foamie with bunks

[debo0126]

I am looking at building a 5'6" tall 10' long foamie and I was wondering how much support I would need in the foam for bunk beds. I was thinking some sort of lock together steel legs for the side not against the wall but wanted to find out how much wood would need to be in the wall to support the load. Also, does anyone have any drawings of a foamie with a queen bed and two bunks for the kids?

Thanks for your help!

[GPW]

Debo , WELCOME to “Foamie' World “ !!! First you need the bunks (size) , then the suggestions will most assuredly flow ... Or are you building them into the cabin ...?

[debo0126]

GPW,
Thanks for the reply. I have been lurking here for a while and have finally decided to take the plunge. You with your foamstream and others on the site make this route seem like the best option for a lightweight camper. Right now I am just in the planning stages but I have purchased my trailer. The trailer is an old popup frame 6' wide and about 14' long. The actual box is about 10' long. I could elongate it if needed. As far as the bunks I would like the bunks to be about 75.0"L x 27.0"W.

[GPW]

That trailer sounds perfect !! You know there are a number of lightweight bunk beds on the market , some even foldable ... just saying ..

27” is kinda’ narrow eh ? You ever consider a “trundle bed” ??? ... less space and climbing , and a sofa by day ...

[debo0126]

I did think about a trundle bed but I thought (maybe incorrectly) that bunks would not take up as much space and maybe one could be a bench/seat during the day and the upper could fold down at night. I havent finalized a floor plan yet so that is why I am looking for help I am sure someone here has come up with a design that sleeps two adults and two kids. I am open to any style but I was leaning toward your "super simple foamie/toyhauler" as it has no curves and seems like it would be easy to build. I would like to have it taller than 5'6" but then it wouldn't fit in the garage and would be getting a bit too tall behind my van. I would consider a pop-top option but I havent seen many of those in the foamies section.

[GPW]

I’d certainly recommend keeping it Simple !!! That’s what Foamies' are all about ... save Light and Thrifty , and they don’t Rot ...

Easy to get a little extra height , and you can leave it Outside , unlike an RV , a Foamie , like a car or truck , does just fine living outside ... leaving more room in the Garage for other things too ... But with that much floor space (~60 sq.ft. ) , a 56” tall cabin would really be Big enough .... (even 4’ is fine if you’re not unusually Tall ) ... If you have the floor space ...

Here’s what I was thinking about .. easy to make , lightweight , pulls out to 72” wide ...

Please feel free to browse my album ... all my ideas are there ... ( it’s the little camera below the Lego trailer on the left ...next to the PM button )

[Mary C]

Welcome , when you get into metal and making all the metal stuff for a bed you might want to also ask in general discussion for some of the Metal folks hang out there. not to put you off. but just to get your answer by the metal workers. I keep it simple so I agree with the trundle Bed concept. I agree with GPW's you can build it really thrifty with wood and you don't have to worry about rot. You didn't mention the age or size of the little ones. If you have 6 feet wide think about making it so you sleep long wise and the kids sidewise or vice or versa. I believe I remember reading in somebodies build thread of a topsy tervy bed made with metal. I saw it in my big forum read I still cant remember some of what I read so please forgive me for not knowing exactly where or who's build thread I do remember what I was drinking when I read it though. It was in early December. Good luck and we would love to see your design and build pictures!!!

Mary C.

[eaglesdare]

Welcome.

Wow, I like that trundle bed idea.

[GPW]

Eagle , you’re a great one to ask about sleeping a bunch of people in a TD (+dogs) ... you have all the camping experience ...

[debo0126]

Eagle, I looked at some of your trips and it seems like it rains every time you go camping. I bet that makes the tear seem even smaller

I am working on some designs and will post once I get them completed and figure out how to post pics.

[wagondude]

As far as the bunk goes, a piece if 1x4 let into the foam (assumes 2 or three inch thick foam) and skinned into the foam should be enough support. But this would probably need a fiberglass skin rather than glue or paint. Truthfully, the hard points could probably be smaller, but it's ok to go overkill for some things. You would then hinge you bunk frame to the imbedded board. They make heavy duty folding shelf supports that could hold a bunk without the need for support poles.

[atahoekid]

Welcome to the Foamy side of life. That's a bit bigger than the frame I used and I already had to laugh when I pulled into a rest area next to a 4x8 teardrop. Not only was mine larger by quite a bit but it was probably lighter too. Those extra square inches really make life more comfortable. It's my wife and I and our two dogs and we're very comfortable in ours even for hours during a rainstorm. Good Luck and WE WANT PICTURES!!!! PLEASE!?!?

[mezmo]

Hi debo0126,

There is another style of bunks to consider, whereby it looks like a 'couch' with
a slanted back for 'daytime use' but then the back part folds up to become the
top bunk for night/sleeping. It thus gives a more comfortable daytime seating
and a bit of easier set-up as you aren't lifting over your head to set up the top
bunk, just pulling up from upper shin/knee level to shoulder level or such.

If you are going for a super simple foamy build, I'd just build a self-supporting
bunk bed frame for itself and fit that in place and then do the foam walls around it.
[Or install the walls first, then put in the bunk frame after they are covered,
having designed the bunk bed frame and wall to wall dimensions to correspond.]
One of the benefits of doing it that way is no worry about locating and putting
in hard attachment points in the foam to mount the bunk beds - translates to easier
and faster build as you aren't fiddling with cutting out wood blocks and cutting out
corresponding holes in the foam to mount them in and having to make sure they
are located correctly and glued in correctly etc.. Unless you epoxy and fiberglass
the walls, when using hard-points, I don't know if you'd have sufficient strength, to
support the bunks with just glue/paint and canvas on the foam. Using hardwood,
you could get strong and relatively small dimension framing members, or reuse
some older hardwood from used furniture or such, or use pipe or the heavier
gauge conduit for the bunkbed frame.

Just another point of view or approach to consider...coming from the point-of-view
of trying to keep construction details as few and as simple as possible.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[eaglesdare]

Yes, it does seem to rain on almost ALL my trips. I don't have but one more trip planned for this year. I just hope it doesn't rain at that one.
I have had 4 people in the foamie on a couple of trips. Have to admit, while they fit, its not comfortable for me. One time I had 3 plus a dog. I just do what we have to do to get out there.

I have been eyeballing that tent like thing that goes over the hatch back of a car. I think that would solve a problem for us here. My car seats lay flat, so if more people want to go along with me they can sleep in the car with the hatch up.

[GPW]

I remember “camping “ as a youth , where the parents got to sleep inside “something" , and we kids had a BS Pup tent outside .. and actually preferred it that way ... Since then , spent many a night camping out on some mountainside in a BS Pup tent ... Pretty Basic , but real Cool for the kiddies ... Just sayin’ ... there’s your extra room ... And the best thing is , once you show them how to set it up , they’ll want to do that part themselves thereafter, you don’t have to do anything more ...


Eagle , and all this time I was thinking you were doing some kind of Top Secret Extreme Weather Foamie' testing ... Rain , tall bridges ...