Bed Slats versus Table

tabfruit

Forum-Just sharing my new mod consisting of bed slats versus the table. Love the table but sometimes it is just too big and now we just roll up the slats and have more room...

Sharon_is_SAM

Welcome to the forum!  Nice slats.  Are those factory or home made?  What was used to secure the nylon webbing to the slat?  We need to rethink our slats.  We broke one kneeling near the edge of our clamshell bed.  There was a knot in the pine, so a little weak.  Amazing what a little Gaffer tape and a coleman cooler can do for you on the road

cmac

Tabfruit: 
Your slats look REAL nice!  I made some for our CS using birch plywood but they are not as nice or sturdy as yours.  Ours tend to flex when we put our weight on them.

What kind of wood did you use?  Where did you get the webbing and what kind of fasteners did you use to hook the web to the wood?  I see the slack in the web, do you roll the slats with the web in or out or does it matter?  What is the red tab for in the upper right of the picture?

I know I'm full of questions but your pic makes me want to update our slats to something more like yours!

Regards,

John

Homebodyatheart

@tabfruit that looks good! I’ve never put the table away and made the whole area into a bed. I either sleep wheel to wheel when solo, or two twins when DH is along. I also found the table top too large so I replaced it. I’ve also got the same fabric you do and have grown to love it. Thanks for sharing!

dragonsdofly

@tabfruit, welcome to the forum, the t@b family and congratulations on your trailer! Thanks for your insight. Please take a moment to tell us about the make and model of your t@b. Where in the country are you located?

tabfruit

All-thanks for the questions and comments! Info: the slats are white ash from Home Depot. They seem to be stiffer than pine. The rails are pine but everything is pre-drilled and there are no knots. The slats are held together with a cut off nylon tie down with all stainless fittings.

tabfruit

Tab S model 2015 with kitchen inside and full wet head. Absolutely fantastic camper. We also have the tent attachment so we sleep 4 comfortably.

CanyonTravelers

You can do the table and bed slats together.  That way there is a big bed and a nightstand in the middle of the bed.  What I did was, with the table in place I moved the two slat holders on the table pole side.  Then positioned the first slat to about ¼” from the table upright. Then reinstalled the slat holders to keep the first slat at that ¼” position.  I does leave a little slack but no big deal

cmac

tabfuit:
Well, I started making our new slats today.  I'm using 1x6 oak from Home Depot, but it is really 3/4" x 5 1/2" and is really hard to cut.  BUT, they don't flex when I put all my weight on even just one of them!  Three done and 8 more to go although the final slat may have to be 3" or a 2" wide board.  Since my cabinets are not parallel each slat is custom cut to fit and will be numbered accordingly so they can be replaced into the correct position.  Not sure if we'll do the nylon straps.

Thanks for the pics, ideas, and info.

John

ColoradoJon

@cmac - if you do the nylon straps then you don't have to worry so much about numbering the boards, just remember which direction it goes in and roll it out!

cmac

Well, I got the last 7 slats cut and sanded today.  Since each is a custom length, they all fit snugly - there was a total of approx. 7/8" variance from rear to front.  I tested one of the early cuts before I went too far and put all my weight on it and it barely moved/sagged at all, so this project was definitely worth it.

Needed a total of 10 slats which leaves approx. 2.5" of unused rails, but if I spread the slats a little, then no problem.

If you do something like this, be sure to sand all the edges since I discovered several spears that could have caused nasty splinters.

Again, thanks for the pics, ideas, and info.

tabfruit

hi john-you can pre drill that ok to get the stainless screws/washers to mount the nylon...

cmac

tabfruit:

Thanks for the drilling hint.  One more question:  I notice in your pic some slack in the webbing, so when you roll your slats is the webbing on the outside of the roll or on the inside of the rolled slats?  Looks like probably on the outside because of the slack?

I have checked out different colored nylon tie downs at HomeDepot and Harbor Freight to see what is available, also found some of the stainless screws/washers at HomeDepot.  I spend WAY too much time at HD!

Thank you for sharing your project info, your timing was very good for us since I'm in the process of making some final preps for our trip to VT, NH, ME, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in September and October - our big post retirement trip for both of us!  Cheryl just bought us a bed topper at Camping World - short queen size - another place easy to spend too much time and $$.

John

tabfruit

Hi John-the original idea was to leave some slack to create a roll and then place the roll behind the settee. Instead of rolling neatly though I don't have enough slack so I sort of roll one way then the other and it turns into a basic round shape that really does not take much space...

cmac

Okay. 

Thanks!