ThomasHJ
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When we used to have a VW Westfalia T4 California and our kids were small I came up with a DIY-solution for an extra kids bed in the back of the van. I came across it recently because after passing the little bed on to someone else it had gotten passed on and on and on. So evidently some people found it useful. After all these years the bed ended up back with us so we could gift it to our neighbours who coincedentally recently acquired both a T4 and a baby ;-) I figured I would post the info below in case some T4 owners with kids (or small dogs even) would find it usefull.
Because our kids were too young to be left alone together in the upstairs bed, we were trying to think of a way to create another place to sleep for one of them. There are several existing solutions on the market of which this one and this one seemed nice but both have its disadvantages as well. And neither solution is very affordable. So we tried to find a creative solution. When we first owned our the VW Westfalia T4 California camper we had one of the kids sleep in a bed on the front two seats. A good solution. But after some travels we realised it would be much easier to be able to use the front seats to sit in or for storage. And so we started thinking about creating an extra place to sleep in the back of the Cali.
A bed in the back for us needed to check the following boxes:
The frame is made out of PVC which is very leightweight.
Just to be sure I added some aluminium pipes in the PVC pipe. You could skip this part as the construction will easily carry a small child, but with the added aluminium the bed can hold a much older/heavier child. And the bed still weighs next to nothing.
On the right hand side the bed rests on the window sill. So you don’t have to alter the interior of the bus. No lasting changes!
This is a close up for a better look. When our youngest is sleeping during the day, we can still keep using the bus normally.
On the left side the frame touches the cupboard. We added two -foldable- legs on this side. Again, no alterations to the van.
Most of the frame is glued together except for the part with the legs, so the legs can be unfolded and folded (to store the bed).
The entire bed fits perfectly beneath the matrass behind the bench seat.
We added some canvas/fabric and used velcro so the fabric can be taken off and washed.
This is what the little bed looks like from the inside of the van. Our youngest can happily sleep over our feet this way.
Extra kids bed in the back of the van
Because our kids were too young to be left alone together in the upstairs bed, we were trying to think of a way to create another place to sleep for one of them. There are several existing solutions on the market of which this one and this one seemed nice but both have its disadvantages as well. And neither solution is very affordable. So we tried to find a creative solution. When we first owned our the VW Westfalia T4 California camper we had one of the kids sleep in a bed on the front two seats. A good solution. But after some travels we realised it would be much easier to be able to use the front seats to sit in or for storage. And so we started thinking about creating an extra place to sleep in the back of the Cali.
A bed in the back for us needed to check the following boxes:
- A good place to sleep for a baby / small child
- Lightweight
- Easy to install and remove
- Easy to store and musn;t take up much room
- No lasting changes to the van
- The bed shouldn’t be in the way when arannaging things in the van (folding the bed, etc)
- Affordable
The frame is made out of PVC which is very leightweight.
Just to be sure I added some aluminium pipes in the PVC pipe. You could skip this part as the construction will easily carry a small child, but with the added aluminium the bed can hold a much older/heavier child. And the bed still weighs next to nothing.
On the right hand side the bed rests on the window sill. So you don’t have to alter the interior of the bus. No lasting changes!
This is a close up for a better look. When our youngest is sleeping during the day, we can still keep using the bus normally.
On the left side the frame touches the cupboard. We added two -foldable- legs on this side. Again, no alterations to the van.
Most of the frame is glued together except for the part with the legs, so the legs can be unfolded and folded (to store the bed).
The entire bed fits perfectly beneath the matrass behind the bench seat.
We added some canvas/fabric and used velcro so the fabric can be taken off and washed.
This is what the little bed looks like from the inside of the van. Our youngest can happily sleep over our feet this way.
