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So you've got a road trip planned, maybe you're even headed to Burning Man like we were, and you want to make the most of the space in your vehicle.
Building a raised platform in the back of your van (or truck) will let you make the most of your storage space and also give you a comfortable place to sleep when you don't want to bother with setting up a tent or finding a motel.
Building a raised platform in the back of your van (or truck) will let you make the most of your storage space and also give you a comfortable place to sleep when you don't want to bother with setting up a tent or finding a motel.
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Signing UpStep 1Measure (maybe even twice)
The first thing you need for a road trip is a good vehicle. We used Bertha, our 2000 Ford E-150 van - a somewhat reliable automobile.
We decided to keep one bench seat (so she could still carry up to 5 people) and remove the last row of seats to give us more room for the bed.
Measure the space you have available in the vehicle for the bed and make careful notes about any obstructions including the wheel wells, seat mounting brackets, etc.
If you already have storage bins, measure their height and width. You really don't want to build the raised bed and then find out your stuff won't fit under it!
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I am a lightweight hiking junkie and I love the idea of all my gear weighing next to nothing and everything must serve more than one function as well! I can see where this would work but, I wonder if using lighter materials would get the same results?
With gas prices climbing ever higher by the day, weight equals more money spent at the pump. That's my driving force behind my questions and I hope you don't take offense to me asking them.
Happy trails!
I really like the idea of adding a hinge and only screwing one side down to make it easier to get items stored below.
Needed PLENTY sturdy as the combined weight of the 6 of us was almost 500 pounds!
I had more top room, and three storage "bins" on the bottom, accessible through seperate doors from the back.
Yours looks MUCH nicer than mine. Nice!
NOW I am in Ca, and making a camping Van bed. Im thinking a water -bed bottom foundation and a top of foam is perfect The water bed will be self -leving 4" bed = 4" of leveling maybe 2" or 3" will be enuf. This will surely make sleeping a lot more comfortable .. ..,.... Do any of you see a problem with this? I will keep the bed on the Van floor, it seems to involved and heavy to make a platform under the bed, when it seems cabinets above the bed or shelves and or drawers will be fine .. I will only need a single bed for now and plan on using the outer frame rail as a bench or seat too . Did this seat before and it worked really well, but must be 8 or 10 inches and padded dto be comfortable.
Please write if you have any other sugestions or thoughts. The bed is 6 by 8'.
I bought a 2 year old, but never used Gulfstream, RV, 29ft, 76,000 $. SDtill had the plastic on the carpets. Problem was it out of guarantee of course and I had all the teething troubles (lots and lots).
I also found you can't go shopping or sightseeing in a 29 ft RV, so I bought a Ford Fiesta, 3,000 $. Guess it was the only one built with auto transmission, 1,000 $ for a lub pump so I could tow in, maybe 1,000 $ more for a TEE bar. I had to buy bedding, kitchen utensils, a spare tyre (can't get them when you are miles from anywhere) and of course club coverage for breakdowns etc. The Issuance full comp on the RV was 500 $ for 12 months, and 500 $ min cover on the Fiesta for 6 months,
OK, it got worse but enough for now.
Moral of story.
If you wanna travel in USA, Buy a van like the one in this article, fit it out for emergency use as described and when you enter a State go to the Welcome Station. Pick up the magazines that advertise all the motels and have all those handy dandy discount coupons and travel staying at motels. On the 3rd or 4th day do the washing and hang, and store all your stuff in the van.
When I finally called it a day on my trip, 5 moths and 15,000 miles later and sold the RV I had spent about 60,000 $ on the trip, and it was a nightmare.
We bought our van for $2000 and while we did spend a couple thousand fixing her up along the way, she made our month-long, 11911 km journey affordable.
Pretty cool resurrection. Brings back some memories... well, whats left of 'em after the 70's, anyway!
Hmmm, maybe the back section could be hinged to fold down so you have the back for a tailgating bench seat.
looking at ythe pictures, I don't think you need the bottom piece of plywood. platform should be plenty stable without it. you may want to add some diagonal braces on the side frames to stabalize the platform front to back.
I'm not sure how the top platform is attached to the frames. it looks like you can attach it with some door hinges. that way when you take it out the frame will fold in to the middle so it won't take up much garage space and set up will be simpler.
I think if you remove the bottom plywood you can convert it into a slide out platform to simplify cargo loading. from a quick search I found this. I think you should be able to adapt this to your configuration.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Cargo-area-platform-slider-for-SUV-truck-station/
For extra safety, I also bolted the frame to the old seats screws.
I use a 3" memory foam mattress topper which is very thin and still comfortable to sleep on.
I remember back when I was growing up we had a large brown Dodge Van back in the 70s up to the early 90s. I remember my father did something like this and he built a bed in the back of the van it was a permanent installation though. I remember he made it so the top of the bed lifted with on both the front and back for easy storage. And he added a spot for a portable toilet where we'd have to lift the front part up to access the toilet. It didn't get used much on the road, but came in handy when spending the night somewhere. Since it was a permanent installation he built a hanging shelf that held a TV and VCR for me and my brother to watch movies while he drove. I don't know if we have any pics of the inside of that old van, but Thank you you brought back many memories of that bed he built in the van.
I bet it takes a little while to get used to not sitting straight up right away, though, haha.