Bed/Couch Build
This part of the project had me stumped for a couple weeks. In hindsight, we simplified the design quite a bit which was for the best. Here's a few pages from the sketchbook. The bed design had several constraints - The foam and where to store it, how to get enough wood panels in couch mode so that when we were ready to fold out the bed it would be a full 74 inches.
Beyond pages of sketching and hours of arguing about designs, I spent time in the van mocking up the dimensions. What angle should the back rest be? How long can the seat of the couch be before it's uncomfortable? How high can the back rest be before it blocks the back window? How much storage can we build in under the couch before hitting out heads no the ceiling?
Along with pretty much everything else in the van this was built out of 3/4in pre-finished plywood.
These are the legs, they're stored inside the couch when not in use. Made from two pieces of 3/4in glued and screwed together. More ridged and smaller than 2x4's (which was the original plan)
Building out the 90° supports and feet.
The seat of the couch hinges open for storage.
Here they are in place.
And by some very careful planning 6ft 3inches of bed space.
We'd already purchased the pad, which is just standard bed foam. 3 Pieces, 36in x 72in, $20 each at Fred Meyer. I had a friend (girl) who could actually sew, make the futon cover. It's made out of some soft fabric... I dunno **** about sewing. She did a damn good job.
Finished product!
This part of the project had me stumped for a couple weeks. In hindsight, we simplified the design quite a bit which was for the best. Here's a few pages from the sketchbook. The bed design had several constraints - The foam and where to store it, how to get enough wood panels in couch mode so that when we were ready to fold out the bed it would be a full 74 inches.
Beyond pages of sketching and hours of arguing about designs, I spent time in the van mocking up the dimensions. What angle should the back rest be? How long can the seat of the couch be before it's uncomfortable? How high can the back rest be before it blocks the back window? How much storage can we build in under the couch before hitting out heads no the ceiling?
Along with pretty much everything else in the van this was built out of 3/4in pre-finished plywood.
These are the legs, they're stored inside the couch when not in use. Made from two pieces of 3/4in glued and screwed together. More ridged and smaller than 2x4's (which was the original plan)
Building out the 90° supports and feet.
The seat of the couch hinges open for storage.
Here they are in place.
And by some very careful planning 6ft 3inches of bed space.
We'd already purchased the pad, which is just standard bed foam. 3 Pieces, 36in x 72in, $20 each at Fred Meyer. I had a friend (girl) who could actually sew, make the futon cover. It's made out of some soft fabric... I dunno **** about sewing. She did a damn good job.
Finished product!
