Plywood thickness for sleeping platform.

[Martinjmpr]

I know the OP has already bought his wood but I went with 1/2" (I think it's actually 15/32) fully sanded. I want to say it was ~ $32/sheet at Home Depot. As others have said, most of the big box stores will give you one or two cuts free on their nice big saw.
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One reason I went with 1/2 is because my platform has to be removable. It's not easy picking up my platform, but I can do it. Probably weighs in at around 60lb or so. If it was 3/4" I would bet it would be close to 100. That's a lot of weight!

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: ME TOO-

I know the OP has already bought his wood but I went with 1/2" (I think it's actually 15/32) fully sanded. I want to say it was ~ $32/sheet at Home Depot. As others have said, most of the big box stores will give you one or two cuts free on their nice big saw.
.
One reason I went with 1/2 is because my platform has to be removable. It's not easy picking up my platform, but I can do it. Probably weighs in at around 60lb or so. If it was 3/4" I would bet it would be close to 100. That's a lot of weight!

Makes mine a 5 minute removal/10 minute install and I doit alone-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[Stumpalump]

any pics of the bed.. my friend has a cool little set up in his van next time i run into him ill get pics for you ...just some cool simple ideas... he has the short run 3/4ton !!awd!! chevy van (late 2010 isn i think) ... not many made. he has DHL yellow for the color..bought and ordered new, and never gets stopped cause he looks like a school bus /delivery guy...

Stealth is not over rated. My van a white city of Colorado Springs 4x4 work van. I left the yellow strobes on the roof and grill. Even the tail lights are strobes. I can stop in a median for lunch or camp next to any government facility, hospital, business or even drive where I would not dare too because I look like I'm a city contractor. Even in the hood people don't mess with much that looks like it's associated with the government. Reminds me of the guys with a 4 door sedan, a huge motor and a couple of baby seats in back to use as a street racer.

 

[Stumpalump]

Follow up and thanks again for the help. The platform/slider came out well and I gained much needed storage. The water tank wound up on the left and I just cut up my old sink base and mounted the sink above my old generator storage cabinet. The blue jug is waste water. I chose a water jug so I won't get evil eyes when I dump it. I mounted everything on rubber or weather strip to keep sound down. I even put a strip between the two sheet on the middle of the platform. Squeaks on the road were not an option. The flooring and slider liner are the big puzzle pieces from Home Depot. That's what I used 6 years ago and it held up well enough to use again. It also keeps sound down and stops stuff from sliding around.

 

[Mules]

Thanks for starting this forum. I'm about ready to build my pop top camper bed platform. The two options I'm thinking about are:

(3) 48"x 25"' 3/4" AC plywood. I can take them down and get them out of the way, so I can walk around. Will these be strong enough to span a 4' gap with out additional support?

Second option is (1) 48" x 75" AC plywood. It would be hinged at the front, with pneumatic struts to push up, when not needed. I think this will be strong enough to span the gap. Maybe I need a 1x4 to support the edge you climb onto.

What do you guys recommend?

 

[highwest]

We used 3/4” plywood for the sleeping platform in our Tacoma for many years with no issue. It was (3x) 25”x58” to create a 75”x58” sleeping space. It supported ~400lbs when we were sleeping on it (2 humans, 2 smallish dogs) and carried our lighter items when we drove around. There were no additional supports or framing, just the carpeted plywood sitting in the ~1.5” lip around the perimeter of most of the bed and the wheel wells.

 

[Mules]

We used 3/4” plywood for the sleeping platform in our Tacoma for many years with no issue. It was (3x) 25”x58” to create a 75”x58” sleeping space. It supported ~400lbs when we were sleeping on it (2 humans, 2 smallish dogs) and carried our lighter items when we drove around. There were no additional supports or framing, just the carpeted plywood sitting in the ~1.5” lip around the perimeter of most of the bed and the wheel wells.

Thanks!!! So I guess I might not need the added support on the edge where you climb in. Do you remember what kind of plywood? AC plywood is smooth, cheaper, and easy to find. A lot of people recommend Baltic Birch or Marine Plywood. The Baltic Birch is strong, light weight, and smooth, but more expensive and not at my local store. The Marine Plywood is very strong, but also much heavier.

 

[highwest]

Thanks!!! So I guess I might not need the added support on the edge where you climb in. Do you remember what kind of plywood? AC plywood is smooth, cheaper, and easy to find. A lot of people recommend Baltic Birch or Marine Plywood. The Baltic Birch is strong, light weight, and smooth, but more expensive and not at my local store. The Marine Plywood is very strong, but also much heavier.

It was likely the cheapest stuff from the big box store. It was covered in carpet, so cosmetics were not a priority and I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to get wet. The platform did very occasionally see a little water leak in from the shell that dried quickly and did not harm it. After 5ish years I gave it to another Tacoma owner on EP for a whole new life. (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-raised-platform….562000/#post-18424905)

Before going with expensive wood, what’s the likelihood of it getting wet? Full disclosure, the thought of wet wood gives me nightmares, and I don’t use it if I can avoid it. I’m certain it’s an irrational fear…

 

[Mules]

It was likely the cheapest stuff from the big box store. It was covered in carpet, so cosmetics were not a priority and I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to get wet. The platform did very occasionally see a little water leak in from the shell that dried quickly and did not harm it. After 5ish years I gave it to another Tacoma owner on EP for a whole new life. (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-raised-platform….562000/#post-18424905)

Before going with expensive wood, what’s the likelihood of it getting wet? Full disclosure, the thought of wet wood gives me nightmares, and I don’t use it if I can avoid it. I’m certain it’s an irrational fear…

You know, I've built a few homes in my day, and I just remembered that I always used Douglas Fir plywood for the floors and walls. The reason is that I've never had any of this stuff deteriorate, no mater how much rain or snow fell on it during construction. I've had plenty of pine and OSB warped or damaged by water. I didn't know this but Marine Plywood is Douglas Fir. I just checked and 3/4" Douglas Fir Marine plywood is about $100 and ACX (pine) is about $70 a sheet. You're probably right that it won't see much moisture, but I might spend a few extra bucks on the Douglas Fir anyway. I like the carpeting or speaker material idea.

 

[Mfitz]

I posted this on another thread but here goes anyway. I built this a while back, I can sleep on it alone with the bike tray in the lower position. Flip over the bike tray onto the upper supports and it is almost a queen size for two. I used 3/4 ply from Home Depot because I didn't want anything to flex, but I probably could have gotten away with 1/2 for some of it. The only thing I really wish I had was a taller cap, but I was looking used and had limited choices.

 

[rruff]

What do you guys recommend?

Think I'd glue 1/8" luan skins to a 1" XPS core.

 

[Mules]

Think I'd glue 1/8" luan skins to a 1" XPS core.

Nice idea, that I've thought about. I have some left over Fiberglass Reinforced Panels about 0.100" thick that would make nice composite panels with some XPS insulation. Problem is finding the right glue as construction glues don't work well and many epoxy or resins have MEK, which melts the XPS. Any recommendations on glue that works with XPS, and won't break the bank?

 

[rruff]

Epoxy is fine with XPS, it's polyester resin that melts it. Get some fumed silica to thicken it. I've used PLPremium also. It's best to sand and perforate/texture the foam a bit and really work the adhesive into it first. Then trowel it and weight it with many concrete blocks. You'll want a wood perimeter/edge on the foam as well.

In this application I think you want stiffness, and the stiffness/weight of your fiberglass skins will be inferior to ply. That's actually about the same thickness as the 1/8 luan (which is .106") so it will be stiff enough I think, but heavy.

 

[irish44j]

mine is 5/16" over a 2x3 and 2x4 frame with opening compartments. It's about 48"x48" since my middle row seats fold "flat enough," plus some 8" or so fold-down flaps to bridge the gap. 2010 Sequoia, so it's about 7 feet long with the middle row down overall.

just a mockup of the flap piece. Now it has a full-length piano hinge on it.

 

[Snydmax]

Nice idea, that I've thought about. I have some left over Fiberglass Reinforced Panels about 0.100" thick that would make nice composite panels with some XPS insulation. Problem is finding the right glue as construction glues don't work well and many epoxy or resins have MEK, which melts the XPS. Any recommendations on glue that works with XPS, and won't break the bank?

RV Wall Delamination Repair

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