Queen bed support for bigguns

[colodaddy]

Please excuse this post if has been done before.

Just brought home a 2016 24RBS trailer and realized that the 3/8 in plywood and 2x2 supports on the queen bed are not going to support me and wife at 500 lbs total. And before we take it out on it's maiden voyage I need to fix the bed for better support.

FYI: I emailed Jayco Customer Support and they told me that the bed is spec'd to support 300 lbs. Probably not too many older couples have a combined weight of under 300 lbs. Why do they build such a wimpy queen bed?

I saw BDK's recent pics of his re-framing and was wondering if anyone has been successful in rebuilding their bed to support 500 lbs? And what did you do?
Did you keep the 3/8 in plywood? Did you add vertical support from the middle of the bed to floor?

Looking for ideas before I get started re-building my bed. Thanks in advance.

[TWP723]

I'd use 1/2 or 3/4" plywood and 2x4's. Some metal corners and braces help too.

[colodaddy]

Originally Posted by TWP723

I'd use 1/2 or 3/4" plywood and 2x4's. Some metal corners and braces help too.

So you'd just replace what Jayco has provided? The 3/8 in plywood and 2x2 strips?

With no center vertical support?

[oldmanAZ]

Congratulations on the new trailer and welcome to the JOF.

If you tell your dealer the bed sags, I believe it's a warranty issue and Jayco will have your dealer beef up the wood supports for it. On mine, they kept the same plywood, but strengthened the wood framing. IIRC another member of this forum said the dealer replaced the plywood in addition to stronger framing.

[spoon059]

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f1...ess-33935.html

[hoss10]

I'm a big guy too but also a Cabinet Maker so this is a easy fix for me. If I was strengthening the enclosure and weight was a concern (the mass added to the trailer, not my weight, which is a whole other topic!) I would use plywood and glue. Gluing together strips of plywood so they are grain up is very strong and light, many Industrial beams are made this way. The glue need only be the yellow PVA stuff you buy at any Hardware (it's actually stronger then the wood) just remember it needs to clamped until dry, or you could use screws to hold it until it drys. As for the plywood the more plyes the stronger it is, I suspect that a lot of the sag could be fixed with some better quality plywood.

We just bought a used Jay Feather so I'm sure I will making this modification and will post some pictures when I'm done.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by colodaddy

So you'd just replace what Jayco has provided? The 3/8 in plywood and 2x2 strips?

With no center vertical support?

I'd sandwich another piece of plywood to the existing most likely. And yes, I'd use at least 2 x 3's. Same locations, just beefier wood. Not sure I'd tear it down and replace. Just reinforce basically. The pedestal my bed sits on is back off the edge of the mattress about 10-12" all the way around as well as the forward storage pass-through structure.

[TWP723]

Your bed flips up for storage I presume? If so, use jack studs on either side of the bed frame. Then use a 2x3 or 2x4 and attach it to the underneath on the plywood. So when the bed comes down onto the frame, the 2 by should rest on top of the jack studs. That would give you center support.

[tbwill]

The 2x2 under the center of our bed had a knot just about where the middle of the bed is. The first time I plopped down hard I heard it crack. Purchased some 2x2 from home depot and sistered it along side the original 2x2 with screws. I didn't want to lose the ability to slide stuff from the pass through under the bed by framing a wall so I put together a little support made of 2x2 about 18" long on top and bottom and tall enough to make a tight friction fit. I place this in the center of the bed under the two center 2x2's and its easy enough to remove if I want to slide stuff from the front under the bed.

[BigJohnD]

Right now we have slide out locks acting as jacks under the framing in the pass through area. Temporary fix until I can get it back to my shop to fix. I'm going to go with a center divider wall between the pass through and under bed storage, go back with 1/2" plywood and hinge it at the center divider. Wife and I are a little less than 400 combined, but that's still enough that the bracing is bowed and coming loose from plywood.

[pman1088]

I recently became concerned with this same issue. I added a vertical section of 1/2" MDF, in line with the rear walls of the front storage area. This gave me a center support for the bed, and also separated the under bed storage from the front storage compartment. It also may slow someone down trying to get into your trailer by coming in through a front storage door. The foot of the bed sits over the vertical area making up the under bed storage, so it seems well supported. I'm considering adding a few vertical 2x4's to support the head of the bed, however so far it seems sturdy. Despite their **INCREDIBLE** (Cough Cough) quality control, one of the support twigs has an eye in it, and was split almost its entire length. I added a 2x4 next to it to beef it up.

[colodaddy]

To all JOF members that responded,

Thank you all for your input. I have my queen bed fixed by using a combination of fixes that this group has shared. I'd like to share what I did and maybe help someone in the future from what I learned.

1) Replaced the 2 - 12 inch piano hinges (poor quality) with one 48 inch piano hinge. NOTE: Disconnect the gas supports FIRST - makes it much easier to work with the plywood and hinge. Then reconnect the gas supports after the new hinge is installed.

2) Built a center support from 2x4s in the middle of the bed and added foam board insulation on the storage side of the support structure.. This is well documented with pictures on website. Note: this was the easiest part.

3) Added 1/4 in plywood layer (2 sheets running head to foot on the bed) on top of the existing 3/8 plywood. Screwed with small 1/2 in screws to the 3/8 in plywood bed. Then used a few larger screws to to connect the 1/4 in plywood down into the existing 3 support strips. I thought about gluing the sheets - but decided not to mess with the glue.

I weigh 325 lbs and my wife is 225 - and we feel VERY supported! Also added a 4 in tempurpedic topper to the bed.

One response said that their 2011 trailer includes the center support structure. My opinion is that this should be included in the standard configuration of a queen bed and maybe with 1/2 in plywood - as a minimum.

Yes - I probably added 100+ pounds to the weight of the trailer. But there is just the 2 of us and our 2 small dogs. Adding the weight was worth it if it means we can sleep comfortably - which is the primary reason for getting the trailer.

I wish that Jayco would not skimp on the construction of their beds. I know they are trying to save $$ and keep their trailer weight down. But the primary reason people buy a trailer is so that they can sleep more comfortably.

We take her out on her maiden voyage in a couple of weeks. I will let the group know how it goes (and how she sleeps).

[BigJohnD]

Can you post some pictures of your fix?

[Jeffrey048]

How many 2x4’s did you use? And can you tell what else was needed for materials and also quanity used?