Q: Ideas on bed frame and attachment - Page 4

TroySmith80 · 03-28-2011, 07:01 PM

Thanks a ton for the video! That looks like it operates just like the later style setup that was in my '84 westfalia. But the hardware looks a little different. I would have bought that from regis if i'd known that was how it worked, you beat me to it :-)

That's ok, Busdepot.com has them, i'll just have to pay a bit more. Good to actually know what i'm getting!

Rockman · 03-28-2011, 07:34 PM

I also have a 83 Westy, and the bed in it is diff. When it folds out, the "seat" is the same level as it was in bench mode, but it is less comfy as it is more straight backed and parallel seat.
The new one is reclined nicely and the "seat" is lower in the back than the front.

It did take some mockups to get the positions correct, as well as the supports, but with a real breakthrough today in the design, it is going to be nice I think.

GMAs · 04-12-2011, 12:24 AM

Bed frame/seat

I sat down and designed one of my own. I started out using 1.5 x 1.5 x 0.91t steel tubing.

Why so heavy. Well when you figure out the seat moment with people sitting on it... (seat belt deformation) you need something under 'em that is not going to move.

The design I used was based off the old VW van camper. It but then we went wild with what we wanted. We finally ended up with a 76x54 in bed...(ya I am long texan..and when I sleep.. don't bother me.. grin) when down... when pushed back up it makes into a 20 x 25 x 54 wide seat that has a back deck to allow storage under and on the bed cush... we went simple and left all the area under the seat open for storage of different sizes.

yes we have cad drawings of what we made... after r' a engineer... grin...

Best part is that we used all the org seat mounting holes...from the club wagon van.

... and we can take the whole thing out and put the org ford seats back in to haul the LL team to the game if needed...

but... a friend of mine built one.. not to go into the van but his pickup truck camper... yep seems to fit quite nice in the camper shell PU bed also... go figure... it was designed to go into a ford... be it van or pu... Laid down in the bed gives him storage under while sleeping.. or ... he can put all the plywood/2x4's etc on the top... later... push it back up and it makes a seat for the kids to ride in the back of the PU too... (no I didn't have that in mind when I started design'n it but he adapted it to his own...)

We used 5 in thick foam as recomend'd by the people over at (ahmmm) airstream. Under that is the 1/2 in plywood... then fastened to the metal framework... makes for a nice comfy' bed... and takes the regular bed set too.

The steel tubing is local purchase (new) and only cost about 150 bux for all to make up the seat/bed and comes in weigh'n just a little over 100 lbs ... (breaks down into 4 pieces 20-30 lbs each) which is not bad... but best of all... this baby is built... I mean engineered (grin) with a live load limit of about 800 lbs... which should last a long time... I did my own cutting using a miller metal cutoff saw .. and welding using the linc mig welder.

for quick welding...What works slick is them 90 deg magnets that harbor freight sells for 2 bux... just stick 'em on and the tubing has to be 90 deg... but put several on it to keep the stuff all on the same flat plane... and your golden.. quick also...

I wasn't into wood bed frame... as it gets tired after time... Good luck with yours... my bed is quick to set up and down.. with no power or accessories... simple and easy to convert. Leaving storage like the sportsmobile in the back when the seat is up.. and adds to the bed dimension when the seat is down. Lets see did I leave anything out.. did I mention this baby is built to last... oh ya I did... sorry... have fun...

TroySmith80 · 04-12-2011, 12:32 AM

Sounds cool, how about some pictures? Or those cad files?

Wood seems to last alright. The one in my westy was 26 years old and still doing fine! :-)

4x4tour · 04-12-2011, 06:10 PM

Ditto on the seat frame pics. I have a bunch of old 1x1 square tubing I can use.

GMAs · 04-12-2011, 07:42 PM

Well that worked... I tried to attach a img and/or a photo.. nada... sorry guys and gals... I will see if the admin has his mail box empty yet.. as I did try and upload them to his mailbox too... other wise... I have the line drawings JPEG and EXCEL (item breakdown) format... however, they are designed for my van conversion... and only used as ideas for yours... (see froum rules above) you know the drill... sorry... (don't know if sportsmobile will allow us to do this either... as it might be a infringment sort of thing for 'em.. even thought its my own design... then again who knows .. they might even expand .... build and sell the framework for ya...and yes their are others who said that they too could build 'em custom for a price... As far as I know... their have been over a dozen of them built.. with each adding their own special touch... and not limited to just the ford vans either... One I know of built his for as a pull out "guest bed" in his office...

someone else said I should post it on the internet ... but... don't know ... much about doing that...

As to using 1x1 tubing.. way too light... as it comes out being about half the strength as the 1.5 x1.5... and the reasion I used the 1.5 was it ... was aviable... otherwise the 1.25 stuff would be ideal.. but, the place that has the metal said it was a special order... and while it would be cheaper per stick... the special order price... was the killer.. making what we used cheaper overall...so we went with what was adapt'able and came out much stronger in the long run. We added just a little more weight using what we got than what we wanted.. but oh well .. impervision.. and it came out way stronger too...

Stay tuned .. and we will see if the admin will allow us to upload some of the drawings to the blog here... but, remember my drawings are only suggestions (lea-gle stuff you know)

4x4tour · 04-13-2011, 10:53 AM

Open a free anonymous account at photobucket.com and upload pics to your new photobucket album, then copy/page the image info into the text summary of your forum message.

GMAs · 04-14-2011, 01:19 AM

great tip... we are working on setting it up to a website... that we get with the server/internet dsl stuff... got a IT guru working on it so it will be able to copy... but as all things go.. he only has so much time to work on it... promas's promas's... but, he will eventually get around to setting it up so we can post pictures and text...

regis101 · 07-30-2011, 09:21 AM

Nice things about the Westy style or rock n roll hinges is that the seat back bottom and the seat bottom rear will meet. This will keep the bench while in bed mode without voids. Look in his vid when the seat is laid flat. The plywood butts up to each other.

I've looked at many conversion van fold down bench/beds in the boneyard. Most, if not all, of them have mating issues.
I would entertain an after market steel frame that mimics this. Maybe the gaucho or jack knife frame? I'm going to look at the jazz sales frame link as posted above.

That Westfalia design is hard to beat and it's simple. Our long gone 78 Bus/Westy had a bench/bed. The bottom portion was horizontal and the back did have a slight angle. It is what it is. The kids didn't know and difference. Small sacrifice for the greater gain.

Kudos on your build, there, Rockwood.