In a couple of weeks I will be taking my 2 youngest to a weekend soccer tournament a few hours away. We end up going to these tournaments 3-5 times a year and I always hate having to spend a few hundred dollars on a hotel room for the weekend. Since this time it is just me and the 2 boys instead of the whole family I decided we were going to make use of the van instead of a hotel room. Not sure if we will be getting a campsite or doing some urban camping.......but the first step is sleeping accommodations. Pulled the 2 back benches and went to work.
Took some measurements and build the first frame. I was able to go 28"x72":


Then I built the 2nd frame to match and left an isle in the middle:


Threw some OSB on top of it so there would be a solid surface for a couple of air mattresses:


My boys showing how they fit on them:



A couple of shots with the doors closed:



I tested one out. They are smaller than a twin bed, but I am able to stretch out and they are wide enough that I don't worry about falling off if I move around. Width wise it feels kind of like sleeping on a couch. They are light and easily installed/removed with 2 people. You can also attach them to each other if you wanted to make 1 larger bed, or remove one if you are solo and want to maximize your interior room for something else. The best part is that it was a little under $50 in materials, so even if I only end up using it once i still come out ahead. And yes, feel free to crack all the "Cheap skate" jokes you want.......I wear it like a badge of honor.

I am sure I will find good and bad things during the weekend of camping out...

 

Three people/ two beds. Sounds like a dilemma.
What's your plan? Make the smaller kid share one?

Also curious where/how you'll stow the beds during travel.

Nice job! A fine example of using a van well

 

The plan is to remove one of the middle row captains chair. This will still leave seating for all 3 of us, but give a large open area on the floor for the youngest.

As far as stowing them while traveling, I plan on rigging up some brackets to secure the beds to the bench seat brackets.

 

now all you need is a



and

 

Could you use some brackets and make a middle piece between the two beds and get one big air matress? Just something to slide inbetween and offer a little support but easy to remove for travel. I don't think many on here would bag on you for saving some cash. Good luck and have fun.

 

I could make something for the middle, but currently i prefer for them to be separate. It makes getting in and out of bed easier, especially if both mid-row captians chairs are still installed. Also, not a lot of bed comfort would be gained since the cab is only 68" wide. Sleeping side to side would be shorter. If i was a little taller (I am 6') i may look at making the bed wider, so i could sleep at an angle.

 

Jayro88, nice workmanship and fine looking young men, I'm sure you're proud of them. I know air mattresses will work, but there is also some foam you can buy that has like fingers on it (it's for laying on top of your regular bed mattress to increase the plushness of it), and it's VERY comfortable. I've done air mattresses and this foam and the foam is a lot more comfortable, just a thought if you run across it somewhere. I like where you're going.

 

Depending on how the air mattresses go, I may look into this. The big thing that I like about the air mattress is that they are easy to store and take up less room. If I set up something permanent I would go the non-air mattress route.

 

That OSB can have a few splinters, mainly around the edges, that can cause a leak in your air mattress, especially as the mattress gets slid around a bit..so you might want to either sand and seal the OSB or maybe lay out some thin cheap carpet padding or some kind of vinyl or foam sheets. Also, if that OSB is made outside of USA or Canada, it could contain adhesives that will cause out-gassing, and odor, especially in a hot vehicle sitting in the sun.

Good luck, yeah van-camping can save a LOT of money...

 

Those are some good options. I have some left over indoor/outdoor carpet that I had thought about using. For temporary protection I was planning on putting a heavy blanket over the OSB and have it hang over the sides like a table cloth. Come tho think of it, I may have some left over moving blankets that I could use. I would hate to poke a hole in my new air mattresses on the first time out.

 

The Air Mattresses I order came in today. Fit pretty well. I used a piece of carpet and a blanket to cover the OSB in case there were any splinters.


I cut some of these out of scrap foil insulation I had. Still Have to make some others for the rest of the windows. If I had time I would make some curtains, but this will do for now.


Tint is light enough you can see the foil insulation some from the outside. When I finally get around to curtains and darker tint it shouldn't be noticeable at all.

 

I like it.

 

Paint that one side black on the covers so its not so obvious your blocking your windows. At night they will look like a dark tint.

 

I was going to try something like that, but then I was at WalMart and they had 82"x42" blackout curtain panels for $10. 2 will be enough to cover all the passenger area windows. I have all but 2 cut out and ready to go. I will get more pics when I get them mounted. Speaking of mounting....I am trying to figure out a good temporary inexpensive way to Mount them for the trip since I don't have time to do a good permanent job right now. Any ideas? I was thinking about magnets, but for the amount I need I would have more in magnets than I have in the curtains.

I did pick this up since it is supposed to be in the 40's at night and it looks like we won't have electric for my small electric space heater:


And because I don't trust the "Certified Indoor Safe/99.99% Efficient" I got these too:

 

Good Combo. Still, be careful..I'd leave a window cracked.
On second thought, with a few people sleeping in there, it will prolly stay warm enough w/o the heater other than maybe in the am getting dressed.