Bunk Construction

[buddydawg]

I am planning on having some bunks in the bus and wanted to see how you went about constructing them.  I have some idea of the way I want to approach them but I wanted everyone to pitch thier ideas etc.  What size, materials, et al.

[Dallas]

Brandon,

Remember, Drinks for 6 dinner for 4 and sleeps 2.

If you really want some bunks, or Nicky is tired of you, I'm sure there's probably a county jail in your area that will be putting in new bunks soon! 

Dallas

[gumpy]

I welded my bunk frames out of 1" square tube steel. Laid 3/4" birch veneer plywood on the frames for the beds. I've covered the outside walls with 3/4" plywood/maple panels. I'm putting 3 slide out drawers for plastic tubs underneath.
The ceiling was finished with vinyl. I put a 45 degree panel at the head of each bunk and installed an LED reading light, 12v
power outlet, and 120V power outlet. The corner panel is removable along the top bunk outside wall to allow access to the wiring track in the corner of the roof.

Not quite finished with it all, but we've been using it for a few years and it works well.

If I were to do it again, I'd do it a bit different by designing a removable modular system consisting of a bottom drawer unit, with middle bunk on top of that, and the upper bunk that would attach to support that could be screwed in place and be removable. Then I'd build another modular unit consisting of a seat with possibly a table that could be put in place of the bunks for use with more people on daytrips, etc. I may end up doing this after the kids are out on their own and no longer travel with us. Hindsight....

[buddydawg]

Remember, Drinks for 6 dinner for 4 and sleeps 2.

I initially just wanted no bunks to allow for more living space, but in the fall there will many guest that will be around for football weekends.  Allthough they could just sleep on the couch or floor or outside.....

If I do go the bunk route it will still be useful space as it can double for storage or some other type of space.

[travelingfools]

We are planning two bunks..Im hoping to have them so that once the kids no longer want to travel, they can be removed and the space urilized for some thing else. We are also toying with the ideas of two bunks, 1 across from the other with storage under and above..

[ktmossman]

I am planning three bunks; two on one side and one on the other.  However, I am also trying to figure out how to make the best use of the under-bunk space on the odd side.  I want to put the w/d unit under there.  I am also contemplating some mechanism which would allow me to raise the bunk up towards the ceiling when not in use so someone could sit at a desk along that wall as well.  Still noodling on that one...

[Ncbob]

First of all, let me explain that we're an MC5 so we have the internal wheel wells. There was a, sort of, queen sized bed in the back when we got the bus but since my wife uses a cane to walk..wheel wells aren't in the game plan. I opted for twins and made them to house sized twins and bought foam mattresses from the same place FLCliff did and am very happy, Knox Foam in TN.  Now after using them for a year I'm happy with the mattresses but not the size. In an 8' wide bus it doesn't leave much room for a center aisle.

So, now I need to rework the beds and drawers underneath and plan to remove 6' off each bed. That won't cost much in daily storage but will mean a lot to both my wife's and my shin bones which are constantly black on blue.

FWIW

NCbob

[buddydawg]

One idea I had was to make the area I had set aside for the bunks a rear lounge area with a bench seat (couch) on each side and the upper bunk could be hung in place as needed.  If that could be pulled of aesthetically it would suit my needs and use the space more wisely.

[NewbeeMC9]

I saw a Hockey team bus one time and it was full of booths that turned into bunks,  looked decent.  If i remember correctly, the top bunk folded out toward the wall when not used and sat on top of the seatbacks when folded down, and the seat cusion made a bed as is.  The back may have folded up to horizontal and locked.  but the booths were all a couch when not bunks.  was a while back sorry

the ol boat bunk had a tray with the a foam padand a piano hinge at the top/back fixing it to the wall,  then hen you lift it up there was an other open tray to put all your stuff,  had another cabinet at your feet, and you dont have to open into aisle like a drawer.  had reading light and fan at head near pillow.  another cabinet hung down over feet. to get stuff while in bed, walkman, book etc.

low-buck
consider your use, if you only need bunks for buddies at ball game, then either elicit their help and resources or make temp .  if its low use, put some heavy duty short loop hooks right above the windows attached to the framing, then use the walmart camping hammocks at few dollars each.  can hang many and can go diagonally if you need more length than you have width. can stow them in a drawer some where when not needed.
along with couches that fold out and dinetes that drop down,  you'll have plenty of room to pour your buddies after the game.   

good luck and keep us posted

[lyndon]

We've been thinking a lot about bunks, too, since we are at that stage in the planning. Before yesterday, a symmetric pair with a center aisle seemed to be the only option for the 3 little ones, providing a spare for the relative/friend/vagrant/puppy/whoever. To allow for a reasonable aisle, we determined that the bunk width would be limited to just 30 inches -- no problem for the little ones, but they keep growing and we're starting to see a trend here. The aisle would end up about the same 30 inches, so access to our room at the back would be narrow, too.

Bunks at the back would solve some problems, but a switch from a center to side aisle to accommodate a larger bed near the middle of the bus wastes some space, so this idea isn't gaining traction right now.

Now we're considering a twin-over-double (39-over-54) bunk configuration, leaving a 36 inch side aisle with standard bed sizes. The guest spare can be a convertible dinette/hide-a-bed/floor/hammock if needed (I like the 6/4/2 rule, but the kids wouldn't understand, so some bunks of some sort are not optional.) Also, a length of a least 76 inches makes sense (so anyone who's a vertical fit in the bus would be a horizontal one as well), since rationing length does not seem to be critical in a 40 ft bus.

Construction will likely be plywood over steel tubing (we like Gumpy's approach), with bolted sections for modularity, since we may redo the whole thing in a year or two. (I've got to learn to weld sooner or later, so time to get the feet hot wet).

So that's a current brain dump, if it helps.

Don

[Fred Mc]

When our kids were small we had 4 bunks in the bedroom. The bottom bunks on each side extended to the bottom shelf(was the back seat on a GM PD4106). The top bunk on each side started about 3 feet back from the  lower bunk and extended to the back wall of the bus. What this meant was that the upper and lower bunks could be closer together giving the person up top more room but there was a space of 2-3 feet above the lower bunk so the person in the lower bunk could sit up straight without hitting their head on the upper bunk.

It worked fine.

Fred Mc.

[ChuckMC8]

The bunk beds in our bus is one of our favorite features.......I have 2 teenage kids who like to sleep in and I'm an early riser, So when theyre bunked in with their curtain closed, in the morning, I can get up, make coffee and watch TV w/o bothering everyone. Its also a great place to nap during the afternoon
(er...IF I was the napping type ;-)
Here a pic, theres more if you click on my profile and check my bus photo page link

[Songman]

Looking good, Chuck. Personally, I love bunks. The best nights of sleep I ever had were spent in a bunk rolling down the highway. Of course, it's a little different now since there won't be a driver taking us from place to place while we sleep.  But pulling that curtain back and being in your own little dark cocoon just makes for a great nap. Any bus I ever build will have at least two bunks. If, on certain trips, they are not being used by our daughters they make great storage closets.

I'm pretty interested in the way gumpy did his framing for the bunks. Having the framework out of steel would seem to make them much more solid and less likely to flex and rattle.

[Ednj]

I am planning on having some bunks in the bus and wanted to see how you went about constructing them.  I have some idea of the way I want to approach them but I wanted everyone to pitch thier ideas etc.  What size, materials, et al.

>
>
Here's a few pictures, not the best shots but you can get the idea.

[Tom Y]

Buddydawg, There was a person who had drop down bunks on here before. I think Tims web page, he had a 5 that got wrecked I think. If intrested I will look or maybe someone has the page. Tom Y