BEST Slat Bed For Camper How To DIY | Ambulance Conversion pt. 8

[Music] today we're gonna be starting to work on the slap bed for the ambulance and i've done a complete mock-up in sketchup um so i just printed out the first step i need to do right here which is to basically make a rectangle that'll make the box that's currently in there completely flat and also this part will also be hinged so you can lift the whole bed up and access the storage underneath so today we're going to be starting on that so this is where the slap bed is going to sit on this existing bench here we took all the cushions off that were on there seat belts were mounted to this board right here i took those out as well and so this is going to be the basis of the slap bed basically so this is all the wood that we need to do the slat bed we've got a mix of one by threes we've got two by twos as well as one by fours for the slats and then two by fours for the legs pretty simple stuff right here i think it was just under 100 bucks at lowe's to get all the wood necessary for this even though i built this in sketchup always double check your measurements i will start by building the base that will hinge up highlighted right here in pink i started by cutting the 2x2 that will run along the front of the base next i measured and cut the 1x3 that will make up the rest of the base frame [Music] hey if you like this content and would like to see more van conversion builds like this make sure you are subscribed and hit that bell notification now let's finish building this this is supposed to fit just like so and this is supposed to fit like so i then glued and screwed these pieces together to create the flat surface i needed this is not necessary for every application as long as you have an even surface of course i use countersunk holes here as you'll see throughout the build this makes for a very clean aesthetic and so nothing gets caught or ripped on screw heads or splinters that's a life hack i would say it's a life hack i'm it's well used within the trade but it's a life hack [Music] now when building this base frame you can screw in from the outside but i prefer the cleaner look and strength of a pocket hole the kreg jig did not have the proper angle so i had to make my own so this is the bottom frame of the slap bed so the reason i have built this up um is because i have this heavy board right here that is for mounting the seat belts and so that has to stay there and so it just creates an uneven surface so i built it up to create a flat surface for me to start mounting the slats on what this also will do is there are going to be three hinges back here and that will allow us to open this up and access the storage underneath here am insetting the hinges into the base frame to allow the bed to sit flat and have all the lines be flush i am using a dremel for this but please use a router if you have one [Music] next i moved on to the face of the frame that will pull out i cut and mounted the 2x4 legs to a 2x2 runner for a 75 inch long bed i am using three legs with two four inch lag bolts countersunk into each leg [Music] that is beautiful these lag bolts are what hold houses together so i think it'll hold the bed together all right next we cut all the slats they are all the exact same measurement which makes it very easy we used a total of 21 slats to make this sturdy and easy to use bed [Music] we laid out all the slats on the base so we can mark for drilling countersunk holes in each yes whitney chalk lines are an amazing thing and very helpful for making something that will never be seen so beautiful as you will see later in this video make sure you have all of the boards in an orientation that looks good look for grain patterns color and knots that could get in the way of screws i'm drilling two staggered countersunk holes in each board this pattern will reduce the chance of the board splitting and it looks pretty cool [Music] all right so this part right here is going to be the face of the slats that will slide out so that will just be set like that and what i've done here on this back part that's going to lift up is i have beveled in an eighth inch sheep channel here to put this metal which you'll see exactly why later right now we've got our slats all cut and sanded after laying out the slats i started by setting the middle slat and the two boards on either side of it this will be the first of three guide slides so make sure this one is perfectly square because you'll work out to the edges from here i used a feeler gauge to make sure every slat was perfectly spaced but anything can be used as a gauge as long as it holds its size i spaced the guide slats 1.5 millimeters apart and the rest of the slats at three millimeters i found the spacing to be the perfect blend of low friction glide smooth and feel solid while sitting and laying on it before you get too far test the slats to make sure everything is square and will glide smooth without a snag you know what's really satisfying is these are like in line and that is why i use chalk lines and equal measurements my ocd friends i told you it's worth it [Music] so this piece of flat stock is going to be our stopper as well as it will tie all of these slats together so what i'm going to do right now is i already pre-marked where i need to drill holes on this piece of metal here i went with a piece of flat stock because it was thin enough where i could push the slats in further and thus be able to bring them out further as well when it extends into bed mode i had to make countersunk holes in the middle so the screw heads would not catch when pushing the bed in i used three different bits for this a small one for a pilot hole right through the metal a slightly larger one to go halfway through the metal and a third larger one but only going about a quarter of the way into the metal this creates a flush and secure fitment who knows where the footage went of installing the metal piece and marrying the two sections back together but the metal is screwed to the underside of the slats that slide out which acts as both a stopper and a guide to keep all the slats straight and make it easy to pull in and out all right and now we have the finished product of our slap bed now this slap bed hinges up and we have access to all of the storage underneath here then it just hinges right back down sits into place we did leave this inch gap right in the back here to make sure that we could hinge up and not hit the wall i am going to add handles to the part that slides out um just to make it easier pulling it out and pushing it back in so i'll pull this out just like that and then that is full bed mode it is these perfect 75 inches long and 38 inches wide so we're going to get a twin xl mattress for this cut it and be able to have a back for when it's in couch mode and then it will fold all flat into a full twin xl and so before i put this all the way in i want to mention that it is important to have at least a lock mechanism on here so this doesn't open while driving or do what i did and have friction do the work so it is effortless to push the slap bed most of the way in but then the last inch has some additional friction where it will not allow the slats to slide out while you're driving so just an extra little push and then you're in and that's not coming out while you're driving that's why it is going to be important to have handles on here to make it easier to pull the slap head out when you're ready to [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you for watching the video today i hope you found it helpful and if you did leave a comment and a like and make sure you're subscribed to the channel and hit that bell notification to be notified every time i post if you have any questions leave a comment and i'll respond quickly

Channel: Small Space Design Co.

Views: 127,730

Keywords: slat bed, slat bed for camper, slat bed for van, slat bed for camper van, van conversion bed, slat bed ideas, ambulance conversion bed, van bed, easy slat bed, diy slat bed, cheap slat bed, ambulance conversion, van conversion, camper conversion, bed, diy bed, bed with storage, van life bed, van life, how to build a slat bed, camper van bed, how to build a bed, foldout bed, fold out van bed, van build bed, best bed for a van, best fold out bed, slat bed design

Id: 51NfdBgxe5g

Length: 11min 24sec (684 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 21 2021