"Tall Guy" Mod

Photomom

I've mentioned a couple times that my DH is 6'5". Last year we slept with our heads to the rear of the trailer and his feet were able to hang out over the end of the bench a bit, but this year I switched to thick Thermarest mattress pads which didn't leave much room under the overhead cabinets. Would have been bonked heads for sure. So we flipped around and have been sleeping with our heads toward the front of the trailer, but DH's pillow would work its way off during the night and fall on Max who sleeps beside the door.

So I constructed a bench extension for him. It adds approximately 8" to the length of the bench for a total of 80". Made from 1/2" PVC with a scrap plywood top. There are two angle brackets that fit into the side of the bench and hold it in place. There is still room to go in and out of the door.


The underside of the extension showing the angle bracket construction. I wrapped the brackets well with the soft side of Velcro tape to protect the bench finish. Once in place it is very secure.

TamsonWI

@Photomom - Thanks for this!  Am forwarding on to Tall Woodworker Husband.  We're also trying out the LL Bean camp futons on your recommendation.  Between the added tent, the bed extension and mattress issues, we're hoping to mark off the tall-guy problems in our coming trips.

JP2558

Here’s my solution for our 2018 320-CS. I’m 6’2” and 200 pounds. Over the last 362 days we’ve made several attempts to find the perfect solution, but this is the final product.

Below you see three slats, and the support leg. At the bottom is where the leg attaches/screws into the main slat. This is storage/transport mode. When ready to deploy, simply remove the wing nut in the center enough to allow both slats to rotate 90 degrees.

Next is the view after the wing nut has been removed allowing both slats to deploy to 90 degrees.

Below we see the slats pre-positioned, with the two slats open to 90 degrees sliding onto the cushions, but under the two or four inch mattress topper/memory foam. I intend to cover the ends of the slats with some material that will lessen the chance of the edges of the slats damaging the cushions or memory foam.

Finished product with two couch cushions off the hide-a-bed from our basement. This is proof of concept, but we intend to to visit an upholstery shop and get some custom cushions made. In the lower right you can almost see the support leg under the corner of the cushion. This allows me to sleep at an angle and I can now stretch my legs with room to spare and have my head lower in the bed than my wife’s head!

Here’s a better view of the support leg. It’s very sturdy. I weigh 200 pounds and can sit on this without fear of collapse.

It gets its first three night test next week. And FYI, I did this using materials already in the basement, except for a three inch carriage bolt and two wing nuts, which cost $1.16 at Home Depot. And since there are two cushions, the one in the center can easily be removed, and due to the wing nuts, the slats allow for easy movement of the leg and slats to get access to the cabinets. The bottom cabinet is where we keep the 30 amp and extension cord. The top is storage for blankets or other stuff that doesn’t require frequent access.