Portable bed to go over captain's chairs?

[bout2buy]

Is there such a contraption? I've found on Roadtrek's site that some of their models have a way to convert the captain's chairs into a single bed. I'm wondering if there is an aftermarket folding mattress or other contraption that could be used to convert the front driver and passenger seat into sleeping space? (obviously for a kid...wouldn't want to try to cram a grownup into that...but you know how friends and cousins are...don't care where they sleep as long as they're campin' ) 🙂

[bout2buy]

Neat! Should've known some resourceful RVers had already figured this one out...no space goes wasted! 😉

[kellymisty]

Here is a DIY with a lot of pictures and instructions.

[liveneasy]

FWIW... back in the late 60's I did a van conversion for camping. I rigged a bed over the drivers/passenger seats by installing heavy duty closet rod brackets on the van side walls just behind the seats and on the metal corner posts between the side windows and the windshield. I cut galvanized steel poles to fit across the width of the van and used heavy duty canvas for the bed by sewing a large pocket along the length of both long sides.

Making up the bed was a matter of threading the poles thru the side pockets of the canvas and dropping the poles into the brackets. While it was designed to be used by children... it was strong enough to hold a lighter weight adult.

[bout2buy]

Thanks for that insight. I thought maybe there was a folding mat or something that went on top of the chairs. I'm not considering a roadtrek but all of that is good to know.

I'm thinking of something more along the lines of this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00410C54E/ref=s9_simh_gw_p201_d0_i6?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1A19XC52YDBCFZNN3FFQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

Perhaps with some sort of hinged folding board to give it support, just placed across the chairs. Keeping it level would be an issue, and it would certainly only be good for a smaller child.

Just brainstorming ideas to sleep additional people. For the few times it would be used it probably wouldn't be worth the expense and effort to assemble, but was just wondering if there was such a contraption out there.

[Jim_Shoe]

I had a RoadTrek that did that. The 2 front seats rotated about 180 degrees and the 2 back seats rotated and laid flat to form 2 single beds. Problem is that the seats are just like any other bucket seats, so they aren't totally flat when laid out in bed format. They're also not any wider than your rear end. You can't even sleep with your arms at your sides. They're also 2 or 3 feet off the floor, so if your child tosses in their sleep they may wake up in mid-air. The rear dinette has problems as well. If you're over 5 feet tall, you have to sleep diagonally if you want to stretch out.
Roadtrek sells their product as everything doing double duty, but the compromises aren't worth it. Your toilet is also your closet. The shower is also your kitchen. There's a plastic insert to turn your kitchen sink into a bathroom sink.
Other folks like them, I didn't like mine. Check one out thoroughly if you're thinking about buying. Your opinion may differ.