Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.

We are simple creatures. Our basic requirements for happiness are straight-forward: we need to eat well and we need to sleep well. Anything beyond that is just icing on the cake. So the bed is one piece of the van that we put a lot of thought into.

The Design Concept

In a space as small as our van every decision must consider the entire layout of the van. From the rear doors to the partition wall is less than 12 feet. Being tall, I need a bed that is at least 6’3″ long, meaning the majority of our usable space will be occupied by the bed. Thus it is necessary for that area to serve multiple purposes. After toying around with several possible layouts we established that we wanted four things in one:

A large, comfortable bed

Two benches for sitting and socializing

A dining table large enough to host guests

A large amount of storage

A clear passage from front to back

We found only one concept that checks all those boxes. The bed will be divided into three sections running lengthwise- the outer two sections will be benches that will provide seating and storage. The center will be a solid panel that can raise into a table or be removed entirely to provide passage through the van for cleaning, packing, somersaults, badminton, etc.

Building the Frame

Our van is about 66 inches wide after insulating, so we split the bed into three 22-inch sections. The first order of business was to build the two benches. We constructed a frame of 2″x2″ lumber and skinned it with 1/4″ plywood. I am not going to post my exact design because each van is different and I don’t want anyone thinking they can take my design and put it in their van and have it work. But hopefully I can provide enough pictures and a decent enough description to be helpful.

The frame was amazingly simple to build. If you search something like “how to build a wood bench” you’ll get all sorts of complicated tutorials involving pocket screws and mitered joints. But with 2×2 lumber you can do it all with butt joints like this:

The first step was to build a rectangle with the dimensions of our bench (22″wide by 75″ long, measured to the outside of the frame). This was the top.

Then we did the same for the bottom of the bench, only this time we left a gap in the frame to make space for the wheel well. Depending on where the bed is located in the van, this may not be necessary for some builds.

Next we added vertical supports at all corners, plus two midway on each side (spaced at about 2 feet). At that point our frame was rock solid, so it was time to move on to the hinged lid.

The Lid

The lid was the trickiest part of the whole thing so here’s a sketch to clarify:

We used 1″x3″ lumber for the slats, with 3″ of space between each. They are attached to two rails, one of which is attached to the frame with two hinges. We didn’t want any weight on the hinges, so we added a support running lengthwise for the lid to sit on, as well as two extra lateral supports. The slats overlap the frame by about 3/4″ on the non-hinged side to provide a sturdy surface to support our weight.

Finishing the Benches and Table

This is where things got fun! We cut 1/4″ plywood to fit each side of the box and then stained it with this amazing blue wood stain. The blue really added a fun unique look to the whole thing! We finished the corners with some strips of moulding for aesthetics, and then did the whole thing again for the second bench. You didn’t forget about the second bench did you?

We cut the table to be 51″ long by 22″ wide, stained it and finished it with polyurethane. These table legs worked perfectly to support our table. We originally used only one but decided we would feel more comfortable with two for stability. To ensure a strong foundation we through-bolted the bases through the floor of the van. Boom! Table!

Since the table was only 51″ long that left an extra 24-inch panel that we weren’t sure what to do with. Stephanie came up with the brilliant idea of adding folding legs and turning it into an extra coffee table/stool/cook space. We used these folding table leg brackets and they worked like a charm, giving our amazing multi-purpose bed one more function!

The Mattress

We knew we needed a comfortable mattress to finish it off but we didn’t want to break the bank. Our bed is larger than a queen mattress but smaller than a king, so we bought two 6″ thick twin memory foam mattresses and cut them down to size. After some research we decided that the best mattress for the money was this one, and after sleeping on it I think we made the right choice!

We cut each mattress down into two pieces so we have a back rest when it’s in bench mode. Through some sort of witchcraft that I won’t even attempt to explain here, Stephanie sewed these gorgeous removable mattress covers.

And just like that we have the most important piece of our van done! Of course, it wasn’t “just like that”, this actually took us a couple weeks and many hours of planning to get right. But it was worth the effort because now we have a gorgeous, highly functional bed, table, and storage system!

Have you built or are you hoping to build something similar? Let us know in the comments! We would be happy to answer any questions to help you with your own van build!

-James

Handy items we used:

Varathane Wood Stain, Worn Navy

Pedestal Table Legs

Folding Table Legs (4 pcs)

Best Price Mattress 6-Inch Memory Foam Mattress, Twin

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