Caddy camper / surf van

[joey21]

Hi, Iv just gotten back from a weekend surfing and camping in my van and thought some of you guys might be interested in maybes arrangement because it's a bit different and works well.

It's a swb 1.9tdi and was bog standard when I brought it. First I removed the bulkhead, painted the ply and fitted the vinyl floor.


I evened up the wheel arch boxing heights and made those two crates which are the same height as the boxing. Day to day I use these to put loose items like shopping and tools in so they slide about. Under the crates is the base of the bed which is 3 pieces of 12mm ply. Each is 4 foot by 2 foot and all hinged together.




This is it folded out, you can see there is loads of space under the bed for things like camping chairs, stove etc.
I slide the seats forward and then blow it the double air bed. I am 6 foot 1 tall and my missus is about 5 foot 9 and we was more than comfortable in it for a few nights.

It's not trying to be a camper van or even a day van its just a bit like a pop up tent but more space, more comfortable and alot cooler



Thanks for reading, Joey


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[islander]

Nice, I'm about to do something similar , for "casual" use also, when i see your construction i feel i maybe underestimated how much support the plywood will need, I will have the seats folded and used as support and planned to use aluminum legs for extra support, has planned to use four in the back and two in front, but I see that in the back you have support on the sides too, but not in the front, is this maybe for making the ply stay in place?

My idea is to place the "front legs" fixed on the front seat rail that are free when pushing the seat to the front, put a rubber list on the ply in the back and the fix the whole enchilada with the front seat...

How is the inflatable bed working on plywood, OK for a couple of nights?

[joey21]

Nice, I'm about to do something similar , for "casual" use also, when i see your construction i feel i maybe underestimated how much support the plywood will need, I will have the seats folded and used as support and planned to use aluminum legs for extra support, has planned to use four in the back and two in front, but I see that in the back you have support on the sides too, but not in the front, is this maybe for making the ply stay in place?

My idea is to place the "front legs" fixed on the front seat rail that are free when pushing the seat to the front, put a rubber list on the ply in the back and the fix the whole enchilada with the front seat...

How is the inflatable bed working on plywood, OK for a couple of nights?

Hi yeah with it being 12mm ply it needs a fair bit of support to feel stable. This feels really sturdy and dosnt move anywhere so maybe you could get away with slightly less.

And the inflatable bed is spot on, perfect for a few nights


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[willstep]

Nice and simple, and easy to make it into an empty van again. I like it.

[joey21]

Nice and simple, and easy to make it into an empty van again. I like it.

Thanks man


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[danjo85]

Nice one, like the airbed idea!

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[jjules]

Very nice simple design, thanks for sharing!
I'm looking to do something similar, only want to allow for occasional 'day-use' e.g. lunch stop on a rainy day. With your design, would it work to put the folded-up board across the two square frames, and use that as a seat along one side?

[joey21]

Very nice simple design, thanks for sharing!
I'm looking to do something similar, only want to allow for occasional 'day-use' e.g. lunch stop on a rainy day. With your design, would it work to put the folded-up board across the two square frames, and use that as a seat along one side?

Yes mate it would we did exactly that after a walk in the Peak District the other week. Not bad for head room I'm 6 foot 1 and it was ok for me


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