Sleeping bed mounting: fixed, or folding/stowable?

[Ryan Grimm]

I'm in the design stages of my bus, and want to have a queen bed in the rear.
While the fixed bed is nice because it ensures a lot of storage space, I want regular access to the rear door for a porch or deck, and from there, a ladder to the roof.

I've been looking at a setup from Rockler Woodworking (I think?) that has plans/hardware for Murphy bed setups, from singles to King-size. The basic plan is a bed that tips up into a side frame/headboard.

Another setup I saw in an RV a few years ago, they had the bed hung on cables, and guided by tracks......push a button, and a winch winds in the cables, lifting the entire bed up to the ceiling. While I like THAT idea, the problems with power going out with the bed "up" and somehow manually lowering it are manifold. '
Plus I don't like the whole "Mattress of Damocles" concept, regardless of cable strength......

I've seen setups with a frame that essentially has a path through the center of the bedroom, you have to push the mattress up to the side and secure it, then raise a platform to access the walkway. Hmmm.......a bit like the Murphy.......

Any ideas? I'm leaning to the Murphy bed setup. I DON'T want bunks, they aren't conducive to romance, and I'm single. If I have any guests apart from 'special' ones, they can use the bench seat beds up front

[Les Lampman]

Hi Ryan,

You're facing the same choices we all go through...where to put everything!

If you look at the cubic feet of storage available under a fixed queen bed and the available space above the bed for cabinets and such it's hard to argue against it from a pure storage standpoint.

I too thought about a Murphy bed but without having the bed at floor level or darn close to it there wasn't enough ceiling height to fold the bed up; you can't use the space above the bed for cabinets and you can't use the sapce below for storage.

The bus is wide enough that you can place the bed lengthwise along one side of the bus and have a passageway on the other side. The problem I ran into with this design was trying to locate the bed so that the passageway didn't require a trip over a rear wheel well; I couldn't make that happen.

In my final design I ended up with a crosswise mounted queen bed on the forward side of a bulkhead mounted 5' from the back of the bus; the last 5' is the trunk/shop/artist loft/storage/whatever space. This allowed me to mount a 100-gallon freshwater tank on the centerline of the bus very near the rear axle. There's also room under the bed for storage as well.

But before that I decided on twin beds (don't quit reading yet!) on each side of the bus with an open center aisleway. The base of each twin bed was really a pretty substantial cabinet with storage and drawers under. On top of the cabinet I was going to mount the bed platforms (one on each side) on full extension drawer slides (like they use for pickup beds and van slide outs); each bed would then pull out to the center of the bus and meet in the middle (and latch together) to form a queen sized bed. As I recall each bed platform only had to roll out 1/2 the width of the bed (and base cabinet) so strength and supporting the beds was not an issue at all (some of the slides I found are good for 1000 pounds; even a energetic night wouldn't cause problems!). Clearing the walkway would be as easy as unlatching the beds and rolling them out to the sides of the bus. They would also be handy when twin beds are desired; especially when on the road.

Anyway...just throwing out ideas...good luck!

[Eric von Kleist]

I'm looking at a combined sleeping/living area in the front, instead of a more often seen rear bedroom set-up. The bed will probably be a standard single with a plywood frame beneath it for storage. It will serve as a couch during the day and a bed at night. I think they call that set-up a day bed. I really want to build craftsman style futon, but don't have the time for that now. Putting storage under a futon would be a tiny bit trickier, too.

I like the Rockler Murphy beds that you are talking about. I considered them, but even if the bus were tall enough in the center (mine's not), the curvature of the roof makes a square bed not workable (that I could figure out. One other option would be a bed that folds up flat, sideways to the wall. Instead of standing up tall, it would run front to back with the bus. Problem is, it would cover up a heap of windows, etc, and the storage area would be lost, as well.

How about a hammock? I'm considering that, too. Also going to try to set up the dinette in the standard kind of table/bed configuration.

I always found it helpful to make a few scale cut-outs of furniture and move it around on a scale plan of the bus. Of course, right now, I'm working from a vapor-ware floorplan in my head that changes somewhat from minute to minute!

[Ryan Grimm]

I like the joined-twins idea....two extra-length twins are the same as a king in size.

Putting the beds on casters/rollers would serve the same purpose as the VERY expensive slides, at a fraction of the cost (yeah, I'm a cheap bastard).
Placing top AND front access to the storage space under the beds would ensure easier access depending on bed positions.

As for a hammock, have you EVER tried sex in one? No Way! I'm getting far too old for that.......

[Eric von Kleist]

Sex? What's that?

I used to live in a 21 foot daysailer. I started out sleeping on the table, which converted into a bed. In the winter I slept in a mummy bag because I had no heat (or electricity, or water, or head). One night the weather was a little rough, and I got rolled out of bed. I couldn't get my arms out of the mummy bag to stop myself from rolling. I ended up on the sole (floor) face down and wedged between the centerboard trunk and a built in settee. It was hilarious. I finally got to my knees, still in the bag, and got myself out. After that I moved to a quarter berth under the cockpit. It was snug. The bottom of the cockpit seat was about 8" above my face. I would wake up in the very coldest of mornings with ice above my face from the condensation of my breath while I slept, but I couldn't roll out of bed.

But it was worth it to live where porpoises would wake me up, and where I could come nose to nose with otters in my cockpit on a regular basis.

[bdavis441]

Here is what I plan to use as a simple solution to the bed problem. In addition to 4 bunks (1 set on each side near the back) mainly for kids. I am going to purchase a futon that folds out into a bed and place it in the main living area. Has a footprint of 36 x 78 in couch form. Should work out real nice, if not, I'll take it in the house and try something else. These sell at Wal-Mart for $99, have a steel tube frame, look pretty nice.

[jsin04]

Originally Posted by Les Lampman

Hi Ryan,

You're facing the same choices we all go through...where to put everything!

If you look at the cubic feet of storage available under a fixed queen bed and the available space above the bed for cabinets and such it's hard to argue against it from a pure storage standpoint.

I too thought about a Murphy bed but without having the bed at floor level or darn close to it there wasn't enough ceiling height to fold the bed up; you can't use the space above the bed for cabinets and you can't use the sapce below for storage.

The bus is wide enough that you can place the bed lengthwise along one side of the bus and have a passageway on the other side. The problem I ran into with this design was trying to locate the bed so that the passageway didn't require a trip over a rear wheel well; I couldn't make that happen.

In my final design I ended up with a crosswise mounted queen bed on the forward side of a bulkhead mounted 5' from the back of the bus; the last 5' is the trunk/shop/artist loft/storage/whatever space. This allowed me to mount a 100-gallon freshwater tank on the centerline of the bus very near the rear axle. There's also room under the bed for storage as well.

But before that I decided on twin beds (don't quit reading yet!) on each side of the bus with an open center aisleway. The base of each twin bed was really a pretty substantial cabinet with storage and drawers under. On top of the cabinet I was going to mount the bed platforms (one on each side) on full extension drawer slides (like they use for pickup beds and van slide outs); each bed would then pull out to the center of the bus and meet in the middle (and latch together) to form a queen sized bed. As I recall each bed platform only had to roll out 1/2 the width of the bed (and base cabinet) so strength and supporting the beds was not an issue at all (some of the slides I found are good for 1000 pounds; even a energetic night wouldn't cause problems!). Clearing the walkway would be as easy as unlatching the beds and rolling them out to the sides of the bus. They would also be handy when twin beds are desired; especially when on the road.

Anyway...just throwing out ideas...good luck!

I'm trying to figure out bed placement as well. any pics or plans of your twin bed set up?

[JA Savage]

We use an IKEA futon like this:

IKEA PS LÖVÅS Sleeper sofa - Gräsbo white - IKEA

It is 65" by about 80" and we put in the bus so it folds out from one side of the bus to the other. It is comfortable to sleep on and when you put it up into a couch you have another sitting room or a place to read and we can use our rear door.

[BigDavid]

The Ikea link is dead.
We have a standard futon & its big enough for 2 adults. The memory foam is a nice touch.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

I made a sofa with seat belts that opens up like a recliner during travel or parked and also slides out to make a king size bed if you lay one way or a good size queen laying the other.
If I can get my pics to work I will show you.
Here lately
I can only do one pic at a time? And if I do get a pic? I will explain in a following post.
Sorry? Computer challenged.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

Explanation of the pic.
The sofa on the right the foot pads as I call them pull up all the way like a recliner with about 20"s of leg room if someone needed to walk through there . But all of that opened up pulls out all the way to the love seats on the left. The sofa back cushions lay down, the butt cushions are loose so they move the foot rest are attached .
I said a king one way and a queen the other is because the love seat on the left has a storage/armrest compartment. If we're mad at each other then I got a little protection and if we are warm and cozy then I have some room. Plus full storage under the sofa if you pick the leg rest up.
The actual workings are 1/4" plate steel,schedule 40 steel pipe and good bolts and nuts. I work with it for a living so scraps come home but what I did is not beyond anyone here.
If anyone would like more pics of the workings of what I did and I will actually try to add them to my album this weekend.
Good luck