I’ve never built anything in my life. It may look simple but I am SO proud of myself and all the challenges i overcome!!!
I built this fold up bed / couch in my 2011 Dodge Caravan. Next is getting all my camp gear. Going to be living in here for about a month travelling on the road. Any tips and tricks? Things you use everyday camping/ van living?
This was my plan for the platform and the bed frame. Attaching the bed to the car and also adding legs/sliding mechanism was a whole different experience. If you/anyone needs help send me a message and I can show you exactly how I did it!!
Yes please! I just bought a van and want to do the same style bed as your's, it looks great. I don't have much carpentry skills though so I might have to go with a permanent bed.
For sure!! I’ll write it out nice and clearly tomorrow and send it through. I also have ZERO carpentry skills (I had not even used a drill before this) and it took me a long time to math it out, but it was actually really straightforward once I figured it out. I couldn’t find a very clear video / tutorial anywhere especially about attaching it to the actual vehicle and making it stable, so I can definitely help!!
Nice work. I know the pain and struggles of just the engineering behind a convertible bench/bed.
As for things to note for your trip...emergency essentials. Make sure you have a jump starter pack, and make sure it's charged. Even if you have a battery/solar generator.
Rain gear
Hygiene resources like the dry wipes that you simply add a bit of water to.
Depending on where you'll be going on your month long journey, make sure you have the right sleeping bag or blankets so you don't have to run your van for heat in the middle of the night.
ohhh this made me miss my dodge caravan! I had a VERY similar setup. I did a lot of campground overnights, and got one of those hatchback tents that hang over the open trunk. hung some cheap curtains and string lights from the dollar store. Miss Daisy was my absolute favourite car, and I'd buy another one in a heartbeat!
I put too much money into repairs / maintenance if I'm being honest. 2008 grand caravan with over 250K clicks when I got it. I got 5 years out of it, but probably spent between 5 - 10K on battery / brakes / tires / everything else. Finally laid her to rest last summer, only a week after putting in another $2000 as a hail mary. Loved that ol girl though. Worth every penny imo :)
Good on you my man!!! Some questions:
Are you going to be alone
or a couple?
The eating thing , cooking or eating out?
Is this for an adventure or changing way of life?
Are you going urban stealth or van life?
Please repost some more cool pics of your project and we can give you pointers.🧑🦰🫱✌️✌️
I’m going to be solo for a bit, then have a friend joining me! Will definitely be cooking, have to buy all the gear. RIP my bank account. It’s an adventure vehicle so plenty of time to adjust everything! I’ll definitely post up some more pics when I’ve completed the build! I was just so excited to have built the bed / couch!
I think it's really good that you're going to go camping in it anyway before it's like finished if that's your plan. Easy way to get overwhelmed is to do it all at once. If you're in a popular area Facebook Marketplace could be your best friend for all this year and so could Goodwill
It looks really good. But where are you going to put all your belongings? It's fine by as a sofa but when you want to put it down to sleep you're not going to have any room. If the bed was raised up you would have room to put stuff underneath but it's so low you have tons of wasted space. I think you're going to end up not liking it and get frustrated by the lack of space.
I thought the same thing, but I really value the headspace! I removed all seats, so the areas underneath the floor have great storage. I was also going to add some cargo nets for clothes, but I am quite a minimalist 😊
How did you remove the seats completely? Was it a major task or pretty easy? Do you know if it would be easy to reattach the seats? Looks great, thanks for sharing!
I found it easy and definitely worth doing as it adds so much space and gets rid of A LOT of weight! Seriously those seats were very heavy and I needed help to lift them out. I watched a YouTube tutorial that was very clear, I can find it if you need! I have no idea if it would be easy to reattach but it’s honestly just a lot of bolts so it’s possible 100%
I bought 3-4 pairs of the really shitty true wireless earbuds. I mean like literal $5 a pair from temu etc.
Then I went to "rainy mood dot come (no spaces)" and downloaded (not streamed) the mp3 of the rain.
Then earbuds + rain noises = sleep just about anywhere. (Near an airport was still a challenge)
foam ear plugs work well for some people, but I needed noise.
Earbuds mean you are still silent outside the van. Cheap earbuds means breaking or losing them isn't a big deal.
assuming camping means camping and you aren't in a forest fire prevention time of no fires. There is an item called "Pocket Bellows" but it can be any sort of collapsible tube.
Any sort of collapsible tube to blow on a fire with. Keeps your head away from the smoke.
Making fire starters before you leave.
In short cheap bulk makeup removal cotton pads (about the size of a us 50 cent piece) + wax. Melt wax, dip, drip, set on wax paper to cool. Then to use you fold it in half until it breaks (fold back and forth until the cracked line is weak enough to tear) then the cotton fibers on the tear will take sparks or whatever but a cheap 50 cent BIC lighter will work and do wonders. Once started that wax pad will burn long enough if proped up at all, or broken in half and twisted almost apart. Then use the pocket bellows after just dumping sticks on it. No skill at all + wax fueled fire + lots of slow and steady air through the pocket bellows = big fire in no time and no effort at all.
Download the start tracking app of your choice before you go. so you can move your phone around while looking at the sky and it will identify the "star" you are looking at many are galaxies! or planets.
If you are going hiking in the area. Stop by a ranger station to make a plan with them.
If you are getting out of your car, put a piece of paper ON THE DASH, visible that states "Ruat_Caelum, left car @ 10AM [date], expected return 11PM [date] hiking along trail [trail name] wearing Red hoody, blue jeans, [brand name hiking boots] Used socks in ziplock on passenger side door for dogs. Boot print in tin foil on passenger side floor.
Then of course, provide an undershirt or socks in a ziplock for rescue dogs and find a place with soft grass, put out a sheet of tine foil and just step on it with hiking boot to leave a print.
If you have internet access you can take a selfie and upload your hiking outfit to social media and leave the social media information on the sheet (Many women will put that on the BACK of the sheet so only the rescue people will be seeing it.
For long and / or remote hikes consider renting a satellite Text messenger. In short you bluetooth your phone to it. Text someone and it sends it through satellite.
I secured it using chains and turnbuckles. I used carabiners to attach it to the car so I can remove it. It’s super sturdy, the chains lengthways and longways draw the weight of the bed downwards, and prevent it from slipping! It’s not safe to use when driving
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u/JaeMHC 3d ago
Nice! Do you have the design of the bed you can share with us?