Fold down bed or E Track bed

[dawg]

8x12 two bike motorcycle trailer, investigating the various ways to convert it to a camping trailer that will bring along the harley ultra (for those that may not know, it is the biggest bagger) so it kind of plays into the equation. Which way is the better way to go for a full or queen bed? The other thing that plays into the equation is the side entry door is all the way to the front on the right side so I have to put the kitchen and bathroom items on the front left wall instead of the entire front. Here is a couple pics of the trailer that shows how the side door is all the way to the front of the trailer without leaving a couple feet up front.

[Glenlivet]

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=46134

This one was my idea of a fold down bed for a cargo converted to toy hauler.
You have two more feet to work with each way, so you have some big possibilities.

[d30gaijin]

Dawg,

I went the E-Track route but hauling my HD Sportster was considered as secondary. Simple boondocks camping is primary, or should I say what we intend to use the CT for most often. For the most part our beds (bunks at the rear of the CT) stay in place but are easily removable if we want to take the Sportster along. With that said, to take the Sportster along we must disassemble the beds, stow them, and tie them down to one side of the CT. The E-Track is great because it can also double as the tie down points for the Sportster. If my primary use of my CT was to haul the bike on every trip I would go with a fold up bed design, which I think would be easier to deal with than disassembling a bed built using E-Track to get where you're going then reassembling the bed once you're there. If you're moving/towing to different locations often that would be a consideration.

One additional reason I went the E-Track route is I can remove everything from the CT and have a completely open CT should I need it to haul something big... but then again, I'm sure you could come up with a fold up bed design that would allow you to do the same i.e., remove everything but the galley area.

My experience only but I hope it helps in your choice of design.

Don

[Wolfscout]

Nah. neither.... Check out the folding bed in this link
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=43448

If I had to carry a motorcycle or other toy I'd use that bed. yep. It's very cool.

[Mark519]

Below is my plan for the bed. If finances go well I might be able to buy the trailer this summer.

There are several similar designs built out of wood that I have seen on the forum. Mine is laid out for a 7' wide trailer with internal wheel wells (like pmspirito). That allows me to have a 6" gap against the wall to store the foam pads. Those custom cut foam pads get expensive btw but I am still researching my options there.

Since I have gas welding equipment I plan on using 1" Unistrut square steel tubing with a 3/4" veneer plywood surface. The left and right sides flip down to make 31" wide bunks with an 18" center aisle. Or the right hand support flips up as a bridge to make a king sized bed. I am still working out the details like hinges and lock pins. If I cant build them strong enough there will need to be some additional supports. I could add a 30x72" folding table for meals although I dont like the idea of another piece of equipment to take along. And the table won't fit with both benches down. One bonus of this design is that when the right hand side is raised and the bridge/support is lowered it forms a chest high table. Also the frame could be designed for tie down points.

If I was building this for a 6' trailer with external wheels I would build it so it was flush against the walls with no gap. It would be two sections: 30" and 38" and I would probably use Thermorest air mattresses. Comments welcome!

[angib]

A 1" metal frame and a 3/4" ply panel are a bit excessive together. The ply could be reduced to 3/8" if fixed to the frame or 3/4" ply used without a frame.

Devising clever locking bolts to hold the panels in the 'up' position (I assume that's what they're doing) seems both difficult and unnecessary - a simple 1" webbing strap with a buckle and adjuster would do the same job cheaply and securely.

[dawg]

Well from the looks of the pic of the trailer (I don't have it here yet, it's still in FL) it looks like I too have inside wheels as there is only a small lip and not real fenders. I would like to use a metal frame, but have to find someone to assist in the welding aspect as I don't have the equipment. From your drawing, it looks like if you put a middle cross brace in then you could use a thinner plywood, yes? There is an aluminum fabrication company right down the road from me. They make trailers and such. I could have them weld me up some aluminum frames based on my measurements, but I'm sure that would be costly.

[Mark519]

angib, I was thinking there wouldn't be any support under the plywood except at the edges. I don't think 3/4" will deflect but thinner plywood may. Some additional support tubing could be added to the left hand side to cut the span to 20" or so, but it can't interfere with the support legs which fold up flush. Additional support tubing is not a problem on the right hand side. I actually want more weight in the rear to help balance all the weight in the front.

A top mounted tie down is certainly simpler. I am not sure how solid a mount would need to be so it doesn't pull out eventually. The right hand side would require two tie downs at the top of both sections.

[Mark519]

dawg, Aluminum is going to be more expensive and require additional bracing to support those joints I think. You could cut the metal and have it welded in batches so you got the fit right.

[Mark519]

I think it could be built out of plywood with minimal steel bracing and supports and no welding necessary.

[mskobier]

Dawg,
I built mine out of 1" square tubing. I originally planned to build mne so that the front portion could fold down and form a bench seat. I finally decided to just build two fold down platforms mounted 25" from the floor so that there was room under the sleeping platforms so that the grandkids/kids could sleep there. As it is, I can fit three adults on the top (tight fit) and three under the platforms. However, the normal sleeping arangements are my wife and I on top and three grandkids under the platform. Other adults could sleep cross ways in front of the platforms in the open floor area. Of course, it is normally just the grandkids and my wife and I.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of what I built.

Mitch

[pete42]

I have seen folding beds like you guys are talking about one stowed a folding table under the bed held up by supports so it was out of the way
untill needed.

another the table was hinged to one bed and folded out when eating the bed was used like a couch.

[8ball_99]

wolfsnout already posted a link to the beds in my current trailer. Here is a link to my old trailer 6x14 build thread With the 6x14 I built bunk beds. My current trailer doesn't have bunks since I had the extra floor space. I'd do folding beds. I also wouldn't do frames that require air mattresses. They suck and are a lot more trouble to set up.. Also the memory foam mattress we use now is So much nicer to sleep on. It only cost 125 on ebay.. Try and make them as easy and fast to fold down as you can.. I'd also make the wall brackets long enough so you can fold the bed up with the bedding on it. With outs now if we need or want to we can leave everything on the bed but the pillows and just fold it up out of the way. Comes in handy if you have extra people in the trailer on a rainy day..