Twin bed setup

TerryV6

Many good points photomom... Length and weight capability are factors to consider.  Your first idea looked good but weight is a problem.  I looked for similar ones like yours that are stronger. 
Then I went in a different direction.  I went to the store to get ideas.  One that struck me was was the bracket system.  I saw some double brackets that "looked" stronger.  You wouldn't have to use the horizontal bar that the slotted piece would fit on. Instead, fasten it directly.  Using 3 vertical slotted pieces, hang the 4 inch easily removable brackets.  Just would have to know the strength factor.  Of course it involves drilling some holes I T@bby.  The wood version mentioned earlier is cleaner...

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/147671/4-shelf-standard.aspx

TerryV6

I would think that the shorter the bracket, the more weight it could bear...

TerryV6

Or, you could make your own foldable bracket...

http://www.craftsmanspace.com/free-projects/folding-metal-shelf-bracket-from-scrap.html

Geo

WE use the twin bed method for its ease of getting in and out of bed and not having to either crawl in and out or go over one another with the side to side arrangement. We do not find it necessary to widen the side benches as that is where our legs and feet are. The wide area of the sofa is sufficient for the upper portion of our bodies to sleep on and be comfortable (I removed the head banger cabinets in the rear). Yes our bedding does hang over the edge between the side benches, however this has not really been a problem.
Those folks with a Clamshell have a shorter bed front to back and most likely cannot do this arrangement.

Photomom

TerryV6 said:

Or, you could make your own foldable bracket...

http://www.craftsmanspace.com/free-projects/folding-metal-shelf-bracket-from-scrap.html

I like that. Unfortunately I  don't have the ability to do metalwork like that. I would make the vertical arm the length of the bench's height and a put brace behind it inside the bench. Would need not just a board on top but a way to make the top even with the existing cushion.

TerryV6

Geo said:

WE use the twin bed method for its ease of getting in and out of bed and not having to either crawl in and out or go over one another with the side to side arrangement. We do not find it necessary to widen the side benches as that is where our legs and feet are. The wide area of the sofa is sufficient for the upper portion of our bodies to sleep on and be comfortable (I removed the head banger cabinets in the rear). Yes our bedding does hang over the edge between the side benches, however this has not really been a problem.
Those folks with a Clamshell have a shorter bed front to back and most likely cannot do this arrangement.

That is a very good point.  We will first try a night with the existing in modified setup.  Last year I'd purchased a nice queen sized three inch pad to use.  As I always do, I jumped the gun on this one by buying a full sized pad at Costco with the intension of cutting it in half (approximately)...  It is still in the box so I could return it...  Like photomom said, we have 2 months to think this through..

TABaker

Photomom said:

Most of the ones there are too wide for my application. I would want the extension to be no wider than 6 inches to maintain the center walkway. I will research this more over the winter, we have at least 2.5 months before we spring our T@B from its icy prison. 

When one of my grown kids is camping with me, we use the twin bed mode without any alterations.  It's only our legs on the side benches anyway.  You may find it works for you without adding anything.  However, I have a DM and more room under the back cabinets because there is no Alde.

TerryV6

Our T@B is in storage a few miles away.  Does anyone have the measurement of a side from the wall to the edge of the bench.  We do have the thermarest camp pads and could go with those.  For more comfort, we could use the three inch mattress topper we just bought which is 54 inches wide.   If we cut that in half, that would be 27 inches..  (This was easier last summer when we had our T@bbey Road parked in the drive)...

Photomom

The benches are 22" deep to the wall. Since our Thermarests and sleeping bags are 26" wide I made our extensions 4" wide.

The width may work for some but not for us - without the extra width our bedding (and legs) would slide off.

TerryV6

Here is another question then... If we went to the three inch pad, how much height does that add in terms of sitting.  My wife hates not being able to touch the floor when sitting...  That is something I suppose we will have to check.  With the thermarest pad, we could either leave it in place, roll it up, or raise it to a back support position (in case of guests etc.)  The three inch pad we have is very firm and would make a great bench sitting option....

TerryV6

Well, we forge ahead.  The camper is home for the weekend.  My wife wants to sleep in it... Our latest effort is to make 2 - four inch wide boards that rest on the slat rail.  I drilled holes through the board and rail and insert a carriage bolt for a non permanent attachment.  Then I made my own brackets that will attach to the 4 inch board with thumb screw, which  threads into a hex drive wood insert.  At the bottom of the bracket I'm screwing on a 5 inch wood block, which will rest against the vertical wall.  This is just to distribute the weight off of the slat rail.  I'm thinking this extra 4 inches will be enough for comfort.  The bed can stay up and bench backs moved toward the rear during the night, back to normal in the day.  We are going to try doing without the odd shaped backs.  We had to buy and cut some foam.  The picture of the foam on the board, is before end trim.  Then I had to glue pieces.. She still has to make covers for the foam and it "has" to match the existing cushion..  My job is done....

Homebodyatheart

I like this mod, and I like how you rounded the corners, too! Smart move. Thanks for the pics!

TerryV6

Thanks.  The brackets are optional and might not be needed.  I always overthink things..

TerryV6

Wow... I think to myself...  she is hard at it.... Maybe I should give her some help...  Where is she?

Homebodyatheart

Hahahaha! I totally agree with her choice! Good for her!

ericnliz

TerryV6, She's thinkin' about the next mod. Can't think of a better place to do that!

NomadPilgrim

I have to figure this out for a CS as my son is 13 now. I can do a piece across the door for length extention on the passenger side. Are the flip up "leg rest" tables working out?

Bill@ndRox

Twin Bed Setup.  I used piano hinges (Home Depot). Attached a 3/4 inch plywood extension (Home Depot precut to 5in) onto the back of the plywood lids over the wheel wells.  They're the same length as the lids and 5 inches (lid to wall).  I put 1 x 2s in strategic spots to raise up the lids to even heights.  The lids now can be pulled to the center of the floor to make allow wider mattresses and the lid now cantilevers over the little rail at the edge of the seats so there is a nice firm base not needing any legs or other supports.  I had to jam 1 x 2s under the seats and couch seats too, to raise them up to height.  Then I filled in the 5 inch gaps at the walls with high density foam from JoAnn Fabric.  (5in x 4in x length of lid.). My wife made simple cloth sacks to put the foam blocks into.  Still have 19 inches between seats to get up at night.  Can fold up the extensions along side walls if more floor space is needed during day so seats can be used in their original dimensions.  By the way: the Lagun table fits perfectly over the passenger side wheel inside the compartment.  No one ever showed me that.  I'll try to post pictures later when we get home.
2018 T@b 320-S Outback,  TV2017 Subaru Outback 3.6L.  Bill@ndRox PNW Tacoma

Tink

@wjacobs looking forward to your pictures 

KeepingtheDreamAlive

Re: twin bed mod. Rather than add an extension piece of wood with brackets, has anyone just replaced the top pieces of bench cabinets with wider tops that then would overhang by 5"? Then you can use the overhang underneath on the passenger side for storage, for example a shoe rack attached to the front of the cabinet. We would keep this arrangement. No need to recreate the queen bed. Would you still need a support piece under the overhang? Perhaps just a rail attached to the side of each cabinet? New owner of used 2006 DM, TV 2006 Ford Escape. Debora, MA

sbhtennis

@Photomom  - How did you attach the MDF to the PVC ? Looks great.