My original design for the back half of my van didn’t work out at all the way I intended. I’d hoped to sit on my bed and use the table under the TV as a desk, creating a small office in the back of the van. This didn’t work at all, with the bed the same height (or higher, depending on the mattress) as the table. I left the old layout alone, partly because at the time I built the van last April I just needed to get out of the Florida heat, and partly because the components along that side wall fit together perfectly, preventing anything from shifting around while I drove. I didn’t have any better ideas about how to use the space until now. Also, it was just a folding table and a stack of plastic drawers, which came out in no time. The old bed simply unscrewed from the wall and came out almost as easily. It’s not like I tore apart a beautifully finished van build to do this.
I went back to my tried and true technique of an angle iron frame, similar to my last van. I bolted the sides directly into the wall’s threaded holes, then bolted the rest of the frame together, with extra supports between the bed and floor in strategic locations. This time, the bed runs lengthwise, not side-to-side. The Transit interior is only 69 inches wall-to-wall, and I’m six feet (72 inches) tall. My biggest peeve about my previous van was that I couldn’t lie flat and stretch out in bed, so this avoids that issue. I would have just done a standard full-size mattress, but seeing as I got a new cot-size mattress just two months ago, I kept it and bought a second identical one.
I turned a plywood scrap and some leftover scraps of wood into a headboard, basically to prevent pillows from falling off the bed. I’ll paint it and/or cover it up all nice and pretty at some point, but today’s goal was to make it functional, and that’s it. I also ran a new duct from my heater since the old one wasn’t long enough for this new application. I’ll attach the outlet more neatly at some point in the future, but for now, I just needed to make it usable in a pinch. It’s been warm enough lately that I haven’t needed to use it anyway. I’ve lost some of my storage, but the bigger bed vastly expands storage under the bed. It’s quite easy to reach in from the back of the van. It’s not quite as easy in front, but possible.
I got some fold-up boxes to sit on the shelf above one side of the bed to hold most of my clothes. Off-season clothes and bedding now go into storage bins under the bed. The toilet had to move from its old location in the back corner. The bed is just barely high enough for it to slide underneath. When I (rarely) need to use it, I can pull it out from under the bed, do my business, and slide it back out of sight. I’ll probably add a short curtain to the front edge of the bed to hide it when I’m not using it.
It took all the energy I had to get this built yesterday, even with help. I guess I’m not as young as I used to be. But the goal was to start in the morning and have a functional new bed in time to sleep in that night. We achieved that goal, but the project isn’t done yet. I need to move and/or install new USB outlets in convenient places for the new bed configuration. I’ve ordered a little basket that will hang underneath the shelf on the driver’s side since I no longer have a place to put my wallet, keys, phone, etc. while I sleep. The hanging baskets work well on the passenger side, but I don’t have anywhere to mount such a thing on the opposite side yet.
There’s still a lot of stuff I need to find new homes for, everything from my laundry bag to where I’m going to put beer that hasn’t gone into the fridge yet (I only keep one or two cold at a time since I don’t drink that much). But that can all be figured out as we go. For now, this works. Most importantly, Lister is happy. There’s room for him on the bed once again, plus he can now sprawl out in the middle of an even bigger space, because that’s what cats do.
Smokey Da Van 