Inline Bed Extension

[KurtFranz]

Here is something I did prior to our recent journey from Cleveland, OH to Soda Springs, ID and back as I was concerned with our sleep situation on the trip.

We keep the "bed setup" in place permanently - we do not use the rear dinette setup.

As most of us know, the Roadtrek Versatile sleeps "across" the rear of the van on a twin size bed. This seems to be a real negative for folks looking to purchase a Roadtrek. Initially I subscribed to that thought as well.

That being said, my wife and I are not tall individuals and the Versatile bed size is completely adequate for our needs. However, as many have stated and are aware, this type of sleeping has the disadvantage of disturbances due to one or both sleeping partners having a need to get up in the middle of the night for one reason or another. This could be a potential issue with regards to our sleeping experience, so I began investigating.

There are a few articles on the internet that address this issue by building a "bed extension" which is a platform extending forward of the middle of the bed utilizing the small square cushion that is not used when the twin bed is setup. Here is the one that caught my eye:

https://sites.google.com/site/roadtr.../bed-extension

I took this idea - which is great and kudos to the author of the site - and instead of building the platform as described in the article, I bought a 1/2" x "24" x 48" piece of plywood from Lowe's and sanded the edges with 40 grit sandpaper to the width of the table that fits between the seating areas. This was convenient that the size was just about perfect. You need to sand it enough so that the plywood slides easily between the two seating areas. It took me quite a few tries before I got it perfect where it slides effortlessly. It will rest on the "ledges" that the table rests on when using the bed. I also drilled two holes in the end of the plywood for using my fingers to pull the plywood forward. In essence it is a longer version of the "table" that is stored under the driver side seat when not in use. This piece of plywood is stored in the location between the seating areas and pulled forward like a drawer when it is needed for the bed. When the plywood is pulled forward it will drop down onto the ledges and you will feel the drop. Once it drops it will be at the correct level for the bed. The extended end of the plywood that overhangs out towards the front of the van is supported by a plastic milk crate - which happens to be just the correct height when resting on the higher carpeted edge of the floor - which is stored under the bed while not in use. The nice thing is that the milk crate is also used for storage - just keep the stored items below the top level of the crate where the plywood rests. The square cushion from the dinette setup that is not needed is placed on the end of the plywood platform in the same manner as shown in the above link. I just placed the cushion on there with no lip added to the end of the plywood and it remained in place nicely. When morning comes and we are ready to hit the road, I simply put the square cushion on the bed under the overhang from the TV cabinet, push down on the plywood to get it over the hump and then push it back under the bed like a drawer until it is even with the front of the bed. Then I push the plastic milk crate back under the bed. The whole process takes literally 30 seconds and adds a whole new dimension to the Versatile living experience as we now enjoy sleeping "down" the van as opposed to "across" and get to enjoy the vast living room that exists in the Versatile. This is the best of both worlds to us.

With this setup, I am able to sleep better than I do at home - we have a memory foam pad on the Roadtrek bed - on the driver side of the bed with no restraints and no differently than I do at home. Ditto for my wife who sleeps on the passenger side. Like I stated, this may not work for everyone - I am 5'7 and my wife is 4'11" - but I can see it working for folks who are a bit taller than this as well.

I will shoot a few pics when I get a chance.

Something for you Versatile owners to think about.

[Kurt Franz]

Here are a few pics of the setup - meant to post these a while back. Hope this can be useful to someone with an old Versatile. You can see my great craftsmanship on the rounded corners ;(

[@Michael]

How do you keep the cushion under your feet in place? Seems like it would get knocked on the floor at night.

[Kurt Franz]

I just set it there as in the photo and it stayed put. That being said I purchased a piece of memory foam that is 6 inches high by 10 inches wide and cut it to length to wedge in the space on the left. It is cut so that the bathroom door can be opened. However, I have not used it on a trip because my wife likes the small space to step down in when she gets up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and I leave the the bathroom door opened at night so we have an attached bath in our bedroom.

[rvsprinterguy]

Not seeing any pictures.

[jrobe]

I like the concept of having the bed area a little longer in the middle hallway section.

We have a custom designed Sportsmobile with a rear bed where we sleep lengthwise in our Sprinter Van. We designed the beds based on our heights with about 5' 9" on my wife's side and 6' on my side (a little longer than our individual heights).

If I had it to do over again, I would have made my passenger side a little shorter which would still be fine as long as that middle hallway section would be longer to occasionally stretch out fully at night. This would have allowed us to make our passenger side bathroom a little longer which would be a big improvement in our van where every little bit of space is valuable.

[Kurt Franz]

Originally Posted by jrobe

If I had it to do over again, I would have made my passenger side a little shorter which would still be fine as long as that middle hallway section would be longer to occasionally stretch out fully at night. This would have allowed us to make our passenger side bathroom a little longer which would be a big improvement in our van where every little bit of space is valuable.

I hear you on this. That would work out perfectly.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Kurt Franz

I hear you on this. That would work out perfectly.

You might also want to think about sleeping the other way with you head toward the cab. That way, the filler in the middle would be at your feet by the door and you could still easily get out of bed into the aisle for those late night trips.


Of course this would only work as long as you don't have an overhanging cabinet just above the bed like many Roadtreks have.

[Kurt Franz]

Originally Posted by booster

You might also want to think about sleeping the other way with you head toward the cab. That way, the filler in the middle would be at your feet by the door and you could still easily get out of bed into the aisle for those late night trips.


Of course this would only work as long as you don't have an overhanging cabinet just above the bed like many Roadtreks have.

I am trying to get the gist of this but I am missing it.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Kurt Franz

I am trying to get the gist of this but I am missing it.

On your Versatile, it would only work on the passenger side, but many Bs don't have low cabinets over the foot of the bed. If, for shorter folks, you have enough room by angling across the bed halfway you would just put you head on cab end and angle over your to the center to get more length. I don't know how much that would get you offhand though.


Blocking the bathroom door with an extension would not fly at our house.

[Kurt Franz]

Originally Posted by booster

On your Versatile, it would only work on the passenger side, but many Bs don't have low cabinets over the foot of the bed. If, for shorter folks, you have enough room by angling across the bed halfway you would just put you head on cab end and angle over your to the center to get more length. I don't know how much that would get you offhand though.


Blocking the bathroom door with an extension would not fly at our house.

Can't be blocking the bathroom door that is for sure. We just leave the bathroom door/wall opened when the extension is being used.

[hbn7hj]

Guys, guys, no reason for all that effort. Use a pee bottle and sleep next to the rear door. Let the woman have bathroom access.