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tim_ha
Samba Member
Joined: November 20, 2012
Posts: 192
Location: Estes Park, CO
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 Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 3:25 pm Post subject: Custom folding bed based on Bus Depot hinges |
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I have been meaning to post something about this for a while but just haven't gotten to it. Recent interest in using busdepot hinges to raise the level of a stock bed that already folds out motivated me to at least put up a quick post.
I built westy style custom cabinets in my tin-top about 4 years ago and used bus-depot hinges to make the fold-out bed.
I am a rock climber and thought it would be great to use a crash pad as the seat padding so that I could pull it off and go bouldering. That turned out to be a big mistake. It was a combination of the angle between the seat and seat-back and firmness of the pad that made it very uncomfortable to sit in for any extended period of time. So, I decided to pull out my original full width seat that was in storage, modify it and redo my custom seat based on the busdepot hinges to increase comfort, look nicer, and still work with my raised rear platform.
I wish that I would have taken more pictures in process, but here are the end results...
I spent a lot of time drawing analyzing and mocking up pieces and parts in my garage to get position and dimensions just right.
I ended up welding up a frame that I bolted to the floor and slanting floor section using riv-nuts.
I modified the catches on the busdepot hinges so that the angle between the seat and seat-back would be something more comfortable than the 90 degrees that the hinges are designed to. The modified hinges bolt straight to the sides of the frame that I welded up although I needed to stand one side off due to the geometry of the side of the van.
In order to make the stock seats narrower, cut a section out of the seat bottom and modified the upholstery to match. For the seat back, I ended up using the original foam and modified the upholstery, but replaced the metal frame and springs with a piece of plywood.
The seat bottom bolted right to the hinges with a couple of new holes in the hinge plate.
For the seat back, I installed some T-nuts in the plywood to match the hinge plates.
To get the bed to feel just right, the front section of had to be 1/2" lower than the rear section due to different thicknesses and firmness of the foam.
I wasn't willing to loose the storage space under the bench that is lost using the support bars that come with the hinge set, so I made some fold out legs that brace against the top front of the welded frame. Eventually I would like to make these a bit better looking, but they work for now.
I certainly don't love the busdepot hinges, but after some modification, they worked out pretty well for me.
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Last edited by tim_ha on Mon Feb 25, 2019 4:31 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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?Waldo?
Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2006
Posts: 9752
Location: Where?
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| Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 3:55 pm Post subject: Re: Custom folding bed based on busdepot hinges |
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| Very cool. Thanks for sharing. |
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DuncanS
Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2013
Posts: 4583
Location: New Hampshire
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| Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 5:50 pm Post subject: Re: Custom folding bed based on busdepot hinges |
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| The reason the seat hinges are 90º is because of comfort in the seating geometry. Flat seats can never be comfortable. The seating plane must tilt backwards. When building boats, we always figure out how to have the day use settees have a backwards slant and when converted to sleeping be restored to flat. The back also has to slope backwards so that's where the 90º fits in. When we do a boat interior, we mock up the depth of the seat, height above the cabin sole (floor), the height of the back and work on all the angle of the back until committing to serious woodwork. |
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tim_ha
Samba Member
Joined: November 20, 2012
Posts: 192
Location: Estes Park, CO
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| Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 8:40 pm Post subject: Re: Custom folding bed based on busdepot hinges |
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| DuncanS wrote: |
| The reason the seat hinges are 90º is because of comfort in the seating geometry. Flat seats can never be comfortable. The seating plane must tilt backwards. When building boats, we always figure out how to have the day use settees have a backwards slant and when converted to sleeping be restored to flat. The back also has to slope backwards so that's where the 90º fits in. When we do a boat interior, we mock up the depth of the seat, height above the cabin sole (floor), the height of the back and work on all the angle of the back until committing to serious woodwork. |
I hear what you are saying about having some backward tilt to the seat bottom and perhaps that was part of the problem with my original setup. Before I made these mods, I measured a handful of car seats that I knew to be comfortable to get an idea of what their geometry was. I did indeed find that the seat bottom always tilts rearward by somewhere in the range of 5 to 8 degrees. I didn't find a single seat that had a 90 degree difference between the seat bottom and the seat back. Most fell in the 97 to 100 degree range.
My new setup has about a 5 degree rear tilt on the seat bottom. I will note that the bottom of the seat is actually set level but the side profile of the cushion is not square, so all of the tilt actually comes from the cushion itself. I modified the hinge so that the seat back is right around 12 degrees from vertical meaning that the difference between the seat bottom and back is right around 97 degrees.
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1986 Syncro Sunroof EJ22
www.subagonsouth.com |
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jimf909 
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Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 7477
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:24 pm Post subject: Re: Custom folding bed based on busdepot hinges |
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| tim_ha wrote: |
I hear what you are saying about having some backward tilt to the seat bottom and perhaps that was part of the problem with my original setup. Before I made these mods, I measured a handful of car seats that I knew to be comfortable to get an idea of what their geometry was. I did indeed find that the seat bottom always tilts rearward by somewhere in the range of 5 to 8 degrees. I didn't find a single seat that had a 90 degree difference between the seat bottom and the seat back. Most fell in the 97 to 100 degree range.
My new setup has about a 5 degree rear tilt on the seat bottom. I will note that the bottom of the seat is actually set level but the side profile of the cushion is not square, so all of the tilt actually comes from the cushion itself. I modified the hinge so that the seat back is right around 12 degrees from vertical meaning that the difference between the seat bottom and back is right around 97 degrees. |
Beautiful van interior.
This may be one of the best posts of the month. I'd award it with a PK22 if I could (one of the finest chairs ever made)...
Or a Siesta chair, another amazing chair. Uncomfortable seats can be spotted from a mile away. Likewise with proper seats.
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- Jim
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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joetiger
Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2005
Posts: 5078
Location: denver
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 8:28 am Post subject: Re: Custom folding bed based on busdepot hinges |
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That's some amazing work Tim, thanks so much for sharing. It definitely gives me food for thought as I embark on a rear seat project!
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Joe T.
'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32
"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron
"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond
Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present
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DuncanS
Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2013
Posts: 4583
Location: New Hampshire
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 10:28 am Post subject: Re: Custom folding bed based on busdepot hinges |
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Really great job. I am super impressed with the upholstery work you did. The two person settee that you wound up with as a seat looks like OG work from Wolfsburg. Congratulations.
This is something I have messed with over various tin tops. Have had high beds that extended out over the folded down rear seat back: my favorite as it gives out of sight storage and requires no moving of "stuff" before deploying the bed. Then low ones which is where I am now. After using all sorts of different mattresses, for the original weekender to a custom 4", I am now with a queen inflatable--no built-in furniture to impede on the width. Takes up little room when not being used, is comfortable and with the 12v inflator takes little time to set up.
About to build the "settee" from the middle seat that can quickly be installed where the rear used to go and then get taken out to set up outside.
Love all your work, planning and attention to detail. |
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