As you make your bed as you sleep This makes it all the more important to take enough time before building the bed substructure. So now that the small frustration of building the extendable slatted frame had evaporated, we thought desperately about what other possibilities there would be for a bed base. What  made this more difficult was that the basic conditions for the bed had to be met.

Our general conditions for the bed base

But we have imposed some of the framework conditions on ourselves. So we have made it even more difficult for ourselves. 🙂

• Bed length (based on the width of the suitcase): maximum 1.8 metres
• Bed width: maximum 1.4 metres
• Bed height (without mattresses): 66 cm
• Simple operation of the bed drawer
• A guide must guide the pull-out bed to the left and right
• Easy operation from day bed to night bed and vice versa
• Bed during the day may only slightly exceed window height
• In case of illness the partner should be able to sit at the dining table unhindered
• Bed drawer construction must be below 7 cm

There are a few sticking points.

Good ideas come with great composure

In December 2016 we travelled to Thailand. At that time I had already gone through dozens of variations for a bed construction in my mind. However, there was something in everyone that did not fit all conditions. Consequently   I continued to worry. I drew sketches in my   head while driving in the back of the four-wheel drive vehicle. It took me about a week until I finally – eureka – had the solution which meets all criteria. Some ideas are born overnight, some with great serenity. In the fund of the Toyota LandCruiser I must have been extremely calm. I quickly sketched the idea on a piece of paper and could hardly wait to get home to build the bed substructure.

Two vertical walls are used to support the mattress base and also as partitions for storage space.

The bed substructure under construction

The supporting walls for the mattress grid also serve as partitions for two storage spaces, left and right outside. The fresh water tank is then installed in the middle. The partitions are shortened to half at the top. At this shortened length the extendable mattress grid – also milled out to half – is pushed in during the day. Two aluminium L-profiles are mounted as supports on each of the two partition walls. The front transverse wall serves as a partition to the storage spaces and fresh water tanks, as well as a support across the entire width of the pull-out mattress frame.

Upper, horizontally lying board is fixed. The board underneath is the pull-out. Storage space to the left and right and in the middle the space for the fresh water tanks.

The extendable board is guided and supported over the entire length on a rail on the left and right. So we have a bed 70 centimetres wide during the day and at night it becomes 1.4 metres. The pull-out is easy and uncomplicated and the total height of the support surface for the mattresses is below the required measurement of 7 centimetres.

So is it bed or bar? Well, the pleasure and fun must not be neglected. There was tea in the thermos bottle in case someone thinks the view is a bit glassy. 😉

General conditions for the   mattress system

Now that the bed base was built, we could turn to the next topic. The Internet offers a wealth of information as a research tool. We have found a large number of suppliers who develop mattresses and beds for shipbuilding or campers. But none of these providers could really meet our requirements. In addition, we now knew exactly what we expected from a bed and could therefore also name criteria for this. To illustrate this, it is useful to list our general conditions for a mattress system   at this point.

Our basic conditions for a mattress system:

• Must necessarily provide good support during sleep and adapt to the body
• Bed height: maximum 98 cm (including bed substructure; mattresses piled on top of each other during the day)
• Maximum length 1.8 metres
• width of a   mattress maximum 70 centimetres
• No metal in the mattress
• Natural materials used wherever possible
• Low weight
• Must be applicable in warm and cold regions

Then – after long research on the Internet – we became aware of a very special mattress. More on this in a separate report.