DIY Quad bunks in my 23' Safari

[inthewoods]

Here's my take on diy bunk beds added to the original floor plan of my 1976 Safari Twin. I've got 4 kids so needed quad bunks. My wife and I will get the front bed. I wanted relatively light bunks, strong enough for any of my kids, and it needed to collapse down small. After a lot of searching on Airforums, Facebook, Pinterest, and a visit to the local lumber yards and Princess Auto - I settled on a relatively simple design using surplus medical army stretchers. One stretcher ended up cheaper than a couple aluminum pipes and was basically ready for what I needed. Here's how it turned out...









I have one more bunk for the other side of the trailer to build tonight / tomorrow and then I'm adding a small railing for each bunk also.

I'm happy with how it is turning out! My kids think it's great!

[DaveMc]

That's awesome!!!

[Dingo Girl]

Great idea!

[rmkrum]

Really clever idea!

[2333]

For the railing, you probably already have an idea in mind, but if not, using closet rod holders would be an easy way to put up the railing then store it inside the cot when it's folded against the wall.

[drobbjr]

That's fantastic.

[rmkrum]

The railing allows the litter/cot to fold and retract without having to hold the weight. Closet rod holders, IMHO have the issue that the pole can be knocked out of the slotted-top holder if the occupant gets rambunctious. The rail setup looks like that would be hard to do as long as the spreader is solidly locked.

[inthewoods]

Here's my completed bunks with the integrated railings...







This was a fun little project!

I have some very excited kiddos!

[camping 101]

Looks great.

[Troutboy]

wow, that is really cool! I have 4 kids, but now I make the older ones sleep in a tent outside. Wish I would have saw this or thought of it 5 years ago

Nice job!

[sidburgess]

This is what we are doing in our MH (3 kids) but I'm planning on using the hardware that 2333 posted, just slightly modified. Great job!

[Dawn Bender]

Originally Posted by inthewoods

Here's my completed bunks with the integrated railings...

This was a fun little project!

I have some very excited kiddos!

Can you share some of the materials you used? I’m a total newbie, and need bunks for my Little’s, 2 and 7yo. What did you attach the rails to, and what are the rail materials you held the stretcher/cot up with?

— we are building in a 22’ argosy minuet (1978).

[A W Warn]

Good job! Those bunks look a lot like those that were in my 1973 Land Yacht rear bath center twin. At one time Airstream offered them as optional equipment.

[fossil5775]

brilliant!

[inthewoods]

Originally Posted by Dawn Bender

Can you share some of the materials you used? I’m a total newbie, and need bunks for my Little’s, 2 and 7yo. What did you attach the rails to, and what are the rail materials you held the stretcher/cot up with?

— we are building in a 22’ argosy minuet (1978).

Since the walls in the safari are very thin and lightweight I used some 1/2” high quality birch plywood to support the bunks and give it some structure to carry the bunk weight. On the bathroom (rear) end I slid the sheet of birch down so it sits directly on the floor of the trailer. So any weight on the bunk at that end is supported directly off the floor. I had to carefully size the sheets of plywood so I knew that it overlapped some sort of wall structure I could attach it to.

On the front end I didn’t go right to the floor but really wanted to. One side of the trailer has ductwork under the bunk and water lines so I couldn’t support it off the floor. Since there are kitchen cabinets on the front end of the bunks I used smaller pieces of 1/2” birch plywood. These smaller prices are carefully screwed into some of the solid parts of the hollow wall framing and through the wall into the cabinets / counters for strength rigidity.

The rails that support the cot are basic aluminum angle - can’t recall the thickness off hand but could check in the trailer if you need to know. It was thickest angle I could buy at my local princess auto store (sort of a harbor freight type store). The angle is screwed directly into the 1/2” plywood with short screws that don’t really penetrate past the 1/2” plywood.

Let me know if you need any other specifics on this or some close up photos of any detail.

The bunks have worked out brilliantly for my crew of 4 kids. Most we’ve had in the trailer was 4 kids and 3 adults for a 1-2 week trek through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota. My wife and I had the front bed. Grandma had one of the lower bunks. My oldest two had top bunks and my two youngest shared the other lower bunk (one at each end since they were fairly pint sized at that time). It wasn’t always most comfortable with that many in the small trailer but we aren’t the type to spend a lot of time inside the trailer. It’s all about exploring the outside and areas we travel so space inside isn’t as important.