I'm trying to come up with a good design for a forward facing folding bed/seat design. I've bought a folding futon type mattress that has three 25" panels that are 54" long. I'd like to make storage underneath and I've got some ideas for using a heavy duty drawer slide that can support the front section of the bed. My dilemma is figuring out a good simple way to support the backrest when in the seat mode. I'm a cabinetmaker so have the skills but for some reason I'm not seeing a good solution to the backrest. Any ideas would be appreciated.
You used to be able to buy the Westfalia 'rock and roll' bed hinges from several of the online VW vendors. They are simple and work well. Alternatively for about $100 you can get a complete manually operated steel bed/seat frame from Atwood. I bought one from them a couple of years ago to replace the electric bed frame I had.
Took it to a local upholster and the finished it up. Pics to come... Bout to start my expedition finally so will have time to load up a build thread.
Thanks for posting this! I have often puzzled about how to build one too but this looks like a better option. Please post those pics as soon as yours is done.