Bed conversion - twins to queen

[jrotino]

Can someone give me an idea how hard and expensive it would be to convert a FC 25FB from a twin set up to a queen bed?

[uncle_bob]

Hi

How good a job do you want to do?

I believe you will find that the twin and the queen have different arrangements for outside storage. Rebuilding that part is going to be a bit exciting. Getting into replacing aluminum both inside and outside the trailer is neither simple or cheap.

Best guess $is 10,000 or so. That could be off 2:1 in either direction depending on the details of what you decide you want to do.

Bob

[jrotino]

Thanks Bob.
That pretty much answers the question as to not try it.
Regards
Joe

[mayco]

I guess as much as you want to spend. I did it in my 310TD Classic Motorhome. I left the base frames of the beds in place, (mine were two facing couches but same principle). Decked it and incorporated access hatches in the deck for storage. 99.9 % of the deck is covered with a queen mattress. Then slide out storage underneath in what was the space between the two beds (couches). Trimmed any exposed edges of the plywood decking. It's worked out fantastic for my wife and I. A couple hundred bucks at the most with me doing the work..the storage hatches under the bed house the water pump, spare parts,and other things I don't have to access very often. Even then, I slide the mattress forward about 16" to access. Not sure how it could get very expensive.

[jrotino]

Thank you. Very helpful!

[drew05]

If your fairly handy, it can be done for a lot less than $10,000.

A number of us did it, and you do not need to add outside storage access. It's not difficult. The key is to plan and remember that Airstreams are built so everything can fit through the door. So in essence, for me at least, it was like working with an adult Lego and Erector set.

I probably spent as much, if not more time researching and planning then the actual remodel. I kept the curb side access, and framed it so that I had storage forward to where the transfer switch is. I also hinged the bed decks for access to the storage under both beds. For me, the most expensive items were the mattresses.

PM me for more info...

[uncle_bob]

Hi

A lot of this gets back to - do you want to duplicate the factory version or not? What are you trying to do? How important is side access to the bed?

Bob

[jrotino]

I really want the walk around feature of the factory beds. I see many FC25 for sale, but most are twins. So wondering if I should just wait to find a queen version of modify one. Sounds like I should wait. Thanks

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by jrotino

I really want the walk around feature of the factory beds. I see many FC25 for sale, but most are twins. So wondering if I should just wait to find a queen version of modify one. Sounds like I should wait. Thanks

Hi

Most dealers will tell you that about half of the sales are twins. There are queens out there.

If you are looking for a one or two year old trailer, you are spending a lot of money. Most people do that to get a "like new" feel. If you are shopping for something that is 20 years old, there may well be some touchup needed. The cash outlay is not quite as much so there's more in the bank. The newer / older part of it would impact what I would want to do.

Lots of options.

Bob

[jrotino]

Great advice! Thanks

[SuzyHomemakr]

Not sure about the setup of your trailer, but the main thing would be that in the twins that I've seen, they're flush to the bulkhead wall. A measurement would be in order, a "normal" queen being 60 X 80. You probably don't want to have the only access to your bed to be the corridor. They make RV queens that are 60 X 75, which is what I installed. I'm a 5' 10" guy, and the shorter mattress doesn't matter to me.

So, if the mattress of your dreams will fit, the next thing is design of the frame. You can get bed lift kits, such as http://www.hatchlift.com/bedlift-kit...t-kit-standard that make access much better. You might want to think about a kick space (think the bottom of lower kitchen cabinets) so that your feet have a place to go. Otherwise, it's just a basic box made from plywood. I used a biscuit joiner to make the wide slab of plywood that the mattress lays on, worked well.

If you have moderate woodworking skills, or know someone who does that's easily bribed, you should do it!

[jdalrymple]

We just went the other way...queen to twins.

Having had both, the twins make the bedroom MUCH more usable.

Having to scoot sideways around a queen bed and loosing all the floor space to get dressed and such is a real pain.


A 25' a factory queen sits east/west across the trailer instead of north/south along the length, while the twins are north/south.

Regards,


JD

[Bilbo]

Originally Posted by jrotino

Can someone give me an idea how hard and expensive it would be to convert a FC 25FB from a twin set up to a queen bed?

I don't know how hard going from Twins to Queen would be - dealing with the outside storage would seem to be the biggest headache. The curbside should be no problem, but the front and roadside storage on the FB Twin setup would probably not be functional once you convert.

I went the other way, converted a 2015 25FB from Queen to Twins. As such, I have the original Queen mattress and plywood platform (just the plywood top for the bed base, I reused most of the base itself). If you decide to proceed message me and we'll see if you can use the mattress. Like new, only slept on a few times.

[Starlight Mike]

Originally Posted by jrotino

Can someone give me an idea how hard and expensive it would be to convert a FC 25FB from a twin set up to a queen bed?

I think I have the best if both worlds. I found a great 25fb used with twins but I wanted a queen. I am in the yacht business and very familiar with twin rooms that convert to queen (actually closer to a king).
I put the table in the middle down on the floor and I have a piece of plywood under each buck that I pull out and turn side ways between the bunks. I then push the matteresses together, tie in place with a big kayak strap and I have very close to a king bed. This works great, easy and inexpensive. For short trips I may leave as twins (easier to get around). Long trips, put together and very comfortable. If you want more details, mrafferty100@gmail.com

[mikeoxlong]

I just purchased my 1994 excella while on the road working...long hours. After many years of the twin bed arrangement my wife and I were hoping to find a queen bed unit but, this one was excellent in every way, but for the twin beds.
Anyway, my quick fix for this was to toss a slab of plywood across the space between the twin bed bases and top it off wit a king size bed in a box! It fits the space very well and is a much more comfortable arrangement! I will reconfigure the storage arrangement to something more user friendly whenever I make it home to my workshop.
Good luck �� and ...sweet dreams

[jrotino]

Thanks

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Ok, to do a "same as factory" conversion you need to:

1) Eliminate the front outside hatch door replacing both the inner and outer skins.

2) Eliminate one of the side outside hatch doors doing the same replacement.

3) Get a custom mattress that will fit the odd sized not really a queen bed.

4) Redo the flooring in the area and get the result to match the rest of the trailer

5) Replace the bed structure, including making drawers and partitions.

6) Find a proper sized bed lift kit and build the structure for that.

7) Replace the cabinets

8) Replace the end tables

9) Redo the wiring for the lighting

10) Repair / refinish this and that wall where it was hidden by the old beds

11) Buy the bedding (sheets etc) that goes with the new beds. (If you want the "real AS" stuff from the mothership, plan on spending a couple thousand dollars on that part).

I'm sure I've missed something in that list. It seems like a lot of work. Can you do it? Sure you can. You *can* build a trailer from scratch. Can you compromise here or there and make it easier / cheaper? Most definitely. Is a compromise worth as much to you?

Since this is a trailer you do not own and may not buy, it's not a project you have to take on. It also is not a project that will enhance the value of the trailer. If you turned around to sell it, there is no benefit to the buyer. He will just compare it to a factory queen and go with that instead.

Keep shopping ....

Bob

[Starlight Mike]

Originally Posted by jrotino

Thanks Bob.
That pretty much answers the question as to not try it.
Regards
Joe

After reading all these posts, I’m convinced my method of keep a piece of plywood under each bunk and using them to slide the mattresses together, tie together with a large kayak strap, is the way to go.
First of all the cost is two pieces of plywood and a kayak strap, secondly, you end up with a king bed or push mattresses back where they were and you have twins. Best of both and save $10 grand!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I guess the point is more: Can you buy a twin bed and cheaply convert it to a factory version of the queen?

For me, the shorter queen was not of interest. The longer twins are still a bit to short, but I can make them work. The whole "this changes the outside storage" thing was not at all clear to me when shopping. We noticed it, but really did not think about it much. After using the Classic with the twins for a while, we *definitely* notice the added outside storage. For whatever reason, the promotional information on the trailers is not very clear on this "change" between bed setups. Maybe it's just me ...

Bob