lofted bed frame — slim rims

Doug says: The bed frame is built directly around us having bike storage. Storing them outside could damage them, make them a target for theft, and advertise the fact that we’re van lifers.

Brooke asks: Did you follow plans for the bed frame?

Doug says: No, I just had a picture.

Here’s what went into it:

Stanchions: Six 2x4s
Slats: A combination of pine and oak, with the oak slats under the areas that support the most weight
Under the mattress: ¾” plywood

Everything’s bolted together, and the stanchions are bolted into the walls of the van (don’t forget — anchor nuts are basically your best friend!). The bed frame itself it attached to the top of the stanchions with a pocket jig.

Underneath the mattress, with spooky green lighting.

If you’re building a frame from raw materials, you’re fine to go with pine — it’s sturdy enough, and hardwoods like oak would add a lot of weight to your build. However, in classic Doug fashion, he repurposed an old yellow pine bed frame from the bunk beds he and his sister shared when they were kids. Not only did this give new life to an old piece of furniture that would have just been gathering dust otherwise, it also made the building process easier.

Notice I said “easier” and not “easy:”

Doug’s got a story about this picture. Take it away, babe:

Doug says: Building a home of any kind can get frustrating. Building a home within such a small space with no 90-degree angles, I constantly had to think about the step I was on to make sure that it wasn’t gonna impede any further step down the line. This picture’s a great instance of that.

I Googled dimensions for a full-size bed, and then built the bedframe to those dimensions. Turns out, haha, the mattress* that I got was a little smaller. So I wasted a whole lot of room, ‘cause there was this big gap between the side of the mattress and the end of the bedframe.

My mom came out and asked how I was doing, and I went off about this mistake I had made. And she said, ‘Can’t you just undo it?’ And that was all I needed to hear.

Fixing it entailed unbolting the sideboard, moving it to the correct location, and then covering up the holes.

And now it’s a really cool flaw, ‘cause it has your gears on it.

He’s talking, of course, about original gear ring from my bike Lucky, which I rode across the country back in 2018.

*Let’s talk about this mattress! Doug and I both have screwed-up spines, but the Casper has remained comfortable for both of us our entire trip. Highly recommend!