A safe passenger carrying R&R bed

[mbcamper]

I'm now the proud owner of a 1986 Autosleeper which is going to need a moderate amount of restoration in order to preserve it. Rust attacking is something I'll work on in better weather, but the other thing I want to address is the safe seating in the rear for my children.

The Autosleeper R&R bed isn't the safest thing in the world! The back is help in place with very lightweight bolt locks and Velcro. There are lap belts, but it's not going to be safe in a crash!

I've researched the possibility of pull or crash tested beds (on this forum and other places too) and the options just don't exist for a T25 van. So I'm looking for the best and safest comprimise.

I've got some good advise from Quickfit SBS about 3 point seatbelt fittings (on both sides), so I need a good seat arrangement.

There are a few metal framed options on the market (Just Campers have one for about £350 for example). None of these claim to be tested in any way, but I'm wondering how good they are? I don't want the seat to suddenly flatten out into a bed if I bash into something for example!

Let me know if you can help.

Thanks

Mark

[stupot73]

We bought a Bluebird Customs bed for our bus. Not yet had the three point belts fitted but the bed itself is really nice and solid and have no worries about it.

[kevtherev]

Had my Autosleeper 8 years, never had an issue with the seat.
Baxter sells the three point belt kit.
the lap belts are anchored to the engine bulkhead..or should be...and arte better than nowt
the seat should not slide forward, there should be a locating lip, the cushions might but the downward force in a crash means they are compressed rather than slide forward.

Are you prone to bashing into things then?

[CovKid]

"Steel-frame R&R bed base"

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ca ... build_beds" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Look towards the bottom of that page. I had the same issues (Ie how to make sure kids or any rear passenger would be held securely etc) and I couldn't find anything good enough either - so made one. It won't bend and arguably provides better side protection. Crash tested? No, but I'd feel happier with people sitting on that than some lightweight thing or an MDF contraption. I designed mine to house an LPG tank. Its a basic template from which you can customise to suit. Cheap enough to make and is VERY secure with spreader plates and sturdy bolts. I imagine it could be made out of ally of it was suitably strengthened but I wanted maximum strength without compromising space. A couple of others have followed my leads on this and built their own too. My materials were most recycled/borrowed but it shouldn't come to more than £100 to make - probably a lot less.

If you can't weld, any good welder could follow what I've done. Hope it helps.

[MattBW]

Looks great Ralph

[mbcamper]

Thanks for the replies - I do like the metal fabrication. There are some other good ideas here with the gas tank underneath and the cab bed conversion from Argos!

I've actually made some progress on the seat / bed. I did an ebay search and found this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FANTASTIC-QUA ... 3389ee0262" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Okay it's not suitable for a T25, but I got in contact with them anyway as they said they may be able to modify for other vans. Ended up having a chat with them having send some photographs of my van and they suggested I came over to visit them to see if there was anything they could do. They are based in Glasgow which isn't far so I went yesterday.

The end result is that I'm going to collect a specially made bed next weekend. The bloke to runs the place was really helpful and was quite keen to make it so he can add a T25 bed to his list of available items. The bed is going to be based on the crash tested design he sells, but he can't sell it to me as crash tested as it is slightly different; however the end result will be just as good and 1000x times safer than what I have at the moment.

I'll add some photographs next week so you can see what I've ended up with.

[booted]

I hunted for one like this when i did mine last year but was unable to find anyone interested in making something for a T3/T25.

[GMAN140]

Hi there is a vid on utube somewhere of a VW T25 with a standard caravelle rear seat and a large pad that pulls forward and sits over the rear seat .It is then supported by fitting seat belt straps from the pad into the seat belt fixing points .
I would of used this but id already purchased a rock and roll bed.

[Bumblemum]

Are

[Bumblemum]

Mbcamper, are you happy with it? Would love to see some photos. I spoke to them today about getting a slightly wider bed made. They are really helpful and the quality looks good for the money.

[mbcamper]

Fitting a seat / bed like this was always going to be a challenge given the raised engine bay at the rear of the van. However I'm actually quite pleased which what I've got. To summarise my initial thoughts:

- The seat is much higher than it was before, so my original table isn't high enough. However I'm 6'2 and can sit in it without my head touching the roof (just). For my children, I'm considering a foot rest of some sort as their feet don't touch the floor.
- I need to think about a different table arrangement.
- When turned into a bed, the bed comes further forward than the old one. It doesn't go over the entire engine cover as it did before. The result is that I can't open my fridge with the bed down - not a disaster
- The seat extends a little further into the boot, but opening the engine cover is still possible so you can still maintain the engine!

The seat frame is very well made (based on their crash tested design) and once I've bolted it to the floor, it will be much safer than the original arrangement which was the main reason for replacing the original seat. I'm sure the design could be improved, and I may consider altering sometime in the future, but for now I'll bolt it down us use it! I've compromised a couple of things but for the safely improvement it's worth it.

Here are some photographs

[Bumblemum]

Does the back still needing building up over the engine?

[kevtherev]

I've compromised a couple of things....

You're not kidding there!

Too many things for me.

[CovKid]

I'm with Kev. Its an interesting solution but a tadge dominating for my tastes.

Plus once the bed is down and you wake up wanting a cold beer, you're a bit stuffed.

[mbcamper]

Don't worry I'm going to be making some modifications. It's a safe starting point which was my top priority, but I'm going to be considering 2 modifications:

- It extends from the front, so I'm going to make it do the same at the back. That will sort out the fridge issue. I think this will be moderately easy.
- I'd also like to investigate making it sit a bit lower, but that's going to be harder

I'll report back on progress

Mark