I've been working on a sleeping platform over the last couple of days and this is what I came up with. I wanted something that was easy to manage and store since my van is used for daily driving duties most of the time and camping duties just a small fraction of the time.
I'm definitely not an engineer, carpenter, designer, or anything of the type, but I like to tinker and try. My thought was that if I built something that was somewhat modular in design, I could store it up in my rafters easily and it wouldn't be too cumbersome to retrieve or put away. So I thought a 2 piece frame that bolted together with (4) 1/2" bolts with slats on top would be the best way to go about it.
I built the frame out of 2x4's and made each section to be 24"x74" finished. I then got some 1x4's and cut them to 26.5" and used some 3/4" x 1" strips I found at home depot to connect them all. I made each section of the slats about 35" long so they were easy to take out and store as well.
For the legs, I cut some 2x4's to 21.5" so I could clear 18" under the platform for storage. Those are mounted in each corner with a 1/2" bolt.
So I got it made...looked at it...looked good...laid on it...it sagged in the middle and almost came apart. I could put some support legs in the middle, but I think it would become a little too cumbersome to keep bolting more things onto this platform. So I think the solution is to just build it as a one piece 48x74 frame instead of the two piece frame. I'll still bolt the legs on and keep my removable slats though. Oh yeah...I forgot I had a hoist in my garage! I got the 1x1 tubing welded up to be able to take a camper shell off of a truck by myself. No longer have that truck, but I still have the hoist so I can just tie the platform onto that tubing and keep it up there.
I'm thinking for the new frame, I will run a 2x4 in the middle going through both directions, essentially making a cross. Does that sound right or would just one brace be enough?
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