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Econoline RB11 bed upgrades.
So as I noted in an earlier post, there was no center support for the dinette bed in my RB11 floor plan. No kick stand legs, the table really didn't work, nothing.
So I made some angle iron cross braces, one front, one back, solid as a rock VERY happy with the results.
Tried out the bed, now I am unfortunately 5'10" even though I started out as a young adult at 6', spinal damage and all, but even with that, I made the mistake of forgetting my own pillows on my maiden voyage trip with this van and tried to use the throw pillows Sportsmobile had in there. There was just no way to sleep straight across the bed, which put my butt right in the crack between the 2 main sections causing them to slide apart giving me a huge pain in the back. Multi part solution time!
Issue #1. Pillow. I dug up my Therm A Rest compressible backpackers pillows and tossed them in there. Now I have plenty of space as my head can slide up closer to the wall on that side now, and my legs can be straight!
Issue #2. Uncomfortable pads that slide apart. Ordered a memory foam mattress topper in twin from Amazon, set it up, and let it loft up. Ordered a set of twin flannel sheets and actually made the bed, including tucking the fitted sheet under the lower part. Now not only is my tail no longer in that crack, the two halves are no longer trying to run away from each other, AND I am topped off with a topper that provides as much comfort as my bed at home.
Being in Texas, our camping season is just starting to get rolling, so I am happy with where I am now. I still have repairs and upgrades to do, but I am very campable for the time being and need to not worry about the upgrades until later.
So if you have an Econoline with the RB11 floor plan and no center supports, and want a really good night sleep.
#1. Make some angle iron braces / center supports. Just take angle iron enough to span dinette cabinet base inside to dinette cabinet base inside, and then notch the metal so you can get a good close fit on the outsides. May post up pics of what I am talking about later...
#2. Absolutely add a good mattress pad. I am using Memory foam but there are a lot of options. For me memory foam provided the best comfort. I made one mistake though. I bought my without a cover. Get one with a cover, you will not need to do any custom cutting, this is twin size period.
#3. If you are over 5'7" use shallower backpacking style pillows. I have pillows from Sluberjack and Therm A Rest. The Therm A Rest I find the most comfortable. Whatever you do, do NOT try to use the original throw pillows to sleep on! I would rather use a boot!
#4. PIck your favorite style but get a set of sheets that includes a fitted sheet, in Full size. and TUCK the bottom sheet as best you can under the base.
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