Advancing Alvar

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by booster

Is there a cargo net for the overhead storage in the rear?

There is a slight lip to hold things from sliding off and the door closes tight to the shelf lip. The door holds things in. Of course we will find out. Actually our Great West Van had an upper shelf not quite as deep as this one and we never had any problems with it. They do have an option with doors to enclose it but I figured with the stuff we would put there the doors would only get in the way.

That upper center back cabinet is divided so there is the back open storage and there is inside storage clear across the back about a foot deep.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

That is really cool. Wonder if you could retrofit that to a 59K?

The Travato 59K does have that pillow prop but I think it is manual. The under bed mechanism is about 10" deep with electric motors, actuators, and arms. The Froli suspension relies on one section of mattress as do slat beds. Our bed is 5 sections attached to a platform. We used the best foam system we could get for a total of 4" mattress on a 3/4" board to save depth. This bed will support 700 lbs. It is solid compared to that Froli bed.

Sure, you have room to retrofit. Any twin bed B could for that matter. But you have to design it first.

[GeorgeB]

Originally Posted by Davydd

We are at Advanced RV to pick up Alvar. We will be quite busy today but here are some photos. Note we have electrically articulated twin beds in our B. We can control the bed through our iPhone to raise the back, raise the foot and adjust the head. We can also program pre-settings such as Bed, TV Watching, Zero Gravity Lounger, etc. The center portion at the shoulders gives us a full king at that point and possibly our cat Callie may make her home there. The opening at the floor will be her passage to her own domain under the bed should she choose. Cats can be finicky.

Alvar Photos

Congratulations for your new Alvar "Liner". Nice work!
Love the hi-tech skirts and the interior detailing!
Posted it on my Kampervan Flipboard blog
https://flipboard.com/section/kampervan-bii6tz
and my FB page
https://www.facebook.com/kampervanfun




.

[Davydd]

Here is our unofficial video of the articulating bed. Advanced RV will have a more professional video when they publish with a better looking model.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWI3Tz5 ... e=youtu.be

[youtube:j6qcfcvn]TWI3Tz5VB4A[/youtube:j6qcfcvn]

[SiennaGuy]

I don't mean to steer the conversation too far from Davydd's new RV and its great beds (he's going to let me drive it, right? ) Anyway, Leggett & Platt is one of the largest manufacturers of these kinds of mechanisms. They make the mechanisms for Sleep Number and other leading mattress companies. You can buy these mechanisms separately from a mattress, but the mattress has to be a standard Queen, King, etc. and it has to be flexible enough to fold. Apparently, prices (and mark-ups) vary widely. They're great for reading in bed or watching TV. I love mine. Be aware that there's lots of cross-labeling in these things. Tempurpedic bought Serta, Serta innerspring mattresses are made by Leggett & Platt, Serta memory foam toppers may now actually be made by Sleep Innovations, Sleep Innovations makes memory foam products for Costco, Leggett & Plate makes the adjustable bed frames that are sold under the Sleep Number brand, etc.

Here's the Leggett & Platt web site:
http://www.lpadjustablebases.com

For reviews of these and other adjustable foundations, check out the video and the information on the following site. They review all sorts of beds, bedding and related items:
http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattres ... table.html

(I absolutely LOVE the name of that site!)

[Davydd]

SiennaGuy,

You did not steer too far. The bed is based on the Leggett and Platt P (Premier) Series but is highly modified to work with the width and length to fit. Also, the mattress is custom designed in five sections attached to the supporting boards and not a loose single mattress. It is also genuine leather covered and has to work as furniture as well as a bed. The mattress is 3" of high density foam topped with an inch of memory foam. I was concerned it might have not been enough without those European slats or Froli systems but as it turns out it is almost perfect for me. My Sleep Number bed at home is set to 100. Being attached to the board I don't know if a Froli system would work. I would still be interested in slats. We just couldn't find a European manufacturer willing to work with this.

I also designed the bed base enclosure and headboard. We can store our pillows under the foot of the bed. I haven't explored what else yet. In the plywood board base there is a trap door to get to the dead area between the base and the wheel wells. Someone said I could put a gun there (which I don't have) and you could not raise the foot of the bed to get at it without the iPhone and wireless controls. That is another 4" of space. On the driver's side under the bed there is the inverter enclosure and a big subwoofer.

The bed was not that easy to do. First, we had to visit and work with a mockup in another B under construction to figure out size, hight, depth of notch, and clearance from upper cabinets. That September visit cost us easily $500 or more but we wanted to see the van anyway when it came in and it was just another Class B-less mini trip vacation to visit relatives and friends. Then I drew how I wanted the frame, side table and headboard to look. I wanted a pass through to the back storage that could accommodate an enclosed kitty litter box that was 16" wide x 17" tall. After that I believe ARV said they made four attempts to get it right. So there was a lot of time and effort put in to make it work. On the first day I posted photos on the Facebook "B"ing in an Advanced RV group they started getting calls. They didn't charge me for all the development cost I am sure but I predict they will recover it in sales. I'm getting nothing out of it but my own satisfaction in getting what I want and I am extremely happy with the result. The dimensions are mine but I can see making some adjustments for various reasons but nothing is a deal breaker. Things like if the aisle notch was 2" deeper I could reach the back light switch in that shelf standing in the aisle but my wife couldn't anyway. Class Bs are just tight all the way around. Still, I think they could adjust the beds in size to fit a specific customer.

Leggett and Plat 232 P-Series Bed

[pattonsr]

Davydd,

You said the beds are pushed back leaving around 6" clear to the doors. Is it feasible that the beds could be pushed back further to the doors?

I believe you said that there was newly created space in front of both beds due to the push back. I would love to see pictures of what was done with the new space.

Did the cabinet with the safe in it end up as you described much earlier? Later on you presented a redesign with a dog kennel.

I assume that the bathroom and refrigerator are in the normal space. You redesigned the bed area and the cabinet behind the driver. I wonder how much space I would have to work with between the bath and the twin bed and the galley and the twin bed if the beds went all the way to the rear doors.

Lastly what determined the 26 1/2 inch bed width? The cat opening in 16" by 17". Did the cat opening drive the bed width?

Sorry for all the questions.

[Davydd]

Barry,

The bed is pushed back 6-1/2" from their normal location because I wanted to get out from under the TV overhang. You could probably push it back further but I wanted some vertical space in order to stand up two zero gravity lounge chairs and an Xtend telescoping ladder in the back behind the headboard. It worked out just right. The bed mattress is 27-1/2" wide x 74" long and sets out from the wall and headboard 1" so is effectively 28-1/2" x 75". On the passenger side there is a bin with the top even with the mattress that gives 6-1/2 more or a total of 81-1/2" length. The driver's side is tight to the wall at the foot.

We set the bed at a height of 29" and there is 31" clear below the upper cabinets. That works out just right for me. A taller person would have to be cognizant of those cabinets and duck or carefully lie down. I don't have to think about it. You can only walk into the notch (36") so far and then when I flop down I miss those cabinets. I simulated all this to figure it out.

Here is the gained space behind the bathroom under the cantilevered wall the bed used to slide under. It is a pull out bin.


This is the lift lid bin on the passenger side which extends the bed length in that your feet can hang over. The lid is at the height of the mattress.


The drawing I posted with the dog kennel was a drawing I created for someone else asking if it was possible. I did not put in a kennel. This is the small dog kennel design if anyone is interested. I raised everything 6" to get more kennel height. On ours I have a full shelf at the top with two USB outlets and a 4 plex 120VAC for charging stuff.


The bathroom and the refrigerator and kitchen galley are all in the same place. The wardrobe was my only modification up front. Here is a view looking toward the back with the galley and refrigerator.


This is the shortened in width wardrobe with the computer desk stored up against the wall.


This is the wardrobe with the door open.


The cat opening did not drive the bed width. The space between the beds did. It is 12-1/2" wide between the bed cabinetry and I can stand and face front or back and turn around. There is plenty of toe space and I can store things under the beds part way like milk crates for shoes and other items. Here is a photo that shows the notch space and how I got the width and height for the cat litter enclosure.

[stanw909]

Beautiful. I know you probably talked about it so many pages ago but can you tell us again about the fridge ?

[Davydd]

The refrigerator is a Nova Kool RFU 6800 6.8 cubic foot two door refrigerator. Refrigerator on top and freezer on the bottom. It is a compressor type and runs in 12V mode only and is rated at 5.2 amps when actually running. It doesn't run all the time so is very efficient. In this cold weather it barely runs. The bottom freezer is almost as big as our whole refrigerator we had in our Great West Van Legend.



http://www.novakool.com/products/two_doors/cutout68.htm

http://www.novakool.com/products/two_do ... 0_9000.htm

[markopolo]

Wow - awesome Class B Every inch seems planned and well thought out. Very clean and elegant and nice surprises when you see inside the wardrobe like the safe and lighting

[Boxster1971]

I agree - an awesome B-van. Will I be able to see it first hand at the ARV Feast in May?


- - Mike
2013 AS Interstate on 2012 MB Sprinter 3500 Long & Tall

[Davydd]

We will be at Advanced Fest.

[Davydd]

Advanced RV posted this video today featuring Alvar and the articulating beds. This explains it all.

[youtube:e1u7pqho]FqX_ohsr4og[/youtube:e1u7pqho]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqX_ohsr4og

[markopolo]

I just watched the video - you're famous now! It was fun to watch and I'm excited for you

[RT.SS]

All I can say is, wow! (drools). Congrats on your new RV.

[Lou]

Davydd
Thanks so much for sharing this process with us. It has been so much fun to follow.

[mlts22]

This has been an awesome read and a great journey in seeing what took shape.

For me, the three things I am impressed with is the Silverleaf EMS, the desk for the driver's seat, and (don't laugh) the placement of your safe.

[pattonsr]

mits22,

Not sure what you meant by the Silverleaf EMS. Are you referring to the Silverleaf screen or are you talking about the surge protection?

[pattonsr]

Davydd,

Did Advanced RV go over or document the access to the Surge Guard and Outback inverter/charger? I see the box under the driver side bed which looks to have two vents which I assume are for the Outback. How does one get access to the box? Is the Surge Guard in the box also? I assume that the Outback passes power (from shore pass-through or from the batteries) to the breakers. I assume the breakers are still behind the Silverleaf display.

Since Alvar has a bed mechanism under the mattress, the usual access by removing the mattress is probably not going to work. Is there a magic option on your Iphone to raise the bed for access?

I noted that the water pump is under your closet floor with easy access.