Bambi Bunks

[RangerJay]

I’m not sure whether anyone else might have had the same observation – but we "noticed" that the Bambi’s 48” bed is mighty narrow. We can live with it through a weekend – tolerate it for a week – but for an extended trip the world’s greatest sleep experience becomes a distant memory.


So … we thought bunks might be kinda desirable ....


We contacted Airstream about getting the hardware associated with the “bunks” option that was available on a 19’ Bambi …. not possible …. the frame was beefed up at the time of construction.


So that left me with trying to figure out how to do this on my own ….


The “givens” I gave to myself:
- no interference with the wrap-around curtains
- no interference with the windows – particularly the emergency exit.
- no major renovations (i.e. live within the existing construction) - this meant keeping:
o the overhead cabinetry
o the base cabinetry for the 48” bed.
- must be able to be returned to original state for resale.


I was able to meet my own “givens” but there are several things worth noting:
- the “meat and potatoes” are pieced from an old bunk frame hanging around from when our kids were very young – I covered this frame with oak that is stained to match the rest of the trailer.
- the weight of the unit worked out to be the same as the original mattress.
- the entire unit is very solid – anchored between the fridge wall, the shower wall and the floor of the trailer.
- the sleeping “head” of each bunk is against the refrigerator – just doesn’t work the other way.
- we opted for 1 ½” self-inflating sleeping pads to save vertical space between each bunk (we like them a lot – but others may not).
- if you are claustrophobic the lower bunk will not be your preferred choice.
- also with the lower bunk – previous employment with the Cirque-de-Soleil is helpful in getting in and out (but I’m 57 years old, 230 pounds and have gotten used to it).
- we originally thought the bunks would be fairly intrusive – but the opposite is true – they look good and actually give you a little more working storage space (extra shelf and clothing hook against the toilet/shower wall) and much more “changing” space now that there is a “bench” adjacent to the lower bed.
- tear down and restoring to the original condition takes about an hour – and would require the filling of about a dozen screw holes with plugs (or adding a bit of moulding to cover them) – either way it is not a big deal and the integrity of the original design is able to be easily maintained.


This “prototype” has now completed its first season – a number of smaller 3 – 5 day trips and a major 6 week trek to Newfoundland. We’re very pleased with the outcome. If I were to do it again I think I would add at least an inch (maybe 1 ½”) between the lower bunk and the upper bunk … but I think that is a matter of negotiation with the person who claims the upper bunk ….





Jay

[Mrs_RedSHED]

This is very cool. Very interesting. So it is supported at the head (the fridge) the right foot (shower) and ???. How does it support itself at the left side/foot-end of the bunk? We've discussed trying this in our 31' and couldn't quite figure out how to make the outside corners sturdy. How many vertical inches do you actually have between them?

[RangerJay]

Mrs RedSHED,

The vertical support for the foot of the bunk is two legs that extend only to the plywood surface of the lower bed - each leg is then tied, with dowels and one bolt, to fabricated supports in the storage space below the bed.

The tie-in to the shower wall is for lateral support to keep the foot portion of the upper bunk from being able to move from side-to-side - this does not carry any vertical weight at all. Without this lateral tie-in the unit does have some side-to-side movement which I think would cause grief after travelling on a rough road. The entire bunk becomes very sturdy once tied in to the shower wall.

The distance between the two bunks is 22 inches. This halves the distance between the plywood surface of the original bed and the lower surface of the upper cabinet. In hind-site the upper cabinet does not intrude much into sleeping space so we both think that this 22 inches could be increased to allow more space between the two bunks.

In the Bambi floorplan the configuration of the shower wall and door present a challenge to getting in and out of the lower bunk - I have to pull my knees up then swing out to the floor within the space of that 22 inches. This took a bit of getting used to (sort of like the Bambi toilet and space for your knees). This challenge might be eased a bit if we had gone to a bit more space between the beds - but it definitely won't go away.

The upper bunk by the way is a snap to get in and out - the bench makes it perfect to climb up and down.

If you'd find more pictures helfpul I'd be glad to take them and post them.


Jay

[Silvertwinkie]

Really, really neat solution! This would work with the 25' SS too!

[Lumatic]

Here's a bunk I made for my Tradewind. It works great and the grandkids fight over it. The fabric is canvas. The frame is aluminum tubing held together with portable exhibit display clamps. The outboard side attaches to the wall and the inboard side is supported from the ceiling by marine bimini top hardware and nylon webbing. It will support a good size child. It installs and stows in 5 minutes. It stows behind the gaucho invisibly. The idea is from the original Airstream bunk option. The hardest part of the project is to find solid anchor points in the wall and ceiling

[grizzy]

This is a very elegant solution to one of the Bambi downsides, and you have done a great job in building it -- it looks like it was done at the factory. I would love to see more pictures and dimensional information if possible.

[gotohatteras]

What about using "escape hatch" ?

[RangerJay]

If you'll give me a couple of days I will take and post some additional pictures that should provide some more detail. This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada so the activities are family, baseball and turkey - pretty much in that order.

The upper bunk does intrude into the space for the emergency exit but not by a lot - I'm a big guy and I don't have any concerns that I wouldn't be able to get out.

Thanks,


Jay

[RangerJay]

Here is some additional information. I've tried to add pictures that will show pretty much most of the detail.


Upper bunk:

• basic dimensions
  • height:
    • 22 inches from lower bed surface to bottom of upper bed.
  • width:
    • 29 inches outside rail frame
    • 26 ½ inches inside rail frame
  • length:
    • outside (wall) rail is 52 inches long (bracket to bracket)
    • inside (interior) rail is 72 inches long (bracket to bracket)
  • outside edge of bunk is kept about 5 inches from the wall of the trailer
• mattress base:
  • ½ inch fir plywood bolted to bed rails
  • no additional supports
  • blue lock-tite applied to nuts and bolts
• bed rails:
  • taken from old bunks
    • angle iron rails + mounting brackets.
  • enclosed with ¾ inch oak on outer surfaces and top edge
  • close tolerances add to strength of rails
• legs:
  • ¾ inch oak
  • left “T” shaped leg
    • located at beginning of curve
    • located to not interfere with access hole to hot water by-pass valves or low-point drain valves.
    • leg requires notching into plywood
      • extends only to lower bed surface
      • dowelled through lower bed surface onto matching base in storage area under bed
  • right “L” shaped leg
    • fits around plywood corne
    • extends only to lower bed surface
    • dowelled and bolted through lower bed surface onto oak bracket that surrounds access door to storage area under bed.

Shelf:

• fabricated to fit between bed rail and shower wall.

Headboard:

• attached through refrigerator compartment to 2 oak backing strips.
  • one is visible in trailer cabin
  • one in refrigerator compartment near access door
• attached to bed rail with bumper bolts and lock nuts
  • countersunk to allow headboard to fit flat to refrigerator compartment

Lower bed surface:

• framed with rounded ¾ inch oak moulding placed flush to outside surface of legs.

Bench:

• laminated ¾ inch oak attached to outside surface of original bed.
• shaped to match existing bed pattern
• rubber “stopper” attached to cushion bathroom door when open

Finish:

• final sanding with 200 grit sandpaper
• stained with Minwax “Early American”
• 3 applications of Minwax satin polyurethane sanded with 200 grit sandpaper between coats
• light sanding of final coat with 600 grit wet paper
• 1 coat Minwax paste wax applied with 0000 steel wool
  • polished to smooth satin lustre

Mattresses:

• Eureka self-inflating sleeping pads
  • 25 inches by 72 inches
  • home-sewn mattress cover sleeves pull over entire mattress.
  • lower sheets also fabricated as sleeves that pull over entire mattress

Restoration Issues if Dismantled:

• refrigerator compartment wall
  • 6 screw holds to be masked
• shower wall
  • 2 screw holes to be masked (if oak support left as moulding)
  • 5 screw holes to be masked (if oak support removed)
• no other visible issues

Be glad to answer any additional questions.

Thanks,



Jay