Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I thought this video had a lot of good space saving ideas for bunkbeds, beds and tables. I posted this in the General section, but thought that it might be of most worth to some ct conversions.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2cflv ... e?start=35

Lots of idea generators in the video.

I am folding my bed vertically into a cabinet so it lays across to the other wall when down. Murphy beds require a thick cabinet for the head swing, so working on building a system that does not require this thickness. I already have pivot bearings, so time to mock up the hing to measure swing...

professorkx wrote:Lots of idea generators in the video.

I agree. That furniture really seems to save space and be functional.

professorkx wrote:I am folding my bed vertically into a cabinet so it lays across to the other wall when down. Murphy beds require a thick cabinet for the head swing, so working on building a system that does not require this thickness. I already have pivot bearings, so time to mock up the hing to measure swing...

In addition to a thick cabinet, many Murphy beds also have a tall cabinet. I too have been sketching a few designs on paper. I'd be interested to see your design.

aggie79 wrote:

professorkx wrote:
In addition to a thick cabinet, many Murphy beds also have a tall cabinet. I too have been sketching a few designs on paper. I'd be interested to see your design.

Since my mattress will fold down vertically, the cabinet will be floor to ceiling. The bed will also stretch to the other wall, so I am noodling adding a carpeted 2x4 on the other wall to support the end of the bed (thus eliminating any legs in the middle), with the head of the bed being supported by the pivot. In addition, since a queen bed is wider than 4 feet, I will need to seam 3/4 material in the middle, so thinking of tongue and groove plywood so I will have a stronger glue joint. I might have to skin the outside with 1/4 inch plywood to get a good finish, but if I can eliminate the legs, the additional 1/4" thickness is worth the trade off. Skinning will also allow me to bolt my hinge point to the 3/4 inch plywood, and recess the heads that will then be covered by the skin. I will be using an air mattress and a 2 inch memory foam topper, as we have used this combination for years in everything from our 40 foot class A to an 18 foot travel trailer, and have even gone to this combo in the house. We have to replace the air mattress every two years or so, but at $29, no problem. After spending thousands trying to find the right mattress, this combo is the most comfortable "mattress" we have ever found, so just stay with what works. Of course, using an air mattress allows us to deflate the mattress, allowing a narrower cabinet. Using web straps will ensure everything stays in place during the folding process each morning.

I am still a few weeks out on building the, and my first step will be to build a mock-up so I can visualize the design. I'll post in my build thread, and hope others will post suggestions, as I have not yet seen a vertical folding bed design that suited my needs.

If you are having to splice the plywood to get the size of sheet you want, have you thought of doing your own "plywood"? You can glue together thinner sheets that stagger the joint. It also allows you to use a veneer as part of the mix rather than added after. Just need to have a good flat surface to glue it up on.

You can make a pretty invisible lap joint that's nice and strong with a router

Lap joint would be good too. You can get more width and strength across the joint than with a tongue and groove edge.

What about one that does both?

Deediggler wrote:What about one that does both?

I don't want to have to "assemble" the bed every night, been there, got the T-shirt, and don't much like the process. My objective is to fold the bed up with sheets, blankets, etc, with the most I have to do is to let a little air out of the mattress. Folding down, I won't like adding a little air, but can live with that if it's a must. Heck, I don't even want to legs to deal with...

professorkx, do you use an inflatable, if so what kind is good for use in these?



Bob

Fair enough. I'm currently trying to design my own fold up bed and also a table out of aluminum square tubing with a barrel hinge attaching it to the wall so I can take it off if I need to.

Probably won't be ready to make it for a couple weeks, but i'll post some pictures.

Spotman wrote:professorkx, do you use an inflatable, if so what kind is good for use in these?
Bob

Coleman Air Queen air mattress with a 2 inch memory foam topper. After replacing the mattress in our Class A with this setup (we traveled for 4 years while I was a financial consultant to Fortune 100 companies, mostly in the east, so used the class A as home), we realized how comfortable it was and replaced our mattress at home with this same setup. We replace the Coleman mattress once a year for $30, as it stretches over time, so you have to add a little air about once every couple of months.