'Rescued' an '80s Eccles Elan 14, it's dry in any weather, I've replaced rotten tyres and had the running gear, gas and electrics serviced and new bits as needed - still a cheap 'van. However, the table that would once have converted to the double bed base between the bench seats at the front is long missing. There's a slo ton the front wall that it would have fitted into, a small table with a similar one is at the back of the 'van.
The benches have hinged wooden lids but only a tiny lip so it's difficult to balance anything between them. We've only slept in the 'van once and lay out four, one-foot-wide, four-foot long planks of thinnish plywood that we happened to have in the garage, comfortable enough but as they're loose and only balanced across the benches it isn't ideal, and they're awkward to stow (to use the bench seats with a folding camping table we took the planks off and put them on the floor). Any better ideas until I find someone breaking one of these 'vans and selling a replacement table, assuming I can work out how to secure that in place anyway?
I suppose this solution is pretty much what your'e already doing but my bro in law and we don't have any problems.
My brother in law uses two/three sheets of fairly thick board (probably plywood) side by side that literally sits on top of the benches either side and then stores them away between the bench and the cushions during the day.
We have latts for ours but there are one or two missing/broken so we have one sheet of plywood that we put over the top of the latts but it rests on the benches - just to strengthen that area. Again, we store it under the main cushion during the day.
You could always try contacting a caravan breakers yard, they might be able to help with a replacement table. Someone else may have a better solution that I too would be interested in.
I've noticed that our 94' Fleetwood latts are not as strong as our previous 89' Esprit. I've also have taken a look at several of the newer models around am appalled at how thin some of them are. Not good when your hubby weighs over 15 stone!!! Has anyone else found this?
My dad made a replacement for our old van. IIRC he measured the space needed between the lips and worked out a width for the table
There was also a table leg which folded in half lengthways to reduce the table leg into a bed leg of the correct height- I think that perhaps came from the original table- could that be your solution to the stability issue?
The wooden latts fit inbetween the full length of the seating area and rest on the lips. They are about 3 - 4 inches apart and fixed to two straps. They usually fit in a box or at the bottom of a set of drawers and you simply pull them out onto the seating lips and vise versa when you need to put them away. The cushions from the seating area then just lay on top of them.
The latts sound like something that would need to be specific to the van and mine is probably a bit old. The table leg that folds in half sounds brilliant, wonder if that is the design of the original (missing) table? I have posted an enquiry to a caravan breakers' website, good idea, thank you all!
You would be far better making up a roll of slats to use permanently. Using the table top would probably give you problems with condensation on the underside of the cushions due to lack of air circulation. And it would be a good idea to drill several holes in the solid ply on the seat bases.
To make a decent lip to rest the slats on you could screw some suitably sized timber along the front edges of the bases. setting it down by the thickness of the slats. For the slats you need some decent timber, maybe pine or similar, must be knot free, say 15mm thick by 60mm wide, cut to the correct length to give a snug fit. Leaving 60 mm spaces between them lay them in place and staple 2 strips of tape in place to connect them all together. To locate the end ones screw some small blocks of wood to the support rails.
i to think the slats are a better idea , i would visit an old scrap yard and cut out the seat belts and staple them to the slats they should be strong enough to hold your body weight and this will give you more room in your van just fold them away when not in use
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Topic: Makeshift double bed base, ideas?
