Bed Across Front Seats

This may not be what you had in mind, but it's interesting and the owner found it useful.

http://www.doityourselfrv.com/hanging-cot-idea-sleep-space-rv/

Not sure this is viable, but just maybe a 2' x 4' folding table will work when you un-clip the drink/change holder (easily done on the Ford). This way it is a bed at night and a table when needed.

Here is the table I refer to, and where we store it. They are adjustable height sold in many Walmart type places. Just leave the legs tucked up in the table for a bed platform. I am sure it will safely support a normal weighted child across the two seats. Support it with something if questionable.

Four Height Settings
Shown Lowest


Shown Tallest


Easy To Store
We Store It Here

You can always make them swivel, thus giving you a lot more seat cushion as they face each other to put the bed on,sliding them close together will give you a much smaller gap to fill.

Sounds like a new product idea to me. Maybe add a small inflateable air mattress with a bellows inflator to save space.

Why not use a 1x2 or whatever as a leg in the middle, you could even put a hinge on it so it would fold up.

Do you have sufficient clearance with the doghouse and the seat backs to make this usable? I'm not sure I do in mine.

Note that (on the Fords at least) the cupholder/bin unit detaches quite easily from the doghouse proper via a clip at the bottom. With a little cleverness, it seems to me it should be possible to construct a center mount for the bed unit that attaches to the doghouse via the knobs and so forth that the cubby unit attaches with and simultaneously gain a bit of additional depth. The easiest way might be to get an old cubby unit from a junkyard and cut it down to just the mounting bits. Obviously the weight on the doghouse cover should not be excessive.

If you are concerned about the board sagging, add a strip of 1 x 2 on or near the edge of the board (one or both edges) to stiffen the board for the space between the seats. That may or may not be needed, depending on the weight of the person using it and how wide the gap is. But it's cheaper and lighter than using a thicker board for the entire thing.

I would think you would need some sort of support between the seats. I think w/o support you will find that the board will bend in the middle.

Can be done with a board going across the two seats and a foam topper as a cushion---- I remember my parents doing that in a van they had when I was a kid