cheers Dicky, it all makes sense Davidoft has explained it to me a couple of times too ....I just keep forgetting ...also just wondering if I should lay plywood floor under the R&R or not worry as the R&R has an integral base? ....if I lay a floor it might make it sit too high? my hinges look pretty much the same as yours BTW I did think of going with a metal frame but I was advised the operation of the Westy hinges is far superior as you've already mentioned
Pics of the gap - you could go a bit wider but hinges are better in the lower part of the corrugation on the rear shelf and if you move them out then possibly you would need to put it on one of the higher ribs!
Quick addendum. The backrest was too short (low). It didnt sit on the rear supprts properly so ive made it to sit on the back shelf when in bed mode. Its much sturdier as the rear of the bed is now supported all the way across. so the level of the bed is now 18mm higher than the rear shelf . Not a problem as the rear is boarded out with foam underneath. Just need the right depth of foam under it as the stuff ive got id too thick. One issue is that I cant get it quite level but then again it moves around a bit as its not bolted in yet and wont be till the weldings done next week. Glad I altered it now as its much better. Need new foam now but going to use the cusion thats too small to make the gap up on the other one (as Im trying to re-use the 3/4 foam. Sorry to bang on - just thought it would be helpful to update.
if the back rest now rests on the cargo deck and it's now not quite level, that suggests that the front needs jacking up...unless I'm mistaken (which is quite often) No school tomorrow, so i'm going to chop the leg supports off my bed and put them on roll pins so they can pivot out of the way a la Devon....why this isn't standard on RL bed I don't know
never had any issues with my devon....I can see how they'd do this if they were really floppy though....easily rectified. I'm just not sold on the idea of making sure that whatever I pack under the seat has to be crush proof...
no you misunderstand. Its ok but its timber - it will move around a little. - it aint bolted into place properly yet whic will square everything up. Im pretty happy with it tbh! I want the cusions nice and tight to each other. Happy to crack on and upholster it now (havent decided with what yet. as dont have enough decent Viking Plaid! Dont suppuse Col still has his roof cusions in the loft! That would be useful!
Ask @kenregency . His gets stuck and drives him nuts. I made a bed from a devon one but with Westy hinges welded on to it (or the other way round depending on how you look at it. I preferred the westy style supports but as you say they have a tendency to crush the contents of the bed box so I cut up the devon supports to make them Westy style but as the bed also has a metal frame I put them right at the sides. They still manage to crush the odd thing, but at least I can put bigger stuff in there if I stay away from the sides. Not perfect but not a bad compromise I thought.
Best of both worlds tbh as with the timber bed it needs the support further in as the boards flex. THink the purists will have you for that on Zed - butchering a pair of early westy hinges - the very idea. I have another bed I bought recently that doesnt have this type of support. Its a vertical mechanism in the front corners. Not come arcoss it before but the hinges themselves are ver much like the early westy ones. No idea what they are and although a bit stiff they seem quite good. Will post some pics at the weekend to see ifa yone recognises them.
However one's bed ends up, if you have the full clicking mechanism, you'll smile to yourself every time you operate it. Those days spent getting it all level and working are worth it for each few seconds of contentment. Can you tell I have to look after my back? I could say I have a "bad" back, but it's only bad if I do silly things and one of those is leaning over 4-5ft and hoiking the back of the bed up to get it started. I did this one camping weekend with the Devon bed, then the next week sought some proper hinges and started again. Self-inflicted extra work but no regrets.
I find it quite amazing that a click and roll mechanism isnt incorporated into any of the metal beds that are on the market. I couldnt imaging having to lean over and drag the bed back up. Wonder how many weekends have been spoilt due to injuries from that! Eeven a manual system where you lift up the seat base from the bed position and then manually latch it to the backrest and then roll into the seating position would do it but then again I dont know how they work!
Perhaps we should have a bed hinge clicking appreciation event at techenders. Actually no - to much of an "in" for smug Westy owners!
Man up you pussies Joking aside, I can appreciate that certain tasks can be awkward, or difficult, if you suffer from a dodgy back...As you say, stretching over to return to seat position puts your body at a bad angle for lifting...have you considered employing the services of a lithe young lady for this task? Perhaps she could have other uses....
So what was the cost the Dicky? Im glad you asked that. Hinges were 55 - two sheets of ply about 60 and then about 40 quid on steel, brackets and nuts and bolts as it were (mostly stainless). Another 8 quid for some varnish. (We wont mention the £600 quidsworth of welding this uncovered but that needs doing anyway!) so about 165 quid so far. Not a massive saving on the cheapest steel bed (Rusty lee ((Helloo) at about 220) but 45 quid will start to pay for foam and covering. Really though I will have a bespoke bed which is how I want it and that works how I need it to. I can get all posh and fit a new fascia at a later date when Ive decided on a finish for the interior if i want to! The issue here wasnt to save money as I did consider the ease of just buying and fitting a Rusty-Lee bed and bolting it in but decided I would actually have what I wanted doing it this way. Had I done the pre-made thing then the whole thing would have been sorted in a few hours instead of spending a week or more dodging the rain and getting nowhere fast! Incidentally, dependant on size the same bed in 3/4 format would have cost 30 quid less as I think you can do it from a single sheet of 3/4 ply. When Im happy with it I will post all the measurements but the way it now is the only alterations you would need to make would be for the depth of your floor. Varnishing the new backrest tonight and hopefully getting foams soon!
Forgot to say - dependant on what type of bus you have which will dictate how the bed fits then in my experience the westy beds sit on a standoff on each side that they bolt to and that raises it up slightly and the flooring fits under the front. Even though I have a sub florr ive lfet a 5mm gap under the front board as i may fit some thin ply over the top with the floor vinyl glued to it as i have some lovely vinyl tiles in there which i had to destroy to get the flooring up.
Even the bespoke beds need some jiggery-pokery to fit properly....plus timber is easier/cheaper to alter as and when
half way thru the RL folding leg mod....'tis an arse, as I'm having to use a right-angled chuck and a stub bit.... another of 'those' jobs.....
