The factory fit campervan ‘rock’n’roll beds just look really small and uncomfortable, so we knew this wasn’t the way we wanted to go, and was one of the main reasons we didn’t consider buying a ready built camper (that and the cost!). As we don’t have to worry about transporting children safely, we had no need of proper seats in the back, so had a lot of freedom in what we could do. After much debate, internet searching and consideration of where mattress joins would be (“that would mean a join just where by bum would be, I don’t like the sound of that”), we opted for a configuration which has 2/3rds fixed and 1/3rd removable. The smaller piece would then double as the back of the sofa (and the join would be under the backs of our legs ;-))
The inside of a Transit Custom is not quite wide enough for Mr W to lie flat width-wise, so that decided the orientation. We like to sit in bed with a cup of tea in the morning, so that dictated the maximum height the bed platform could be.
We knew we wanted to have a king sized bed if possible, as it would need to accommodate us and a large dog. As neither of us are that tall, there was no need for the full kings size length, and with space for the kitchen area at a premium, every centimetre we could save would make a difference. After much measuring, we decided on king size width and double size length. I had read online about many self-builders using a standard foam mattress and cutting it down with a bread knife, so we decided to give this a try. It made sense to us that using a product designed for sleeping on was more likely to be successful than buying a piece of upholstery foam, both in terms of comfort and breathability.
I was lucky enough to source a free Ikea king size foam mattress from someone locally on Facebook marketplace who was moving house and needed it gone ASAP. It was from a guest bed, so was in fantastic condition. The downside to jumping on a good opportunity for free materials was that we had an extra mattress getting in the way in our spare bedroom for weeks until we were actually ready to use it. As a new one would have been almost £300, we put up with the inconvenience.
So, with the design agreed, we focussed first on building the fixed portion of the bed frame. Efficient use of the space under the bed for storage was going to be really important for longer trips, so we thought about how we would actually use this o a day to day basis. We fixed on using storage boxes, which we would be able to access either from the rear of the van or from the inside. This dictated the orientation of the frame supports, to allow us to slide things in and out. We wanted the frame to be sturdy, so used chunky timber that is designed for making stud walls, and designed the joints so the timber took the weight in compression without undue stress on the screws.
We made 3 frames for each side of the bed and one support for the centre and then joined them together. The two sides were positioned inside the wheel arches, which left a small volume behind the wheels each side of the bed. The idea is to turn these areas into storage spaces accessible from above. As I type this months later, we still haven’t got around to doing this, but it is still very definitely on the list.
Once the basic support frame was in place, we cut plywood to cover the frame and overhang it on each side up to the cladding on the side walls. We bought big enough sheets of ply to do this in 2 pieces. Manoeuvring those pieces into the space was not an easy job, especially when we had to do it a couple of times to get the contours right. Nothing on a Transit Custom is square, and it’s amazing how much difference the thickness of the wood makes when dropping it in on an angle. Much chamfering was required.
Once finally in place we screwed the top down into the support frame at regular intervals.
When we originally installed the bed we did not cut ventilation holes into the ply. There was a difference of opinion on whether it was necessary to prevent mould, so we agreed to give it a try without and see how we got on. Our first trip was a big 4 week adventure round Scotland, and when we got back there were the first signs of a little mould, so we have subsequently cut 50mm holes all across the ply to allow air to circulate. The holes size was chosen purely as it seems ‘about right’ and a good balance between largeish holes and maintaining the structural integrity of the plywood (and it was a hole saw we had).
I have seen many van conversions that use slats to support the mattress, which is a good solution, but this would have made the design we chose more difficult, as the removable leaf would become a more complex frame than what we actually did.
In the photo above you can see the controller for the underfloor heating loose on the floor on the right hand side. Before we got into building the removable leaf and supports, we mounted this controller on the side of the fixed bedframe. This provides a solid mounting position to minimise vibration. It is easily accessible when the van is in sofa mode, and still just about accessible when you reach round the side, when the van is in bed mode.
With the fixed 2/3rds of the bed in place, we moved on to the movable 1/3rd which would double as the backrest for the sofa. This portion would be the same width as the mattress and slightly narrower than the fixed bed platform to allow it to be moved around inside the van a bit more easily. To keep it simple, we cut the shape of the top in ply first and then added a reinforcing frame on the back.
When in bed mode, this section is supported by 2 ply boxes, which serve as storage and also stools when the van is in sofa mode. The reinforcing timber was fixed to the ply top in a pattern that locates these 2 boxes. I don’t have a photo of the underside of the removable section, but imagine shallow pockets the thickness of the timber, which are sized just larger than the outline of the storage stools.
Getting the storage stools just the right height was important to have both sections of the bed level. You can just about see in the images below that the storage stools have runner feet on them. This is to help air to circulate, as the under floor heating mat instructions warned against permanent ‘hotspots’ where things are sitting on top of the heated floor. These feet have offcuts of the 3 way stretch carpet used on the doors and wheel arches attached, so they can slide around without scratching the vinyl floor.
I have bought a table leg kit, which we eventually plan to fix to the central post of the fixed bed frame, so we can have a table and a stool either side for eating at, when in sofa mode. The place I was planning to store the table top when not in use, isn’t quite big enough for it with the bracket fitted, so this part of the project has gone on the back burner for now.
Once we had all the building blocks for the bed complete, it was time to break out the bread knife! I had seen videos of others using an electric bread knife, but we don’t have one of the those, and I wasn’t going to buy one just to make 2 cuts for this project. With trepidation, I had a go with just our plain old manual bread knife from the kitchen. It worked perfectly! I used a sharp scalpel blade along a steel rule to score a clean line a couple of mm deep to follow with the serrated bread knife and used long cutting strokes with minimal force with the serrated blade, starting at one edge and working across. The only slightly tricky part was keeping the knife perpendicular as the mattress is quite thick and made up of 2 layers of different texture foam. I cut the mattress hanging over the edge of the bed platform to keep it flat and evenly supported in the area I was cutting. To keep a clean factory-cut edge across the straight edge (the foot of the bed), I cut a section out of the middle to reduce it from king to double length. I also contoured the head end to match the shape of the rear doors when closed.
What we hadn’t considered, and want to resolve at some point, is that there is currently no way of retaining the boxes / stools in transit. It would be useful to be able to travel with the van in sofa mode, for quick lunch / tea stops. Without retention for the storage stools, we currently always travel in bed mode. This makes it quick to move on in the mornings, but is not ideal for sitting in to drink a cuppa on route, and even worse if we want to cater for friends when it is raining. It would be cosy for 4, but with the sofa and 2 stools it would be welcome respite from the rain. I have some ideas for how we can do this, but it hasn’t been important enough to rise to the top of the to-do list yet.
The upholstery for the sofa bed is quite rudimentary at the moment, but very functional. I bought a quality thick cotton super king size duvet set from Facebook marketplace and we simply made 2 loose covers (the same width as the super king duvet cover). We later repurposed the two pillow cases. One with velcro on the back to attach to the carpet around the window in the sliding door to act as a basic curtain, the other has become a curtain under the worktop to hide the fresh and waste water bottles from view.
We plan to make proper fitted covers at some point, but these crude ones are working fine for now.
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