discovery conversion to camper

[discoverutah]

Taking the seats out and building a pull out bed. Bed will close at 17 inches and open to 28. Build in cabinets will be 39 inches long, height 40 inches and 8 inches wide. Cushions will be 2 inches foam and fabric from Ikea.The back door will also have a new wood finish.Stay tune.

 

[WaltNYC]

like this?

 

[stu454]

Oh, for fuck's sake.

 

[p m]

Stu - it was a perfect response.

Even living nearly in the desert, I still don't understand the affinity for woodwork inside a vehicle. Whenever I see one giant plywood and 2x4 contraption in the back of a Disco or a Classic, I cringe at a thought that a day will come when fuel pump would have to come out. Let alone the crap and dust that is going to accumulate in the inaccessible corners, and mold that's bound to grow on the wood.
... let alone the weight of all that wood ...

 

[Devildog01]

Sounds awesome! Make sure you take lots of build pics!!! I'm thinking of doing something very similar!!!!

 

[Tugela]

... let alone the weight of all that wood ...

Indeed. To say nothing of the volume displaced by all the lumber. One sheet of 1/2" thick plywood measuring 46" x 60", in the ballpark of the size you might use for a sleeping platform, consumes 23 liters of volume. Add a 2" x 4" upright support at each corner and you're up to 32 liters (to say nothing of other structural elements you'll need). This is the volume of a decent-sized daypack or medium-sized Pelican case. The interior of a Disco isn't exactly palatial. It's an individual decision as to whether the additional weight and loss of cargo space are worthwhile trade-offs to gain an interior sleeping platform.

Many people derive satisfaction from engineering their own solutions to satisfy their objectives for how they want to use their trucks. How useful those are depends on your perspective. One man's bonnet bar is another man's steaming pile of shit, one man's home-made bumper becomes the butt of jokes for years, one man's aux input adapter replacing the CD changer is welcomed as a genuine improvement for some people. Aiming criticism at these attempts has evolved to a sport on Dweb.

 

[p m]

Aiming criticism at these attempts has evolved to a sport on Dweb.

LOL, that's what DWeb is for.

 

[squirt]

Make sure you carry that theme of decals everywhere from the exterior to the interior.

For the sake of continuity.

 

[ERover82]

Build it from aluminum and cover it in color matched carpet or rubber.

 

[Tugela]

Eric, what thickness aluminum plate would you suggest? 0.063" seems a common thickness for other applications (replacement for cargo door interior panel, for example), but doesn't seem sturdy enough to support 150-200 pounds without some creative support engineering.

 

[ERover82]

.032 - .063 6061 sheet depending on the frame density, intended weight, and your tolerance for flex.

Weld/braze/rivet square tube or channel, or use a tube system like eztube to build the frame.

I like midweststeelsupply.com

 

[p m]

or use a tube system like eztube to build the frame.

Bingo.
As far as sleeping surface - by a chance, I came across something in Home Depot that is a really shitty plywood - that is, soft wood planks sandwiched between two 1/16" layers of birch veneer, making up to 5/8" or 3/4"-thick sheet. It is a lot lighter than plywood - and a lot less strong mechanically, but perfectly good as a sleeping surface.

 

[Tugela]

Weld/braze/rivet square tube or channel, or use a tube system like eztube to build the frame.

Do you have photos of something you've made? I'm curious to see how a finished version turned out.

 

[leshassell]

Aiming criticism at these attempts has evolved to a sport on Dweb.

I would have 'Liked" this.

 

[stu454]

....Aiming criticism at these attempts has evolved to a sport on Dweb.

I prefer to think of it as an art, thank you very much. :rofl:

 

[ERover82]

Bingo.
As far as sleeping surface - by a chance, I came across something in Home Depot that is a really shitty plywood - that is, soft wood planks sandwiched between two 1/16" layers of birch veneer, making up to 5/8" or 3/4"-thick sheet. It is a lot lighter than plywood - and a lot less strong mechanically, but perfectly good as a sleeping surface.

Homedepot also has 1/8 hardboard. Thin, cheap, and relatively strong. Aluminum is still better though.

 

[p m]

Homedepot also has 1/8 hardboard. Thin, cheap, and relatively strong. Aluminum is still better though.

Yes - but kind of cold and slippery to sleep on, even with a carpet layer glued to it.
I thought of making a sandwich plate from some ribbed Al with square tube riveted between the layers, but cost-wise it just didn't make sense. I am not opposed to some wood parts inside the truck, just not all-wood.

 

[squirt]

Here's your plastic solution, ready to go:

http://landroverforums.com/forum/pr...eds-20/pdx-platform-bed-mini-camper-d2-81643/

 

[ERover82]

PolyMax flooring might work well

 

[discoverutah]

Bed coming along...:victory: