| Joshwa |
Mon Jun 20, 2016 12:00 pm |
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Inspired by the cot that Needlenoddlenoo put together on his camper build, I decided to give it a try and set one up for my 5 year old. She's a small fry. I set mine up primarily using 1inch sch40 pvc except for the longest spans, in which I used 1 1/2 inch. The 1 1/2 inch conveniently slips tightly over 1 inch couplings. I boneheaded one of my cuts, so you can see I had to unnecessarily couple a bit of 1 1/2 inch pipe together on the rear long span. The inner demensions are 18 x 50. That should be plenty for her and some room to grow. I could have brought it out towards the rear door another inch, but the rear feet sit nicely on the rear board where it currently is. Here is the composition of the structure.
(1) 1 1/2" x 10' sch40 pvc pipe
-A seat side span length - 50 1/2"
-B tailgate side span length - 43 1/2"
(2) 1" x 10' sch40 pvc pipe
-C (4) vertical legs under side windows- 16"
-D (2) horizontal leg supports - 11"
-E (2) vertical rear legs - 17"
-F (2) longer head/foot pipe - 11"
-G (2) shorter head/foot pipe - 5 1/4"
-H (6) 1" T's
(10) 1" elbows
(1) coupler connectors - 2"
With just the standard cushion underneath, there is a lot of clearance. I believe it was 14 inches. We use an extra 2" foam pad, so we ironically get a foot (12 inches) of clearance to the bottom of the pvc bed.
If I remove the rear two legs, I can still lift the rear table. Something I seldom do, but nice that the functionality is there. I haven't glued any of the pipe yet, but I think it will be wise to leave quite a few spots unglued. I plan on leaving all of the vertical connections unglued as well as where the 1 1/2 inch pipe slips over the 1 inch couplers.
I'm working on the fabric now. I've got some duck-cloth(like canvas) that I'm using. I'm going to set it up sort of like a trampoline, where I'll string the edges of the duck cloth out towards the pipe. I'm not sure if I'm going slip wood dowels in the edges of the bed mat or use grommets. I'm leaning towards some dowels. More to come. |
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| Needlenoddlenoo |
Mon Jun 20, 2016 8:22 pm |
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Awesome, I'm sorry I wasn't as detailed as you when I did the build, that's very well put together and a great presentation, so glad my tinkering inspired someone.
Ivan |
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| Joshwa |
Wed Jun 29, 2016 12:15 pm |
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| I've finished the fabric part of the cot. Duck cloth with looped ends holding old fiberglass tent poles along each edge. I used cable ties to pull the poles in the fabric towards the pvc pipe. I can take out slack as the fabric stretches. I can top it with a blanket or short inflatable mattress. This is going to be in use this weekend. Hopefully version 1 is good enough. |
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| rcowan |
Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:00 am |
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Reminds me of a PVC cot I built last summer for the OTHER end of our Eurovan. :)
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| Joshwa |
Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:09 pm |
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The cot worked out great on our 4 days of camping at Ft Stevens on the NW tip of Oregon. Not just for getting the kid up and out of the main bed, but also to toss stuff onto when we were changing the bed back to a seat. I'm sure you are all familiar with the shuffling of items from front to rear. Especially when you have an extra foam pad to fold up and tuck under all the gear that goes to the rear.
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| Itsamoto |
Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:53 pm |
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| Brilliant -- and thanks for the cut list too. |
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