How to make a campervan bed

Evolution of the van bed project...

Initial design

Firstly, plan out how your entire interior is going to look.  You want to minimise the amount of wasted space in your conversion while ensuring it has everything you really need.  Don't be afraid to ignore all the conventional wisdom on how vans should be built, this is your conversion and it needs to meet your needs.  I wanted a double bed while not sacrificing cupboard space or the ability to use the back doors of the van, so my layout is pretty unusual but it suits me perfectly.

Metal working is completely beyond the skill and toolset of either myself or anyone else who was helping me on the project, so I sourced a custom-made folding frame to my size requirements.  But it is a super simple design so if you have the knowledge I think it would be fairly easy to make yourself.

The folding frame in bed mode...

Each section of the bed was then fitted with a piece of plywood and then the non-moving section of the frame bolted through the van floor.  Note that when you do this, you need to make sure that you do not damage anything that is attached to the underside of the vehicle - probably best to check this out when planning your design!

...and in chair mode

I then sourced some foam for the mattress (more detail on this to follow in another post and made an internal (to protect the foam) and external cushion covers for each section as per the rough (very rough) plan below.

Finally, pop the cushions onto the bed et voila! Bed...done.

The finished bed....comfy!

Want some advice on how to create other aspects of your van conversion?  Take a look at my other How-tos for a kitchen, wardrobe or curtains.