Depending how tall your are you may be able to do what I do. I use a hire vechicle so have to improvise. I have a piece of foam the same thickness as the seat cushions which sits on bed boards between the seats. It is then covered with a piece of foam about 5cms and then a cheap eggshell foam. This gives me a bed 150 cms long by 100 cms wide but you could adjust the width to suit. I find that single bed linen is adequate on this width. As I sleep with my knees bent I have always slept well on my 3 trips which have covered a total of 50,000kms over 12 months in all. I have a porta potti that slides under bed and is out of the way.

This arangements saves me having to make up my bed each night and I still have room to sit on the seats and I use a small fold up table. Works well for me so hope it helps.

-- Edited by Clare46 on Tuesday 14th of August 2012 04:09:57 PM

Hi Janette, I have a Mits Starwagon and had the same issue. I finally bought a single metal bed frame ($3.00) from Albany Tip Shop. It is just behind the drivers seat. Not quite long enough to go over the rear wheel arch so a friend choped off part of a rear leg and it now sits on the wheel arch. That has left me with a rear kitchen area/storage. Toilet is under the bed during the day and sits between the bed and the sliding door at night. Not sure if this helps but Its what I have done this time. Knowing me I could change it again. Im also in the process of looking at coaster buses at the moment so anything is possible.

Colls.

PS. Good Luck

Thanks Duh and Colls,

I have a base from a couch type bed I'm currently using down toward the back of the van. It's about 26 inches wide and has some springs towards the centre. It works well but the legs take up a lot of space underneath and are about 18 inches from each end. It's the first bed I haven't put my bum through lol, my carpentry is that good.

I'm thinking of a steel frame with a leg on each corner and probably ply on top. It would allow more usuable space underneath. I guess I'm wondering if the extra space is worth the cost at the moment. I scavenged the current one from a garage sale for $5.

Colls my kitchen area was down the back facing the tailgate but I couldn't get at stuff without going outside. I've been changing the layout religiously for 2 to 3 years now looking for the perfect answer.

Thanks again.

I don't have a van so I can't help you with measurements etc, but for my camper trailer, I bought a 6inch thick foam king single mattress from A Mart. I can't remember the price but it was certainly cheaper than Clark Rubber. A king single is a little wider than a single but not as wide as a double. It was too long of course, so I just unpicked the seam, cut the foam to the size I needed and sewed the seam up again. I also bought a cheap egg crate overlay and it was the bees knees. I used a double bed sheet and just folded the extra width under the mattress.

 

Jetj,

You van looks to be the same body shape as mine and I think a single steel bed may go over the rear arch ok without removing any legs.

For a lounge, I have a wrap around type cushion (has a back and side arms) that I bought from Spotlight, works good on the bed as a lounge, if you want it a bit further forward just put one of your pillows or a cushion behind it.  

As well as against the side of the van, I also use mine at the rear of the van on the bed end with a pillow behind it against the rear window to sit and read books with my legs straight out along the bed.

Sorry I haven't got a picture here to show you, but it's very similar to this one, see;

 http://sitincomfort.com/bedbedwedsup.html