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Hi all,
Trying to modify my home-made foldup bed set up in my Berlingo, swapping out the permanent box under the bed for fold up legs, so it takes up less boot space when not in use.
See incredible scribble below for what I mean. I plan to keep the pull out shelf, but make it narrower to the legs can fold up alongside it. Legs will need to be just under 300mm tall.
The below scribble shows roughly what I need to work around - big rectangular top, and two channels for the legs to fold up into. The width and depth of the channels is fairly flexible, but the more compact the legs can be, the better.
Main thing is I want this to be solid - the less wobbly/creaking/flexing the better. I am open to braces between two opposite legs (ie brace running across car), but this will restrict how flat the legs can fold up into the grooves.
I'm hoping people can suggest good ways to construct the legs/hinges! A few ideas from some googling:
1. Fold up lockable hinges. Seems decent, not sure if they would be improved with some 45* cross bracing
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOOGOO-Collapsible-Support-Self-Locking-Fittings/dp/B07KW7CZ3M?fbclid=IwAR1aeQxiDeQnqT6meq2i2eFXFuRZwBAqGNMuEcdYEp83-inb2xdcXYz5_Eg
2. Hinge and 45* brace:
https://www.familyhandyman.com/workshop/workbench/how-to-build-fold-down-workbench/
3. Bolt as hinge pin, would need some cross bracing too:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Cheap-Folding-Workbench/
4. Splayed legs - probably more stable, but more load through whatever the leg's rotation is limited by (rather than force going directly up into bed)
https://www.amazon.com/KD-Frames-5771-FB-Q-Fold-Platform/dp/B01FLKCRDG?fbclid=IwAR1a6aBIoFE8x122N-HmG_aI9teoOqlNX3njhjyumi6vnnlgz_t_AuCrw5E
5. Simpler option - screw on furniture legs - but bit not as slick, and not sure how sturdy they are?
https://www.wish.com/product/5df0ab7aca0eee00d89d6017?from_ad=goog_shopping&_display_country_code=GB&_force_currency_code=GBP&pid=googleadwords_int&c={campaignId}&ad_cid=5df0ab7aca0eee00d89d6017&ad_cc=GB&ad_curr=GBP&ad_price=5.00&campaign_id=8163884845&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4dr0BRCxARIsAKUNjWQRN3Waz98y6Va5NMs08mNVsd8a61Zuf3u4_QVoexPiGDr6_3QliMAaAjaqEALw_wcB&hide_login_modal=true&fbclid=IwAR3cWrZUUUJnlw5p6MDeQsrMChM8cAx9xBP3pQfSCI5UvhpKhmmwp77iPTw&share=web
Any thoughts?
Thanks! Duane.
How about you keep the sliding shelf as is, and cut the sides down and re-attach the base directly under the sliding shelf. This saves reworking the shelf.
Then, either your existing options of folding/screw in legs to bring it back to the existing height.
Or...
Build a second slightly wider box to go underneath, when you want to pack it away, lift the top section off and slide it into the base.
I'm kind of open to your first idea - I would still need to figure how best to construct the folding legs though!
Another idea is to have a folding front (or/and rear) panel that has a wide hinge, and strong 45*brace on the side.
I would replace the 'permanent box' with three boards with hinges. So looking at your existing box - lose the bottom board and sit the three sides straight onto the floor. Those three boards can have hinged rather than jointed corners so it can just fold away seperately - your bed board sits on top. It doesn't need to be be fixed to the uprights  but you might want to create some sort of edge / channel / dowels that locate the two elements together and keep them in register.
Go four-sided if you want and cut an opening in the forth side for access.
Of just build a traditional folding rostra
Those locking hinges and a leg combo look ok, but instead of the channels I'd maybe just do what Spooky says and bring the base up and fix to that. Keep the sliding tray as is.
Otherwise, what about something like this below that wouldn't need any hardware and would dismantle and store in the box (albeit with the box reduced to just under the sliding tray) The only downside I would think is that you would lose a bit of easy storage under the box. You'd still have storage, but slightly compromised I suppose.
I did animate it as I'm practising animation in Sketchup, but I can't host it anywhere.
Or what about something like this? Again, no hardware needed, well, except for Piano hinges.
Thanks for all the ideas everyone - love the CAD work!
Some other random thoughts that will impact the design:
I would quite like to reduce the total amount of material used (I'd rather not be lugging loads of wood around in the car the whole time, and if I do need to move it, the lighter the better!). This means I'm hesitant to just have the bed sat on (and then inside) another wooden box.
I quite fancy dropping the shelf down a little so that there is space for a rectangular camping stove to be kept on the shelf when it is slid away. This means that I will be modifying the shelf to some degree anyway, and also there may not be space on top of the shelf to store other parts of the structure.
Storage space is valuable, so need to maximise space for boxes etc. The cross braces on your second design kayak would result in a lot of space lost I fear.
I also just really like the idea of 4 legs folding up into the bed, rather than having to move large boxes, unfold sections, slot bits together etc. I'm not averse to doing a bit of work on this and sourcing more hardware (what else is there to do right now..?).
Thanks again all, keep the ideas coming!
the lighter the better!
track down some garnica efficiency plywood. Half the weight and half the price of birch
If buying ply, faced ply or any board material, get it from the bigger saw mill type the trade uses and ask for customer returns.
They can have minor defects that arent acceptable trade but it can also be returned due to variations in veneer colour or some other reason. For diy use flaws arent a problem.