent ideas abnorm. Yeah, father was a carpenter, sure can't tell it by looking at me!
I'll see if the bins coming tomorrow will work, if not it's back to the drawing board.

I'm not as talented as Almost There, I was thinking of that Kreig jig she used. I can look at putting the 2x2s in between the legs and drilling the pilot holes at an angle into the leg.

The bed is nice and sturdy now though. I do love my bulkhead, I wouldn't give it up for all the swivelness in the world.

 

[GypsyDogs]

My plan is to build the bed Just a bit taller than the milk crates under the bed.. with a small frame on the floor.
I will have to lift the crate over the frame, but that is ok- it holds the crate during travel.
Kind of like those latch-drawers on RV kitchens. Because I am too lazy to deal with bungies or sliding crates.. lol

 

[ArtW]

Do you mean making the plumber's tape into L brackets of sorts?

No, I was thinking, if it's a cot like this one, https://www.amazon.com/Magshion-Fur...1492006796&sr=8-1&keywords=portable+cot+adult
with lateral footbars from side to side, you take the plumber's tape, screw it into the flooring in front of the cross pieces, go over the footbars, and screw it down behind the footbars

 

[user 37446]

ArtW,

+1 on what Abnormal and Trainchaser have told you.

(Uhh, is that cot wide enough?  Just sayin, it's on the narrow side... I'm not insinuating that you aren't "narrow" enough yourself that is... oh jeez, foot in mouth/fingers that type time!)  

Could you start over and use plywood for a subfloor?  Then a short wood screw into the plywood could work. Some use 5/8" or 3/4" CDW for that very reason. If you were screwing a 2x2 into the van floor, you probably don't quite need a 2x2 height, 1x3 may work as well.  

Whatever your "subfloor" is needs to be anchored in some way to keep it from lifting out to easily, even really tight fitting plywood (pressure fit), the small diameter (3/16 or 1/4") occasional bolt through the floor should suffice.  If you can engineer the floor so that there are the fewest projections through your van, then you have less concerns over water/rust/exhaust fumes...

From an ebook: thevanual.com/flooring/ - attach subfloor with screws

"Once your subfloor is in place inside the van you’ll need to secure it to the metal cargo van floor through the layers of insulation below. I used a chalk line to mark where the cargo van’s floor grooves are and then only drilled where the grooves were raised. Make sure to use anti-rust screws and countersink them into the wood."

From another site: http://www.vanderlustamericas.com/blog/how-to-install-a-floor-in-your-van

"When it came to fastening the sub-floor to the sheet metal floor of the van, rust was my biggest consideration. I knew we had to go with stainless steel hardware. The Vanagon floor is corrugated (think peaks and valleys or ridges and grooves). So, while I was at Home Depot, I bought #10 x 1.5" flat-head stainless sheet metal screws and called it a day. I planned to drill 1/8" pilot holes into the ridges (peaks), screw the #10s, then glob RTV silicone around the exposed ends of the screws from underneath the van."

and a third site says (http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/forums/f24/floating-floor-or-secure-it-15585.html)[/SIZE]
[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]"The installation of 1/2" plywood over the sheet metal floor will do wonders to dampen noise and make for a warmer walking surface when covered with a rolled sheet flooring.[/font]



[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]I suggest using a self drilling/self tapping screw that just penetrates the raised metal floor ribs and avoid piercing fluid lines and the fuel tank. (I found screws piercing both tanks in my latest project. Fumes were thick inside the van.)[/font]


[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Get screws with a wide head to avoid crushing the plywood. One screw every foot in both directions should work to keep the sheet smooth. Start at one end of the sheet and screw your way to the other."[/font]

And a bit further down on the same forum was this DIFFERING approach:[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,] "[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Re: Floating floor or secure it?[/font]
[/font]

---

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,][size=small][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]For the most part my 3/4" plywood floor is not attached to the van body----I hate drilling holes for this reason. Living in the midwest such action invites rust so its best to find another way.

What I've done is use the sheet metal flange located 1-1 1/2" up from the floor, lower edge of the body side interior. Flooring was cut to purposely slide under that flange, strips of solid wood cut to essentially wedge between the flange and flooring, trapping it. I did use self-drilling sheet metal screws down through the flange into the wood strips which holds them in place but also makes a nice lower "nailing edge" for paneling etc.

This was made a lot easier by using sections of floor, cut to allow a seam over one of the floor ribs open areas. Tongue & groove or rabbited joints work well with a 1/2" plywood strip under the seam (inside the rib open space) with screws locking everything together as they sink into the plywood strips.[/font][/font]

---

This way I basically have a one piece floor system without any holes drilled through the floor metal and exposed to the elements."

(End of quotes)

So..., there are several posters in these other forums that drill the holes in the raised ribs, and this last poster used the flange on the side walls and slipped the plywood underneath, so as to not pierce the floor. If you like this last idea, just fill/cover your existing holes (search for how to do this, people have posted on it) and try the flange idea.

Hope this helps you, unless you've already moved on...

 

[AbuelaLoca]

with lateral footbars from side to side, you take the plumber's tape, screw it into the flooring in front of the cross pieces, go over the footbars, and screw it down behind the footbars

Yup! That's the kind of explanation I need! Very good! I like that plan!  

 

[ArtW]

It's not as sturdy as using small bits of wood in front and in back, but with a lightweight cot, I don't see Plumbers tape failing, and if you screw in at an angle, you can make it tight enough to quell vibration / noise

 

[waldenbound]

Ok, I found a solution.

I screwed a frame of 2x2s to the floor. I screwed the bed legs to the 2x2 frame. Inside the 2x2 frame I have milk crates, that are lined with fabric bins. Milk crates by themselves have too big holes for things to fall through, so I lined them with fabric bins for more structure. Whew! I don't know why she swallowed the fly!

The drawers were too tall, and besides, I would have to find a solution to keep the drawers closed while driving. So, maybe this will just work out better.

That takes care of the bed, I will remember these lessons when I have to screw down the kitchen cabinet and cedar chest.

 

[Mattkcc]

People are going about construction backwards. First you anchor plywood to structural wood not the other way around. Plywood is used to cover things like floors roofs side of buildings by being nailed or screwed into 2 by lumber. The strength comes from the plywood tying the lumber together, your trying to secure structural lumber to plywood the exact opposite of what you need to do. Screws aren't going to hold well in plywood, normally screws go through plywood and deep into lumber. Two things you could do to improve the hold, one glue lumber onto the plywood lying flat not a butt joint, the other is blind nuts on the backside of the plywood. Think about how things are anchored in the van when you got it, seats through bolted into the floor, shelves anchored to steel structural beams in the wall. They do this so when you hit the brakes hard or hit something all the stuff in the rear of the van doesn't decapitate or crush you.

 

[eDJ_]

I agree with going about things backward.

It should start with drawing some tentative plans on paper.  Just sketches and not to scale, at least yet.

Sit by your van and think of the things you want to have for using it.  Milk Crates,  Plastic Bin's etc. (things that would go under the bed)  Decide if you want your bed to go across the back end of the Van from wheel well to wheel well. (this works best for me as I started out in a short Ford Van so it was the best use of space)

I kept in mind the height of the plastic bins and cardboard boxes I was wanting to keep under the bed in my first build.  I wound up using a cot like ArtW posted from Amazon.  Found that a 2 x 2  mounted on it's edge running across the wheel wells worked well with the cot.  I only had to leave the end legs folded at both ends resting on that 2 X 2 and the legs in the middle fit perfectly to the floor.  I had a 3" foam rubber mattress made to fit the cot
and it was perfect.    The floor had a Masonite covering with foam indoor out door nylon carpet on it. 

I had a cabinet with 2 burner cook top and stainless steel basin that served as a kitchenette.  This was anchored to the side ribs of the wall of the van not the floor.  (thus I could move it out doors to use)  The cot was light and
not a problem.  The ice chest stowed behind the passengers seat so was braced already, and the 5 gallon Jerry Jug (water) was behind the drivers seat and so braced.   Rubber Bungee Cords held things in place otherwise.  (light weight and inexpensive...quickly released or re attached)

A plastic Dining Fly served as my first awning.  Some kind of rigged up awning is quite nice to have.  I carried a
couple rolled up 4 X 6 carpet runners (thin rubber backed pieces that laid out at the side doors of the Van, so
that that area was comfortable under the awning with a couple of folding camp chairs)  

It really doesn't take much.  

But in the build the old carpenters adage should be born in mind,  "measure twice & cut once".