How did you reinforce your bed?

[mokurt]

Originally Posted by damaltor

I just wish Jayco would do a better job of construction, which ever configuration they go with.

Obviously they take short cuts to increase production.

[dmarron]

Where did you get your memory foam mattress, we need a short queen one that is of similar or less weight then what came with trailer.

[damaltor]

Originally Posted by dmarron

Where did you get your memory foam mattress, we need a short queen one that is of similar or less weight then what came with trailer.

Not sure if your question is directed at me or not? If it is... our mattress is not memory foam, it is a regular foam mattress, we got from Ikea. It is also a residential queen (80 x 60), not an RV queen (74 x 60).
So sorry, I’m not of any help to you.

[TnHiker]

Originally Posted by dmarron

Where did you get your memory foam mattress, we need a short queen one that is of similar or less weight then what came with trailer.

The Mattress Insider has a huge selection for RV's or will custom make you a mattress for your RV. Happy Camping and God Bless.

https://www.mattressinsider.com/

[Tumbleweed99]

I'm looking for ideas similar to the subject: The plywood under the bed does not have anything to protect someone from getting slivers against the unprotected edges. I have been looking for plastic edging that can form to the curves of the platform that can be screwed, nailed, or stapled to the 1/2" plywood edges.
Has anyone solved this issue? Any ideas and materials would be appreciated....
Thanks!
DanL

[garywilson]

I used Gorilla duct tape... cheap and works fine.

[Tumbleweed99]

Hey Gary,
Don't know why, but I didn't think of using duct tape. It fixes everything! I have a roll just waiting to be used..... Thanks for the tip!
DanL

[garywilson]

Welcome.
If you mattress slides when you don't want it to, use the rubbery shelf liner.
If it doesn't slip easily enough, plastic sheet held by duct tape.
When my wife's family gets together I put a strip over my ears to cut down on the noise.
Happy days!

[Rubber Man]

Used 1/2" ply wood. Added support wall. Moved hinge from the front wall to the middle. Make the ply wood go all the way across the head section to get red of the flimsy areas on each side.

[jasum]

Originally Posted by m2bandit

My Fiance and I are on the lighter side with a combined weight of less than 300lbs. that doesn't stop our 3/8" OSB bed from bowing in when we sleep and breaking when we do more than sleep. I've had to screw the boards back together as they screws on the braces rip though the OSB.

Get some heavy aluminum angle and install them under the plywood cross ways. Use bolts and nuts, not screws.

It adds some weight to lifting the bed, but bed will not bow anymore.

Two is all that’s needed.

[Kbarb]

I'd planned on getting to this eventually.

Other than adding framing, like in posts #2 (1st page) and #34 (2nd page) I was going to make the platform into what's known as a Stressed Skin Panel at approximately 1-1/2" thick.

That's essentially what a horizontal hollow core door is : two skins separated by some lightweight and minimal framing. It makes for a very rigid panel.
What's going on, like in any beam, is the top, in compression, is separated from the bottom, in tension.
In regular beam design, the greater the distance the stiffer.
See : Sandwich Theory - Wikipedia

You could keep the top 1/2" ply and add some 1/8" multicore birch to the bottom, which would take the tension well.

You have to glue everything together for maximum benefit.
Maybe even add a tension rod or two.

You could either build it outto the edges of the existing compartment, or build it all the way side-to-side and cut down the compartment's walls 1-1/2".

It adds a little weight, but probably not anymore than replacing the top with 3/4" ply and would be a lot stiffer.

Having said all that, it might be a lot easier just to add a bar/beam midway, from side side at those midway corners - kind of like post #2.
Maybe even removable.

I'm mulling it over.

[Kbarb]

I got the bug to give it a whirl and just added a temporary removable beam.
It pretty much solved the problem as it supports right where most of your weight is on the bed.

I had an old (making it stiff) fir 2x3 laying around and made some small ledger supports for it.



I had to route out two slots to accommodate the lift struts.





To make it removable I added a dowel peg, which drops to a hole in the 9" long ledger pieces.

[LuckyDuck]

Nice handiwork! However, you may still find that original 3/8-inch plywood will bow in the middle (we did). In lieu of replacing it with thicker, you might want to add a couple of 2x2 cross braces. It really helps. I put ours right about here...

[Finally Able]

I just finished this project on a 2021 SLX8 287BHS.


Goals: to close off underbed storage from pass-through; hinge bed so only bottom half of it raises, and insulate below the bed, including the 2 ~ 1 1/2" x 4" gaps on both headwall corners by the nighttables.

What I discovered: I can't imagine a bed more cheaply-made. Horrible!

Steps, as I recall them:
1. Pulled mattress off bed, removed hinges (which had been connected at headwall) and plywood (2 pieces.)
2. Removed struts.
3. Removed factory 2x2s which "supported" 3/8" plywood (they didn't really support it, they just stiffened it a bit as their ends were floating -- not supported by cleats.
4. Built a wall which now divides the pass-through storage from the under-bed storage, with 1/4" plywood on front end to enclose and stiffen it. Used 1" foil-faced rigid board insulation in "bays" of wall to help keep underside of bed a bit warmer in shoulder seasons. This wall also supports about 1/2 of the bed, head to toe, thus strengthening it.
5. Cut new 2x2s as braces running from the trailer headwall (attaching with 3" corner braces) and spanning the new wall.
6. Took the larger sheet of plywood that I had removed from the bed and cut it down to span these new braces; fastened it securely.
7. Attached 1" foil-faced rigid insulation to underside of this section, adding extra to fill in 2 gaps at headwall corners, previously mentioned.
8. Cut and installed new 2x2 cleat as support to hold new 2x2 braces spanning from new wall to existing wall at foot of bed (cleat installed at foot end.)
9. Installed piece of plywood trimmed off the larger sheet, plus the 2nd sheet with clipped corners, over the underbed storage; installed hinges between fixed sheet and trimmer sheet.
10. Installed struts previously removed, with the shaft end locked into the corners at foot of bed. (Note: I had some trepidation about installing these, as I've never worked with gas springs. Turns out they're super-easy: raise the liftable portion of the bed, install the lower end bracket, then install the upper brackets.) I deduced that, for them to operate properly, they need the weight of the mattress to lower the bed. After installing the struts I kind of forced the plywood bed base down, dragged the mattress back on top, and wow: what a difference! We now have a solid bed, which is much easier to open and close to access the underbed storage, and properly insulated to boot. Well worth the couple days it took to complete (I never said I work fast.)

[Rubber Man]

Pretty close to what I did. I didn't reinstall the struts because they felt too stiff for only half the bed. Too bad we all need to rebuild what JAYCO calls a bed.

[Finally Able]

Originally Posted by Rubber Man

Pretty close to what I did. I didn't reinstall the struts because they felt too stiff for only half the bed. Too bad we all need to rebuild what JAYCO calls a bed.

True! These are 100-lb gas springs, and they weren't very good at raising the factory-supplied Serta mattress plus 3" memory foam topper, when hinged at the headwall. This wasn't helped by the flexibility of a 3/8" sheet of plywood with no effective stiffening. The balance now seems much better -- it raises easily and closes pretty gently as it comes to rest on the cleat.

[mohok1]

Don't need to, I'm 80 years old!!!

[Melinhead]

Here is what I did under the bed took alot of inspiration from Damaltor on their work previously. I added 1/2 in plywood to the 3/8 in there. Now I have a full queen hybrid mattress on there. Also wrapped the edges of the platform with gorilla tape to reduce splinters from the plywood. That thing is rock solid now.

[garywilson]

Are your lifters still adequate or did you have to get stronger ones or prop it up with a stick?

[Melinhead]

I have new 150 lb lifters coming from Amazon, I also think i need to move them as well so they support the platform more from the middle