Need some advise

tr

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Currenty my bunk runs from wall to wall (horizontial) I'm looking for a way to mount the bed on the wall of the van (vertical or front to rear) over the wheel well so when not in use it will fold upwards. Thickness of the bed is about 8" because of the heavy duty foam mattress so I need to find a way to mount some type of bracket or hinge to the wall supports )these will probably have to stick out about 4-6 inches and the fold up would began at this point. Any ideas from you experts, also what type of "hinge could be used for this application. Thanks in advance.
 

riverrat2000

Seasoned Expediter
a guy in a van just bought the upper bunk out of my ,I installed cabinets, and mounted it in his van I thought he had a real good idea it folds up easily and was easy to mount
 

BigBuzd1

Expert Expediter
the way I had mine in my old van was a decent setup...it was mounted to the wall behind the drivers seat and ran along the back of the seats to the sliding door...I had two sheets of plywood to comprise the length of the mattress. It was hinged at the head with hinges used on wooden gates, and again, hinged in the middle where the to sheets of plywood met. Underneath were hinged legs that would fold up when I needed to stow it against the wall for a load and secured with a ratchet strap. the mattress would be taken off and secured over one of the wheel bumps in the same manner.
not sure if this is the type of setup you need or wan,t but someone might find it useful, I hope. :)

p.s. this setup was instrumental in saving my life in a barrel roll into an end-over-end triple flip in that van, as it kept me from being tossed from end to end during the crash. and no...I had no seatbelt on.
 

tr

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Tks for the responses received. Hope you got the big run today. Take care and be safe.
 

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Bolt a 2x6, 6 or 7 feet long to the verticle ribs on the wall. Catch as many ribs as possible with bolts. Then add two or more 2x6's to build out to the depth required to accomodate your mattress. Bolt 3 or 4 door hinges along the length of the 2x6 and add a sheet of 3/4" plywood. You could cut 2 2x4's for legs and use locking hinges or use 4x4 blocks to place on the floor for support when the bed is down.

I used this method only I went across the width of the van bolting the 2x6's to the bulkhead behind the seats. This allowed me to fold the bed up to carry a third pallet, which I rarely did.

Another option is to purchase a MootBed HD model.
 

theoldprof

Veteran Expediter
tr. Just remember, a vertical bed may not be able to be used when you have a load in your van. You don't want to put your self in a position where you don't have the use of your bunk when loaded just to be able to haul that occasional extra freight. Many times you have to sleep when you are loaded. Well, not you personally loaded, but your van is loaded.
:+ :+
 

tr

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Moot, think you hit the nail on the the head. Thanks. No problem with load interference, as it will not stick out beyound the wheelwells. Thanks to all.
 
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