KeyserSoSay
Adventurer
just for the posterity of this thread -here's a more thorough depiction of what I've got planned for these. These are made to scale using measurements from my van- the mattress pictured for example is a full size, but the lift could theoretically accommodate a queen size mattress depending on how I design the raised rooftop (which is why I'm going to the effort to try and design this now from the comfort of my computer so that when I go to welding and wrenching it all fits as it should). The little person in the image is 5'9" (just like me) but the design is intended to leave 6' of walking space beneath it.
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It would leave you a space of about 3' above the mattress while sleeping on it, not exactly enough to fully sit up in bed without bending your head down- but the 2ft swing arms could potentially be made longer to drop the bed lower, but also adversely effect the lifting assist you'd get from your lifters. I've a plan to make a slide-in ladder using a 2ft wide by 3/4" sheet of dextrin plastic with folding steps milled into it. This would slide into a slot under the mattress when not in use. this is a preliminary idea.
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I found some government surplus door-closers being sold in lots of 6 or more for really cheap, but didn't realize they'd sell out so quick, and missed my chance. I'm on the lookout for lots of 4-6 of these lifters contingent on their weight rating. Really, these will not need to lift the weight of the bed on their own, when I put my hand under the bed and lift up, they really just need to help me lift the bed up "in plane" so I'm not trying to hold the entire weight of the bed while I latch it up to the roof. If I had six of the closers I have as an example- I'm confident they would produce enough lifting force to help me hold the bed up overhead with one hand while I latch it off with the other- and without a lot of exertion on my part. I plan on using elastic ties to hold the bed up to the roof, I want them to have enough force to press the bed to the roof, and if I go with a memory foam mattress- compress it to the roof. I've considered rubber hood latches like you find on a jeep hood, but will likely go with something more easily adjustable in case I decide to store other stuff on the bed when closed.
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The bed will lock in the down position using some type of "slam latch" which I can mount in a couple of out-of-the-way locations as indicated in the diagram- I'm not set on the specifics of this yet, but there are a wide variety of compact but strong slam latches available to make this work.
This entire project is a ways down my list of priorities for this van- but I'll be collecting parts and may be able to get to it by the end of this summer concurrent with building and placing the raised rooftop.
`
It would leave you a space of about 3' above the mattress while sleeping on it, not exactly enough to fully sit up in bed without bending your head down- but the 2ft swing arms could potentially be made longer to drop the bed lower, but also adversely effect the lifting assist you'd get from your lifters. I've a plan to make a slide-in ladder using a 2ft wide by 3/4" sheet of dextrin plastic with folding steps milled into it. This would slide into a slot under the mattress when not in use. this is a preliminary idea.
`
I found some government surplus door-closers being sold in lots of 6 or more for really cheap, but didn't realize they'd sell out so quick, and missed my chance. I'm on the lookout for lots of 4-6 of these lifters contingent on their weight rating. Really, these will not need to lift the weight of the bed on their own, when I put my hand under the bed and lift up, they really just need to help me lift the bed up "in plane" so I'm not trying to hold the entire weight of the bed while I latch it up to the roof. If I had six of the closers I have as an example- I'm confident they would produce enough lifting force to help me hold the bed up overhead with one hand while I latch it off with the other- and without a lot of exertion on my part. I plan on using elastic ties to hold the bed up to the roof, I want them to have enough force to press the bed to the roof, and if I go with a memory foam mattress- compress it to the roof. I've considered rubber hood latches like you find on a jeep hood, but will likely go with something more easily adjustable in case I decide to store other stuff on the bed when closed.
`
The bed will lock in the down position using some type of "slam latch" which I can mount in a couple of out-of-the-way locations as indicated in the diagram- I'm not set on the specifics of this yet, but there are a wide variety of compact but strong slam latches available to make this work.
This entire project is a ways down my list of priorities for this van- but I'll be collecting parts and may be able to get to it by the end of this summer concurrent with building and placing the raised rooftop.
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