How do I remove top bunk from Whitehawk?

[nevermind]

Any ideas on how to cleanly remove the top bunk in a Whitehawk 24MBH? Need another sleeping area for a full size person and the current double bunk is kinda tight if your not a munchkin.

[Al97]

On my 154BH I only needed the bottom bunk so I removed part of the top bunk to allow easy entry/exit.


First thing: Contact Jayco customer service and ask for drawings of the bunk and surrounding wall construction so you know where everything is. It took about a week to get mine but they did send detail construction drawings.
Second thing: Pry up the top board enough to make sure they didn't run any wires through the bunk. I doubt if they did but I wanted to double check.


I left the support rails fastened to the walls so I wouldn't mess up the walls removing them. I show in the photos how to trim them out.

[nevermind]

Originally Posted by Al97

On my 154BH I only needed the bottom bunk so I removed part of the top bunk to allow easy entry/exit.


First thing: Contact Jayco customer service and ask for drawings of the bunk and surrounding wall construction so you know where everything is. It took about a week to get mine but they did send detail construction drawings.
Second thing: Pry up the top board enough to make sure they didn't run any wires through the bunk. I doubt if they did but I wanted to double check.


I left the support rails fastened to the walls so I wouldn't mess up the walls removing them. I show in the photos how to trim them out.

Perfect!!! I like your idea of keeping a partial panel up top. That is a lot of storage area I wouldn't want to waste...

[Siamese]

I removed the upper bunk in my 26BH, and the construction was identical to AI97's pictures.

I did remove the 2x2's that are attached to the walls, and then on the rear wall I installed wire shelving from Home Depot. Easy to find studs in the wall for a secure installation.

There was a trick to removing the 2x2 from the passenger side exterior wall. That 2x2 is held in with big screws like the others, but they are screwed in from the OUTSIDE of the trailer before. Apparently, they attach the 2x2 to the wall from the outside prior to installing the siding, which means you can't simply back out the screws for removal. I went at this 2x2 with a hammer and a chisel, and it took about an hour to reduce it to splinters. Then, the screws that are sticking through the wall break off cleanly if you wiggle then back and forth with a pair of channel locks. I considered getting some wallpaper trim to cover the screw holes, but just filled them with some Dap putty, instead. Looks fine. There was no damage to the walls other than the screw holes.

[Al97]

Use a saw like this one (Harbor Freight has one for $20!).
Put a carbide blade in it and it can cut right though any hidden screws or nails without damaging anything around them.
But wear ear protection, these saws are loud!



I used it for all my cuts and it made it quick.


I did not remove the wall rails in case I wanted to put the bunk back in easily when selling it.

[nevermind]

Thanks to the pics from Al97, I was able to take all but the rear-most 25-1/4" out in short order. I'll use the wall-to-wall remainder for a suitcase shelf or maybe even mount a TV up there. It will need legs/supports in the corners to keep it where it is but after that it will be quite functional.

I used a strong thin blade to separate the luan from the frame and the staples released or tore through the luan easily. FWIW, you could use a drywall blade to score the luan and just snap it like you do with drywall.

The oscillating tool with a carbide blade made short work of the long staples in the frame and the rest of the support frame came out by removing the long, square bit screws from the 1x1s. I'll make up two panels that can be used for a top bunk if/when necessary but I may make that my main sleeping area.

Based on the construction, I was really surprised that platform is rated for 300lbs. After seeing what I saw I'm glad I never tested that number!

Pics of the finished product soon...