cortezaero
Member
I've got a 1970 10' NCO and I've always liked the original factory option of cots that are suspended by galvanized pipe above the dinette bed for extra beds.
However, being one who likes to use what I've already got laying around the house, and knowing that inevitably, whoever sleeps on those cots would end up complaining about their comfort, I came up with a different solution.
I used bed frame rails that I extended to meet the extra width of the camper and set them on top of the lower section walls. The normal length of a bed frame rail is about 70". I needed about 79". To achieve this, I cut a third bed frame rail in half and mounted it to a 70" bed rail with three bolts. I feel like this provides plenty of overlap for the structural strength needed.
I installed T-nuts in the top ledge of the lower wall to bolt the bed rails down so they wouldn't wander around at night. The dinette back cushions dictated the width of the bed and I used 1x4's to span across the bed rails and support the cushions.
During the day, I'll store the bed rails North-South on the ledge just below the side windows, one on each side of the camper. The 1x4 boards will go in a cabinet along the floor.
I'm sure others have done similar things, but I hadn't seen anything online anywhere, so I thought I'd share for anyone interested.
Happy Camping!
However, being one who likes to use what I've already got laying around the house, and knowing that inevitably, whoever sleeps on those cots would end up complaining about their comfort, I came up with a different solution.
I used bed frame rails that I extended to meet the extra width of the camper and set them on top of the lower section walls. The normal length of a bed frame rail is about 70". I needed about 79". To achieve this, I cut a third bed frame rail in half and mounted it to a 70" bed rail with three bolts. I feel like this provides plenty of overlap for the structural strength needed.
I installed T-nuts in the top ledge of the lower wall to bolt the bed rails down so they wouldn't wander around at night. The dinette back cushions dictated the width of the bed and I used 1x4's to span across the bed rails and support the cushions.
During the day, I'll store the bed rails North-South on the ledge just below the side windows, one on each side of the camper. The 1x4 boards will go in a cabinet along the floor.
I'm sure others have done similar things, but I hadn't seen anything online anywhere, so I thought I'd share for anyone interested.
Happy Camping!
