Hanging/folding bunk?

jay

I just bought a T@da last week and love it.  I had never seen one in person until I found this one for sale.  I almost bought a T@b a couple of times, but passed each time due to the fact that I will need to sleep a 9-year old and a 12-year old on most trips, and my wife on some as well.

My youngest son and I camped in it for the first time last night.  Plenty of space for two between the table/bed and the built-in bed, but my 12-year old would have made it "cozy" had he come along.  The wife would have really made it tight, even though we are a short family (we are both 5' 5", and the kids are under 5'--for now anyway!).  

A cot in the aisle is the best option we've come up with for sleeping 4, but seems like it could be a hassle during the night if anyone needs out for a restroom break.

I would love to consider adding a bunk/cot or a folding/hanging cot a la the old Airstreams.  But I'm concerned about the strength of the walls/ceiling to hang ~100-150 lbs.  Anyone hung anything substantial on the outside walls or ceiling of their T@b (Little Guy OR Dutchman), or their T@da, or seen anyone do it?  Would I need reinforcement brackets on the outside and inside to sandwich the wall material, then weather proof?  Or terrible idea altogether?

Cyclonic

Hi Jay, I saw on a Facebook posting someone who had built a bunk bed by building supports dropping down along the walls to be supported by the cabinets below the seats. If I can come across the photos I will repost here.

jay

Thank you...that would be great if you can find them.  I was actually leaning that way myself after spending some more time in the T@da thinking it through it further.  I was trying to avoid permanently blocking the window, but I fear it may be unavoidable if I want sturdy and safe bunks.  If designed and built properly, I'm sure I can come up with something that could be taken down if desired.  I'm not yet sure we'll use the table that much anyway, but haven't camped enough to know.

Not being particularly good at woodworking, we fortunately have a company nearby who builds custom bunks that I'm going to visit this week.

Please post something if you end up finding them--thanks again!

TABaker

I used to have photos of that bunk, but I think it was on the hard drive of a computer that bit the dust.  I will see.  It was posted on the Yahoo owners' forum, which you should join since it covers the T@DA.  There's a T@B T@DA Facebook page, too, with a lot of useful information.

TABaker

Found one of the photos...

Also Paha Que is working on an add-a-room for the T@DA, which would work great for extra sleeping space.  We sleep 2 in our room often, and have had 4.

jay

Thank you so much...that's a fairly simple and straightforward solution that should work for me, too.

I was also looking at Paha Que for some outdoor solutions...maybe I will wait to buy an awning and see what else they come out with.  Think I'm definitely going to give the bunks a try, and see where it gets me without too many permanent mods.

If anyone else finds ideas, please post them.  I will post photos of anything I come up with too.

Thanks!

Lisa33

Hi Jay. Welcome! I also have a T@DA and love it. I've thought about a bunk bed mod myself. I'll be interested to see what you come up with.

Cyclonic

I found the related thread.  Jay, I think you will have to have a Facebook account and join the T@B group to be able to see the thread, as I think it is a closed group, but here is the info you are looking for:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/24931511064/search/?query=bunk bed

jay

Thanks all...just requested to join that facebook group but I think I have to wait to be accepted it appears.  Hope I make it!  Kidding aside, that will be a great resource, thank you for sending...I didn't think to check facebook.

I did some additional thinking.  Was all set to build my own with a 30" x 70" piece of cut hardwood plywood, and some 20"-24" "Parsons" legs from your local HW store (they would have needed to be cut down because I only found them in 28", and that would be a bit too tall)

But then I went back to one of my first thoughts of a Disc-O-Bed bunk modification.  They are not cheap at $300, and while they are about 9"-10" too long (wide), they can be cut down with 2 cut poles and a hacksaw, and 4 quick cuts of the material.  I contacted them directly and one of the execs sent me the following instructions.

So I have one on order that should arrive next week, and hopefully in a week I will have it modded and I can post photos.

I like the idea because it's not permanent (to the T@da), and I think they will be comfortable, safe, and can be converted to a couch when not sleeping.  I'm going to try 1 first, probably putting it in place of the bed in the back first, and maybe will do a second one for the table area if it works well.  In theory, 2 of them would allow the T@da to sleep 5, although that's a lot of crew in a T@da!

TABaker

I think I approved you yesterday, Jay, on the Facebook page.

jay

You did, thank you!  Great resource!

jay

OK, sorry, my bunk project took a little longer to complete than I wanted, but great results I think.  I went with the Disc-O-Bed, and went through the process to cut the length down by 14" which was not too difficult, as described in the docs I attached in my previous post.  I did have a circular saw with a metal blade that made the 4 cuts infinitely quicker than cutting by hand (I started w/ a metal hack saw but realized that was going to take quite a lot of muscle and time).  Overall I was done in under an hour between measuring, tearing down the bunk, cutting, and reassembling in the T@da.  I did end up painting the cut ends of the poles so I let those dry for a couple hours in the middle...I'm not sure painting was necessary.

I'm extremely pleased with the results.  We did a test night in the driveway last weekend...my 9- and 12-year old boys slept on the bunk for the whole night.  I stole another 2 hours or so of sleep myself in the bunk after they got up, and it was really comfy...more so than my REI mat and sleeping bag on the dining cushions where I slept when the kids were in the bunk, although that wasn't bad either.

The 14" cutdown appears to be as close to perfect as I could get.  It clears the windows and shades enough to be able to use the shades without trouble, setting up the Disc-O-Bed wasn't too tight against anything, and there is not wasted space on the ends.  Additionally, and I wasn't sure if/how this would go, the black mattress that came with the T@da could be squeezed back under the bunk, so there is actually room for a kid to sleep in the back of the bunk...you can see my kids sitting in that space in the one photo.  I didn't crawl back there myself, and it wasn't going to be enough for an adult (a larger adult, anyway), but one of my kids could have slept there easily and been fine...I didn't measure but it seemed to be about 18" or so.

I bought the Large size Disc-O-Bed, which is not as wide of a sleeping surface as the XL (which I think is 6" wider?)...it's fine for my family, but interestingly it looks like an XL would have fit as well, but sacrificing the opportunity to have a 3rd person sleep in the backside of the bunk.

The 3rd photo shows it in "couch" mode, which is easy and works, although probably isn't super useful for adults with their legs given the placement behind the counters and how high it is off the ground.  I suppose it will be useful if we're hanging out prior to bed and don't want to have to be on the cots lying down to watch TV or whatever.

I was tight for time (and had to put the trailer back in storage by Sunday afternoon) so I didn't get to put the bunk in the dining area, but the measurements looked like that would work too.  Given my situation I'm not sure I'll spend the extra money on a second bunk right now, unless we all fight to sleep in the bunks because they're more comfy.

My only minimal gripe is that the green canvas is apparently the only color available in the US.  There is a tan on the European website which would have matched the T@da better, but I'm not glamping so I guess I don't really care.

I'm really, really impressed with how sturdy the bunk is...that company did a really nice job in the design and implementation.

judymac

I like this. Thanks for sharing. Are you actually saying that the sons 4 of you can sleep with this arrangement? We haven't even bought our first LG, but I know we will want to take the young grandkids. I am already in,panic mode as to where they would sleep. Our model will either be T@B or T@G.

jay

Yes, I can sleep 4 like this, but I have a T@da, which is no longer made and is a bit bigger than the T@bs--it probably naturally sleeps +1 over the T@bs.  The footprint of my cot is about 30" x 68"...I don't know if you could get two of those in a T@b or not?  Quite honestly I passed on 2 used T@bs (and a new one, actually) for that reason alone--I worried about a need to sleep 2 adults and 2 teens inside.  When I found the used T@da I knew I had found the right option for what I needed, even though I don't like the look quite as much as a T@b (I still get a ton of compliments, though!).

jay

Looks like on paper you could fit 2 of these bunks side-by-side in the U and/or Q floorplans of the T@b?  Looks like it would be tight, but could be an option!