An Easy DIY 2nd Floor Full Bed for your Westy! Pics

[zimberz]

hello - this all started a few months ago - i saw an ad for a 71 (i think) westfalia camper for sale with a full size upper bed that i wished i had, i have a 71 westfalia with the upper fold out cot which as cool as it is was was never really functional unless you are pretty loaded and even then it was never too comfortable. i did love the perched up feeling being up there and the functionality of the tent area as a 2nd floor. i looked into it at the time and saw that this option was pretty seldom seen, and kind of let it go. the other day i got to thinking about it again and posted a question n the forum regarding the existence of these elusive full size upper beds for the front hinged pop tops and got a very quick response with a very informative yet pretty long winded (the thread spanned over a year) link to a diy upper bed that involved expensive wood, machining special metal parts - hinges, brackets etc including the feet - not really my cup of tea. after a couple cold ones and some herbal inspiration i removed my upper cot and started again from scratch. the result is a very sturdy, inexpensive full size upper floor bed that far surpassed my expectations (i thought it was gonna break and like hell) i actually made this at no cost from materials i had around my home but heres pretty much what you will need: 1 sheet of 1" thick plywood, an electric saw/jigsaw, a large styrofoam mattress pad from wal mart (i used 2 full size ones that were sitting in my closet) a few yards of the fabric of your choice, a staple gun, a six pack and a couple good tokes. i started by measuring the largest part which in the end holds most of the weight. this fits inside the opening groove snug from side to side, i think it was about 41" wide by 24.5". next was my entrance which was also about 41" wide (measure yours first depending on the model etc) by about 13" (this will depend on your size since it is the way to get up there.) this part has small notches cut into the sides to allow space for the tent prop up mechanism. finally i made the small part which goes in at the front of your bus. this was slightly narrower (40.5" wide) by about 4" - since this part has a step up to the roof i made my wood part 4" with a 7" piece of foam to nicely flap over onto the level roof surface. once my 3 wood pieces were cut i cut matching sized foam pieces (i did 2 layers to mae it flush with the rest of the roof once the bed was completed as well as for comfort) - remember the smallest part had a 4" wide piece to match the wood, the second piece was 7" to make a thinner flap) once the 2 layers of foam were cut it was time to break out the fabric (cut it generously since it has to go over the foam with room to spare to staple) staple the fabric nice and tight all the way around - the corners are kind of a pain but they dont really show so dont sweat it too hard. stapling the fabric will hold your foam in place and make nice tight pillows. for the piece with the flap i left lots of fabric and kind of folded the flap end and stapled it back onto the wood to close it off. you pretty much have your bed now, but to make it super nice and to impress your wife upholster the bottom of these pieces too so when the bed is in place it still looks super clean from down below (see pictures) - it only takes a few minutes - fold all the ends to make clean borders and staple away. crack that last beer youre almost there. now slide the small part in place so the flap meets up to the front roof part. now angle in the large piece so it fits snug and push it up snug to the small front part. now toss your entrance piece upstairs and hop up there - using the notches you cut to fit around the tent prop point the nose part down and lock that piece down and there you go - you have a full size fully private upstairs to your westy camper for next to nothing! best of all my 2 smaller pieces slide right into place in the gap between the roof at the back side above the z bed so they take up no space at all, the large part fits perfectly behind the z bed in the cargo area as pictured. i hope someone finds this information useful - i a thrilled with the results and feel it made a huge improvement by adding tons of super comfortable space where it did not exist before i am going to fashion some kind of thin foam pad to cover the metal roof to add comfort for your legs but even like this is a great place to relax and crash out - ive been geeking hanging out in there in front of my house since i finished it - i cant wait for my next trip to really enjoy my new spot! thanks again for the initial link that got all this started again, i hope some of you out there find this useful!! take care!! jz

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[Emeritusx]

Lookin' good man. You can secure your roof pad with magnets.
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82 Westy ☢, 66 Splitty ☮, 73 Type 181 ✠

[Lionhart94010]

Thanks for sharing, I too plan to add a second story some day :0)
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Current VWs 71 T2 Westy SO-72/6(Miami), 71 Crew Cab, 2015 GSW TDI
Other owned VW’s 59, 68 1500s, 69 & 71 Bug’s; 72 & 73 S-Bug’s; 67 Westy, 67 Deluxe, Other 71 DC, 72 KG GT that now lives in Australia, 12 JSW TDI, 2015 GSW TDI, 2023 Tiguan
VW technical information sights
thesamba - www.ratwell.com - www.shoptalkforums.com/ - www.vw-resource.com - http://www.type2.com/
http://bobhooversblog.blogspot.com/ - www.aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles.htm

[zimberz]

got to test out my new upper bed on an overnight trip to cachuma lake in santa barbara - both me and my dog slept up there, with my wife, mother and law and baby below. i slept super good up there, very sturdy and comfy definitely a great addition to my 71 westy! take care

[Riguy718]

Glad to hear, this is something that i plan to do this summer...how much room do you really have? Can you stretch out or is it kind of crammed up there?
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First Vehicle:
Bil(bo) 1970 Westy Stock [1600DP]
Take life slowly and enjoy it, especially in a VW bus!!!

[kingd33]

That looks good without getting all complicated,I think thats what I'm going to do.....Thanks for the info and pictures.

[redbus Steve]

Looks great! I wish I'd thought of that long ago. I suffered with the cot for 8 years before swapping the Westy top with a Riviera top 5 years ago. I could have been sleeping in comfort a lot sooner with a lot less effort!

Did you check out Nojoqui Falls when you were at Cachuma? It is an easy sidetrip/picnic spot that is very close.

Steve
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Steve
1970 Westy with a Riviera Top
1969 Beetle

"Her shaft is bent and the rear end leaks, you can fix her quick with an oily rag, use a nail to start her I lost the key. Don't pay any mind to that whirring sound. She uses a little oil but outside of that she's cherry." -- C.W. McCall

[zimberz]

hi there thanks for the replies. when the bed is in place you have the entire upstairs space from size to side (wall to wall) and the length runs the entire length of the pop top - 6 ft long i think. there was tons of space - i laid a folded blanket over the metal roof part @ your feet ( havent had time to make a custom piece here yet) i am 5'10" and slept fully stretched out, in addition i had my dog monster (about 50 lbs or so) up there with me as my personal space heater - highly recommended! when you are up there it is like your own little world (comes in handy if youre camping with your mother in law) it was great waking up there, and cracking open the window in the morning to a sweet view of the lake. it was extremely sturdy (between my dog and i we were about 220 lbs) i highly recommend this project to anyone looking to easily and inexpensively expand their westy with awesome results. needless to say i will be selling my fold out cot setup after my successful test run with my new bed! heres a shot of the bed in place so you guys can see the available space

[zimberz]

[aliennetwork]

Nice work.

Even if you did just the big piece, a child could sleep there easily and probably better than on that cot.

I just keep thinking the bed would shift and down she goes.

What about a rail system to secure it?

I know, I'm a Paint master.
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M-Plate

[skid]

That's really awesome!
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'71 Westfalia

[Lostnfound]

Thats really awesome. I have myself a new weekend project. I was planning on doing something like this, just hadn't figured it out. Now you did that for me. Awesome.
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-Patrick-