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Do you think you need a bigger Van?
- or maybe a second Van?

- one van for work, another van for leisure?

Do you only need to work in your van?
- and never sleep in it?

- so you always return home or go to a hotel.
Or
Do you only need to travel, sleep and sit in your camper?

- and never need do something requiring a work surface. You just need to chop vegetables or sit with your phone or notebook on a wobbly swivel table.

Super! - then you can stop reading and forget this crap, or just go buy yourself a bigger or another custom van.

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Your's is not a life for compromise - the bigger and more expensive is the best - nice for you.


Happiness for you is having everything for it's own purpose, contained inside it's own special box.

You go to work in one box, and you go on holiday in a different box. Solved!

Q. is 'Customised' actually Single purpose?

Q. does your Custom design have a fixed  layout which prevents future change of use?

Modular is a good approach - But not when you have to return home to a garage to remove and swap around the 'modules' !

'Pod' modules - these can make sense for swapping in to replace work tools/boxes/equipment for a week-weekend turn-around, but it is important to have a base system of floor and walls that support a rapid attachment system.

What do you actually do with your Van?
  • Travel only for Leisure? or Drive van to Work?
  • Drive Far to Work? - and Sleep over?
  • Drive to Work and Escape after?
  • Travel lifestyle - need to work from you van?

Choose beyond the restrictions and limitations built into conventional van conversions.

Other folding / fold-away or removable bed platform

There are many type of bed design used in vans which can be folded away or removed to storage elsewhere.

In the present discussion, those types of bed which are transformed from floor seating, these are ignored for the fact that they prevent the use of floor space for equipment storage, reducing the possibilities for transporting equipment while sleeping onboard. It might seem that a converting dinette sofa is a good multi-function but you just got more air to stand up in and nowhere to put your gear.

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Platform beds are preferred to allow use of the floor space and maximal storage. The majority of platform design form a simple beam structure bridging across the width of the van providing transverse sleeping. The 'Read More' link above discusses these.

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The common disadvantages of most Platform are:-

  • their sole purpose is a bed/no bed; meaning their bulk must be stored away when not in use

  • they are not convenient enough to quickly deploy/remove as a daily change over.

  • they require floor mounted structure, cabinets or 'legs' which obstruct and restrict access to storage; and subsequently dictate load and access limits of the floor space.

Platform level 'Murphy' bed

Perhaps the best among the conventional bed design is a variation on the fold-down 'murphy' bed design when it is mounted at waist/counter/platform height (0.75m).

This may or not be combined with a 'garage' storage area.

The advantage is to retain a longitudinal walk thru space in the van.

Unless you have an unusually tall van (> 2.5metre) this style of murphy bed gives a Longitudinal bed which requires more space along the vehicle.

This can work well in a Long Wheelbase (LWB/L3) size van.

> this style of bed and others similar is discussed in detail elsewhere:-

Transverse Bed in wide body Van like Ducato Platform

The most widely used van platform for motorhomes in europe is the Fiat Ducato/Citroen Relay/Jumper; both in panel variant and chassis/coach build.

One of the reason for Ducato popularity is the width which allows up to a 1.9metre length of bed across the van. This arrangement of transverse bed allows more lengthwise space to be utilized for other storage or living purpose.

Very often this transverse arrangement is made at an elevated height above the floor(>0.75m) to provide simultaneous storage on the floor level below the bed.

The versatileVanBed  is unlike any other style of van bed

 

it can be described as:-

"a pair of opposed cantilever supported tables/desks which might resemble a 'Pullman' bed except they are not beds because the gap between them must be first bridged to provide a transverse bed; distinctly different to a Pullman bed which is formed parallel to the supporting wall. So in primary fold down mode the VersatileVanBed design offers a pair of desks/work benches cantilevered from the walls"

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In fact - the desk tops themselves open up and unfold to provide the bridging component which rest upon swing-out cross beam which, when coupled, create a simple continuous beam structure transmitting bending moment across the whole span and relieving the sides of cantilever loading.

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The cantilever is engineered from thin wall (1.5mm)  steel box section for high strength to weight and stiffness against bending while keeping a slim profile and compact space claim;

In operation it is easy and fast to change mode.

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Critically, and unlike any 'Pullman' bed or other fold down cantilever desk, the used pivot arm structure can rotate beyond the usual 90degree horizontal range until a near vertical(170deg.) position where the same structure as used to bridge the bed platform can be used to create a cantilever seat.

This multi-function avoids redundancy of parts which might otherwise require removal to storage.

The space used in stored mode (desked folded up) is minimal due to the slimline steel construction and 'taco' style the folded slatted bed platform whose slats interleave to save space.

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Realise possibilities with a base layout which combines the essentials in a dynamic space efficient package
  • Integral = built-in core functionality
  • attached - not removable - not part time redundant
  • present and always ready for change of mode
  • does not restrict floor space or access and load capability

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