rock and roll seat benifits

[scottkostric]

Hi Im looking to convert a renault trafic nothing fancy i was just going to put a double bed in (plenty storage underneath) and a small storage unit for food prep i know this takes up all the space wich is fine as im not full timing.

So i was looking at full width rock and roll beds but do they offer anything other than some travel seats ?

Cheers Scott

 

[GRWXJR]

If you search for Rock n Roll beds I've seen a couple of things (YouTube?) where there's a little film clip showing how they open and close between bed and bench seat - very quick and convenient.

I don't have one in my van - the guy that built it made up a seat that converts in his own way. It works well, but takes a few minutes to set up, while a RnR bed opens from bench to bed and back literally in seconds.

Of course the big advantage of ANY bed arrangement that can be packed down to a seat over a fixed bed is that you get extra space to use as living space during the day. When My bed is in bench seat mode than it opens up the access to get in and out, and to get at the grill/hob/fridge, sink without clambering about. You don't get the storage space underneath though of course that you can with a fixed bed.

The ones I looked at with a fixed had the bed up by the back doors, and raised up so that the under-bed storage was bigger and accessed via the outside doors (and/ or some of this space was given over to water tank storage, gas bottle, electrics and so on), leaving the fronto of the van and the side door access to give your 'living space'.

There's plenty of guys on here who've built some great stuff so sure you'll get better answers than mine. I think you have to decide what layout works best for you, and go with that?

 

[Roger]

There are plans on the net for R&R seats/beds.

They are handy if you set up two opposite each other with a removeable table in between, dining room to woo a lady with your amazing cooking and a passion palace by night.

When I think back to the Westfalias.......

 

[Mastodon]

There are plans on the net for R&R seats/beds.

They are handy if you set up two opposite each other with a removeable table in between, dining room to woo a lady with your amazing cooking and a passion palace by night.

When I think back to the Westfalias.......

Our Trooper had a rock 'n' roll bed - we used a mattress topper which rolled back into the space behind in seat mode (with sheet and quilts rolled in it). We could go from seat mode to under quilt in 9 seconds...

 

[AuldTam]

I've been thinking about building my own RnR bed. It can be a pain setting up the bed after a few jars. It would be nice just to pull a lever and your done.

Has a forum member ever built one? Whats the Pro's and Con's of a RnR bed?

Any pic's, plans or advice would be appreciated.

 

[AuldTam]

After having a good look at the auction site I decided to have a go at building my own steel framed RnR bed...After all, how hard can it be

Ive done a rough drawing and bought the box section today, start work tomorrow. :hammer:

I'll let you know how I get on...

 

[n brown]

I just fitted a home built one for a guy,pretty simple construction,all down to an offset hinge.trouble is,i never liked rand r beds,they take up too much room,you still have to make the bed,and they always stop you getting into cupboards.i think they're abad design.i've fitted out t4 and t5 without them,loadsa room !the only advantage they have is if you can fit a couple 3 point belts to them,if you have kids

 

[hextal]

Must admit that I've never quite understood their success.

They certainly are easy to use - no question. But they seem to take up far too much space when stowed. I've never quite understood why they convert to a back-to-back seat, and why something so space hogging is used so frequently in something like a VW conversion.

 

[GRWXJR]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I think I have a question that might also interest the originator.....

My van has a bench seat that opens out across the van behind the front seats into a bed. The thing is, its a bit of a faff (sides fold out from base like overlapping horizontal hinged doors & then you attach cross-members to make a secure frame, then place boards on top) and I have wondered if a R n R type modification would be a good idea.

In fact I was going to pick NBrown's brains on this, but he'd left the Hereford meet by the time I thought of it!

As mine goes across from the side to the sliding door in the mid-section of the van then I can't have the 'back-to-back' seat arrangement that you see in T4's etc. where the bed opens out from the rear doors. I'm guessing this means that I'd have to have taller/longer sections that fold up/down?

Or... would I be better off with a type like I've seen in caravans, where the base concertina's in and out - with slats etc?

Any ideas anyone?

 

[n brown]

funny that,i have a similar set up but my bed just slldes out to double the width in one movement,i'll see if I can find some photos

 

[yorkslass]

we had rock and roll in a self build and in a Westphalia. really easy to make up and a really good night"s sleep.

 

[GRWXJR]

funny that,i have a similar set up but my bed just slldes out to double the width in one movement,i'll see if I can find some photos

Thanks NB - that'd be great.

Mine would have to open out length-ways not width-ways to (about, haven't measured exactly) 6' to go side-to-side across the van.

I had a couple of thoughts about it myself. I was wondering if I could have maybe 2 extending section frames to get the required extension length out of the bench seat base (e.g. widest one extends out in stage 1, then an inner stage 2 to complete). I could either have slats, or (like there is now) simply have a pair of ply boards that stash under the bench seat cushion to place on the extended frame. 'Stage 1' would also provide a centre support for the bed base when extended to ensure the boards had sufficient structural support.

I don't think it'd require much in the way of talent to make either - just some ply, a tape measure and a jigsaw (well, and maybe some wood glue and screws/battery drill)

What do you reckon? Would this work?

 

[n brown]

not sure i'm picturing it properly,but telescopic could work ok

 

[AuldTam]

Well I made up all the frames today. Hopefully finish it tomorrow depending on the weather.

 

[mark61]

Heres how my one looks. Seat to bed in about 15 sec's

 

[AuldTam]

Heres how my one looks. Seat to bed in about 15 sec's

Neat job. :bow:

 

[n brown]

View attachment 13886View attachment 13887View attachment 13888View attachment 13889 here's some pics of how I did my bed,it's the long arm of an 'L' shaped seat,and the ply on top is fixed to the metal frame with a couple of screws so its easy to remove .very simple to weld up and works easily.don't know if the pics show enough

 

[AuldTam]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I think I have a question that might also interest the originator.....

My van has a bench seat that opens out across the van behind the front seats into a bed. The thing is, its a bit of a faff (sides fold out from base like overlapping horizontal hinged doors & then you attach cross-members to make a secure frame, then place boards on top) and I have wondered if a R n R type modification would be a good idea.

In fact I was going to pick NBrown's brains on this, but he'd left the Hereford meet by the time I thought of it!

As mine goes across from the side to the sliding door in the mid-section of the van then I can't have the 'back-to-back' seat arrangement that you see in T4's etc. where the bed opens out from the rear doors. I'm guessing this means that I'd have to have taller/longer sections that fold up/down?

Or... would I be better off with a type like I've seen in caravans, where the base concertina's in and out - with slats etc?

Any ideas anyone?

I don't like those one's either...The one I'm making will have an almost flat back to it. I suppose it would only need the length shortened slightly to fit across the van. The width of my van is 1750mm and I'm 1750mm but I like a bit more space to wiggle my toe's..

 

[GRWXJR]

That one like NBrown's was the kind of thing I was thinking of - except that as it would open along the length rather than the width then there's not enough stash space under the bench to have just the one pull out section. So I was thinking I'd need two sections to create the required length.

I need to measure up the existing bench to see if it is one-third of the required length, and what I'd need to move to get the arms of the bed extensions to stow away. At the moment the circuit breaker box for the DC circuits is in the way I think.

Thanks folks - food for thought there.

 

[Sky]

Heres how my one looks. Seat to bed in about 15 sec's

Very clever - I like that.