Table/Worktop and sofa bed - Starting to look finished!
So we have now bought and placed inside a sofa bed, it cost £120 from eBay, and it looks awesome with the union jack on it!
I had to reinforce the bottom as it was fairly cheap, and replace the factory legs as they weren't tall enough to get over the wheel arches. The legs cost £3.28 each from B&Q, and I bought six, so three each side. Along with the reinforcing wood, they were the perfect height for the arches without arch covers on.
Yes, its a bit caveman, when we want the bed we have to drag the sofa out a little bit, and fold it down. But it fits perfectly, no space is wasted over the arch, and when used as a sofa, there is storage space behind for a couple of camping chairs, that will go under the bed once made. I will be bungeeing the bed too, so it will stay in place and is more secure, but will be stretchy enough so we can fold it into the bed and back into a sofa again.
I then set about making a table worktop, with the intention of maybe eventually cutting a hole in it and placing a sink there, with fresh and waste water tanks underneath, and possibly a 12v tap, or a manual tap. For now, I measured the table so that its a nice height with the sofa that means it can be used with a laptop comfortably, with enough leg room underneath too. Putting a sink in with waste and fresh water tanks underneath may ruin the legs under the table comfortably concept, but we will see.
For the table, I used basic pieces of time to make a frame, and some right angle brackets to reinforce it, with long screws, and in some places some wood glue, and nails!
I used a very rudimentary shelf blocks to screw into the frame to then screw it to the floor so it doesn't move. This means that if I ever want to use the van as a van, this unit can easily be removed with only a few screws.
I have also started to link the batteries. To save money in the short term, Ive bought a standard boat battery isolator, so I will need to physically connect the two batters when driving, and switch off when parked up. This works as all I have to remember is to turn one isolator off, and turn one on to enable power to the lights.
I had to reinforce the bottom as it was fairly cheap, and replace the factory legs as they weren't tall enough to get over the wheel arches. The legs cost £3.28 each from B&Q, and I bought six, so three each side. Along with the reinforcing wood, they were the perfect height for the arches without arch covers on.
Yes, its a bit caveman, when we want the bed we have to drag the sofa out a little bit, and fold it down. But it fits perfectly, no space is wasted over the arch, and when used as a sofa, there is storage space behind for a couple of camping chairs, that will go under the bed once made. I will be bungeeing the bed too, so it will stay in place and is more secure, but will be stretchy enough so we can fold it into the bed and back into a sofa again.
I then set about making a table worktop, with the intention of maybe eventually cutting a hole in it and placing a sink there, with fresh and waste water tanks underneath, and possibly a 12v tap, or a manual tap. For now, I measured the table so that its a nice height with the sofa that means it can be used with a laptop comfortably, with enough leg room underneath too. Putting a sink in with waste and fresh water tanks underneath may ruin the legs under the table comfortably concept, but we will see.
For the table, I used basic pieces of time to make a frame, and some right angle brackets to reinforce it, with long screws, and in some places some wood glue, and nails!
I used a very rudimentary shelf blocks to screw into the frame to then screw it to the floor so it doesn't move. This means that if I ever want to use the van as a van, this unit can easily be removed with only a few screws.
I have also started to link the batteries. To save money in the short term, Ive bought a standard boat battery isolator, so I will need to physically connect the two batters when driving, and switch off when parked up. This works as all I have to remember is to turn one isolator off, and turn one on to enable power to the lights.
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