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DIY bunk safety net alternative

idaho_camper
Explorer
Explorer
I thought I'd post this with the intention of (hopefully) helping someone to save a little $$$.

This past off-season, I had an over-the-dinette bunk installed in my AF811 to provide a little more sleeping area for the kids. I am very pleased with the bunk itself. Good quality, it fit the bill perfectly. However, it seems Northwood Manufacturing has gotten out of the safety net business. I know years ago, they used to provide a net with their bunks. But not any more. Too much of a liability I assume.

I called Lance hoping to score one cheap from them. But they wanted north of $300 just for the net. WTF?? Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. But a trip to Lowes and I was able to fashion a cheap alternative.

I bought 6 heavy duty L-brackets which had pre-drilled holes along each side, and bolted them together with some hardware 1 aisle over. I then slid some pipe insulation over each bracket. I simply slide the brackets into place once the bunk is down. The pipe insulation on the bottom section prevents any scratching of wood, and the pipe insulation on the upper section provides a relatively soft surface for the sleeping bags to rub against.

12 REPLIES 12

run100
Explorer
Explorer
mellow wrote:
Those of you that camp with kids, is the bunk the best way to go? Got an 8 year old and a 5 year old that are outgrowing our dinette bed. I was thinking getting a slide was the way to go but maybe not?

We have two children, age 8 & 12, and the bunk works great and we've been using it for almost four years. Ours has the child restraint system to prevent a fall. Wish there was another safety system to prevent our boy from falling all the other hours of the day!
2012 F350,6.7L Diesel,4x4,CC,SB,SRW
2013 Lance 855S

Naio
Explorer II
Explorer II
jimh425 wrote:
The slide has nothing to do with a bunk although most campers that come with bunks have slides. In the archives, there used to be a lot of pictures of different bunks people retrofitted. Some of the picture links seem to be broken for some threads. But here's one thread with pictures.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25217267.cfm

And one picture from it.



That one looks pretty tricky to get INTO!

Looking at the thread, though, it is a very nice mod.
3/4 timing in a DIY van conversion. Backroads, mountains, boondocking, sometimes big cities for a change of pace.

mellow
Explorer
Explorer
Thinking a bunk would be the best way to keep them separated so we are not awoken in the middle of the night by the two of them fighting over the covers or who is on the others side.
2002 F-350 7.3 Lariat 4x4 DRW ZF6
2008 Lance 1191 - 220w of solar - Bring on the sun!

jimh406
Explorer III
Explorer III
The slide has nothing to do with a bunk although most campers that come with bunks have slides. In the archives, there used to be a lot of pictures of different bunks people retrofitted. Some of the picture links seem to be broken for some threads. But here's one thread with pictures.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25217267.cfm

And one picture from it.


'10 Ford F-450, 6.4, 4.30, 4x4, 14,500 GVWR, '06 Host Rainer 950 DS, Torklift Talon tiedowns, Glow Steps, and Fastguns. Bilstein 4600s, Firestone Bags, Toyo M655 Gs, Curt front hitch, Energy Suspension bump stops.

NRA Life Member, CCA Life Member

idaho_camper
Explorer
Explorer
I have 3 kids. Ages 10, 8, 5. The bunk works perfectly for us. We put one in the bunk. And the other 2 either share the dinette or 1 takes the dinette and the other sleeps on the floor on a thermarest. The dog usually sleeps with whomever is on the bunk.

mellow
Explorer
Explorer
Those of you that camp with kids, is the bunk the best way to go? Got an 8 year old and a 5 year old that are outgrowing our dinette bed. I was thinking getting a slide was the way to go but maybe not?
2002 F-350 7.3 Lariat 4x4 DRW ZF6
2008 Lance 1191 - 220w of solar - Bring on the sun!

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
run100 wrote:
Nice job! A fall from that height would not be good.

The lack of a safety system in the Fox, is just one of the reasons we went with our 855S. I'm not as industrious as you.


No, it'd break the table like that.
Course we use ours and the dinette bed so falling out is onto the other bed or a sibling to cushion the blow!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

run100
Explorer
Explorer
Nice job! A fall from that height would not be good.

The lack of a safety system in the Fox, is just one of the reasons we went with our 855S. I'm not as industrious as you.
2012 F350,6.7L Diesel,4x4,CC,SB,SRW
2013 Lance 855S

jimh406
Explorer III
Explorer III
That should stop a roll out. I guess I feel lucky to have a net. Still, no kids in ours yet ... 10 years later we have two grandkids, but they still have to get older. 😉

NOTE: we bought the model on the lot knowing that sometime we'd probably have grandkids.

'10 Ford F-450, 6.4, 4.30, 4x4, 14,500 GVWR, '06 Host Rainer 950 DS, Torklift Talon tiedowns, Glow Steps, and Fastguns. Bilstein 4600s, Firestone Bags, Toyo M655 Gs, Curt front hitch, Energy Suspension bump stops.

NRA Life Member, CCA Life Member

Reddog1
Explorer II
Explorer II
You may want to take a look at a pickup truck cargo net.

There are several here.


2004.5 Ram SLT LB 3500 DRW Quad Cab 4x4
1988 Bigfoot (C11.5) TC (1900# w/standard equip. per decal), 130 watts solar, 100 AH AGM, Polar Cub A/C, EU2000i Honda

Toad: 91 Zuke

Old_Days
Explorer II
Explorer II
Nice picture. I think your dog is smiling to.:B

Xpd77
Explorer
Explorer
Very nice mod. We had the same bunk put in our 811. We just let our 6 year old fall out once, he didn't do it any more after that. 🙂
2012 F350 SRW Diesel. 2014 Arctic Fox 811. Torklift tiedowns, Fast Guns, and Stable Loads.