Witness the power of this fully operational death star, err, I mean Bunk Beds…
Yes, the bunk beds are complete. It took about 3 weeks of evenings and weekends, which is amazing because it is such a simple design. Then again, much of that time was spent waiting for paint to dry. I painted all the pieces outside the truck on racks, one coat of primer, two finish coats of white semigloss latex, two sides, it all adds up. That and there are lots more pieces to bunk beds than you might think.
As always, I have uploaded pictures under keyword “Stealth”. You can see the bunk beds as they appear from inside the truck looking forward. It’s pretty basic except that the two holes in the upper right of each sleeping bay are for small exhaust fans. I decided to move the entertainment electronics to the foot of the bed where they can be closer to the TV. Since those things can generate significant heat, especially the PS3, I added an exhaust fan to eject the heat at the source and try and keep the rest of the bunk more comfortable.
From inside you can see the head of the bed with the sliding headboard. It sits in an aluminum channel, 1/2” inside dimension. It is angled back 30 degrees from vertical and the top of the headboard leans against the wall. The idea is that you can throw a pillow up against the headboard and recline for TV viewing or game play. You can slide the headboard to either side for access to the storage behind for things you might normally put on a night stand like an alarm clock. You can also lift the headboard out and set it aside for full access. It doesn’t fully close the space like you could with two sliding doors running in parallel channels. It just closes most of the space, with sliding access to either side.
At the foot of the bed you can see another 5” space beyond the wall that traps the end of the mattress. This allows room for the PS3, VCR, or whatever, and the TV will be mounted on the wall up near the ceiling. The extra room will also reduce the chance of accidentally kicking the TV (I hope).
Yes, it’s a pain to make the bed and I am still experimenting with better ways to do it. I need to go buy some new bedding as the blankets I have are all for larger beds (queen or larger) and there is no hang down space for extra bedding as you would have for a free standing bed.
It’s a bit short on headroom for just sitting in there, but you can recline with pillows on the headboard comfortably, and of course sleeping is fine. It’s all designed around a standard “twin” mattress (39” x 75”). The mattress length is fine for me, but I imagine anyone over about 5’10” tall would want a longer mattress.
I ended up using 19/32” plywood throughout. My original plan was to use ¾” ply, but it is considerably more expensive (and heavy) and I don’t think the strength is needed. The bunk beds are just a big self reinforcing box and fully integrated into the existing wall, ceiling, and floor structure, so it couldn’t be much more rigid. In straight compression, even ¼” plywood would probably be strong enough, but that would look really odd.
It’s pretty much all put together with aluminum L channel and sheet metal screws through the plywood. I used lots and lots of screws, one every 4” or so on average, resulting in lots of surface area to distribute the load. The bed rails along the unsupported span between the two partial walls are 2” by 1/8” steel L channel so they are plenty strong. The partial wall panels are mounted to the floor, walls, and ceiling with 6 each of the 2” by 1/8” aluminum L brackets I made. They are a bit industrial, but are nicely painted and will be largely hidden once the closets are built.
The bed base panels are made of 4 separate pieces to simplify installation, and also to ease access to the floor safe under the bottom bunk. It’s one thing to lift up one 2 foot panel and the mattress to get to the safe. It would be much harder to lift the entire bottom bunk. I ended up needing to leave a small gap between the base panels, otherwise they rub against one another as you shift around in bed and creak like crazy.
Mattresses turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected. It turns out that there is no standard thickness for mattresses and they can vary from just a few inches all the way to over a foot thick. All I wanted was a simple foam mattress about 5 ½: thick, or in other words, the same as what I already have in my guest bedroom. It seems simple foam mattresses aren’t that popular anymore. Everyone wants to make something fancy, and thick, with metal springs and possibly a layer of memory foam on top. I don’t want all that thickness, and I am perfectly happy with the simple foam mattress I have had for years. I slept on it myself for many years and after 20 years it is still perfectly fine. I really don’t see why people claim that foam mattresses don’t last. It sounds like a vast mattress conspiracy to me ;-)
As I was building the bed my mattress space got compressed to 38 ½” (not 39) due to some interference issues with the TV antenna. (Poor planning on my part.) As a result I was happy to see that Truck Matresses come in many sizes including 38” by 75”. I figured the slightly narrower mattress would allow a little more room for bedding. I ordered one from…
http://www.mattressinsider.com/truck-mattresses.html
for what I thought was a reasonable price of $189. The mattress came rolled up tightly with a plastic outer wrap but expanded to full size when opened. Somewhat to my surprise it measures 38” wide but about 78” long. (It was supposed to be 75”). It jams into my 75” opening OK but is a little tight. Then again, it helps to hold the bedding in place, so perhaps it’s not a bad thing.
Upon further research I also found
http://www.comforthouse.com/innerspace1.html
and they have a twin mattress that is 38” x 75” and 5.5” thick for $159 which is, theoretically at least, exactly what I wanted. I have ordered one of those as well. I will have to tell you which I like best after they both get some serious sack time. Thus far my 20 year old foam mattress is still my favorite (softer), but I am trying to keep an open mind. I consider the bed to be very important as I expect to spend a third of my life (or more) in there.
The next step is the closets. They are nothing fancy, just a clothes rod and some shelves, but they are next in the sequence moving from the front to the back of the truck. Then comes the fridge, kitchen sink, and toilet. Those are all along the right wall. At that point, assuming I install the microwave, I will have met all the requirements for a “California House Car”. Then I can try and get it re-registered and insured as an RV, instead of as a commercial truck, even while I finish out the computer nook, range, desk, and boot-coat area on the left side.
To be continued….