I was very sure for a very long time that I wanted the bed across the back. After countless Pinterest posts that I had already looked at in the meantime, that was just clear.
On the other hand, I was not so happy about the total bed length of 1.80m – because the bus was not wider from the inside – and so I decided at the last moment but and planned the bed longitudinally to the direction of travel. Up to the back seat it was also only 1.80m but the back seat can be folded down. So if I plan the bed in the height that it is above the folded back seat, then you can build a bed extension. I would think about how that would look later… but it should definitely work and with that, the bed can also have at least a 2m long lying area.
For the width, I based it on the kitchen I’m planning. It should be on 2 heavy duty rails underneath and that went well if the bed width is 1m. Then there should be plenty of storage in the kitchen for cooler, cooktop, dishes and supplies. And with that, I had room for a small aisle and shelving on the opposite side.
Alright, so the bed space is 1.80m by 1m. For this I built a frame / rack. The posts are made of 60 x 60 KVH, 2 pieces at the window and 3 pieces towards the aisle. On the floor they are fixed with chair angles. The two posts at the window are additionally also fixed with chair angles and blind rivets to the body or sheet metal inside.
The slatted frame is firmly screwed on top and that I sawed from spruce planks, planed, sanded and oiled. The planks had been lying around for ages and were not of particularly good quality, but they were super suitable for the slats.
I also made a slatted shelf to slide in so you can extend the bed. If the shelf opposite has exactly the height, that would be an ideal support surface for the extended slatted frame.
The total size of the bed would be 1.60m by 1.80m. With a possibility of extension to 2.40m. This will be great!!!