I have had a few people ask about the bed so here's what I have at the moment. I may rebuild the frame, but it works for now, and if nothing else it will provide a good template for whatever I decide to do in the future. There are a number of reasons this is a complicated design. You have the usual factor of dealing with the van walls being not square nor flat. Along with that, you are not supposed to have anything spanning the entire width of the van and attached to both walls at the same time. This is because of torsion and flex in the van as you drive. In order to meet a few of my build goals I had to design for the bed to utilize the space from the flares as well as allow for use of the bench seat.
Below is the design I came up with. There are a few more East-West supports than pictured. Keep in mind that they are attached, but only on one side (alternating sides with each East-West support). They are on top of the North-South supports. The space the flares created is illustrated as the sections on the outside of the North-South supports.
In its current state, my bed frame is just 2x4s with particle board on top. It functions, seems sturdy enough, and doesn't make much noise when I am driving. The only problem is the support legs. They are potentially in the way of storage options I may want to implement in the near future. A solution to this maybe to have part or all of the frame fabricated in metal, which should get rid of the need of at least some of, if not all of the support legs.
The hinged section is there to give headroom when I have passengers sitting in the seat which is located underneath the northern most edge of the bed frame. I do not yet have a plan to hold up that hinged section. I have not finished the ceiling and cabinets yet and so I don't know where I would attach anything. But I am thinking that rather then attaching a support for it on one of the cabinets, walls or ceiling, I will probably figure out a 45 degree prop to hold it up that will rest where the hinged part rests when the hinged part is down. Here is all I have as far as media on the bed at the moment:
I decided those metal L brackets are worthless because they bend. To support this section of the bed I ended up having a 2x4 that each side of the hinged part can rest on, supported by the leg supports.
What about the mattress?
Another goal for my build was to have a queen size bed that was just as comfortable as my bed at home. In fact I used the mattress that I have been using at home for the past 2. It is an 8 inch memory foam. I like a firm mattress and its not as firm as it could be, but it is supportive to the extent that you don't just sink in to your own indent. It has a layer of firmer foam that I had used in our house as the bottom, but I think its actually meant to be the top layer. My only concern is that I feel like the mattress was starting to wear in a little, creating a dip in the center, but since I flipped it over to have the firmer layer on top this doesn't seem to be an issue yet; time will tell. If your bed frame has slat supports, you will want boards over the slats, otherwise this mattress will sink in the gaps. I have not cut out the hinged of the mattress just yet, but I will make an update when I do so. Here is my mattress. Compromising between comfort, weight/thickness/size and price ($230) I do recommend it:
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I hope to make DeVANdra practical, unique, stylish and innovative. Maybe my build will inspire others. Here is a list of what I would like to accomplish:
After much research and debate, I placed an order for my van! Here are some details about what I ordered:
The Limited Slip Differential is the best option for snow and dirt roads. The Limited Slip helps you avoid that situation you are stick in the snow and one wheel keeps spinning but the other just stays still. I am trying to avoid the cost of a 4x4 conversion and hopefully the Limited Slip will get me by. As for the 3.31 ratio, it is a good compromise between cruising engine rpms (which can effect gas mileage) and acceleration/towing up hills. Why did I get a Transit?The short story is cost of ownership, serviceability, purchase cost as well as the aforementioned gasoline option. Coming from a sporty little hatchback, how it is to actually drive also played an important factor.
I spent some time working for a non-profit traveling around in a Sprinter van. It had its problems and was impossible to find a place to service, especially one that actually knew what it was doing. Either they where a little European car shop and didn't have room in their bays for the Sprinter, or they didn't have the knowledge (or patience) to deal with Mercedes' over-engineering. For that matter when they could service the Sprinter the prices where high because it was such a specialty. From Glow-Plugs not working to the driveshaft blowing through the block, a Sprinter was a no-go for me! Here are some more factors for some of the other vans out there: Promaster + FWD (for Colorado Snow) +interior deminsions -reliability and reputation (its a Fiat) -what its like to drive -clearance Nissan +price +build quality -antiquated concept/inefficient drive-train -ugly -big for the interior space you get Sprinter +nice features +dimensions +factory '4x4' -not the best '4x4' system! -cost of ownership -hard to find service (traveled in one for work, broke down in Utah, had to get towed to Reno and there was a huge wait at the one place that would service it!) -complicated systems/over-engineered! In the end the Transit was the best compromise. If I do convert it to 4x4 it will end up being a more capable system then the Sprinter's factory 4x4. The Promaster would have been a good choice, if for nothing else the front wheel drive (and I honestly like the way it looks best) but I have heard many bad things about reliability and build-quality. |