Nearly every van build is custom, each van is unique and so is its owner and their needs. Aside from having stable walls, ceiling, and floors, a bed is likely the most important. Anyone can throw a mattress into a bed, though. That’s likely not what you’re aiming to accomplish with a proper van build. Which is why I’m sharing how I created a functional bed frame for my van.
Designing, building and installing this custom bed frame was part of the van build for my partner and I’s Ford Econovan, 1999.
Previous to doing this van build, having a more functional bed frame was highest on my list of priorities for the build.
In such a small space it’s important to use space wisely. And, I knew space was wasted with so much headroom for sleeping.
There was also never enough space in my van for other things, and the space under the bed wasn’t functional enough. My dream was to have deep drawers under the bed for clothes, camping gear, and anything we needed. I also needed a proper area for cooking for those rainy days it wasn’t possible outside.
To accomplish this I designed a bed frame that holds the bed 50cm high and has four large drawers underneath. This was the best solution to a comfortable and functional bed frame aside from a couch-bed that could be changed.
The front two drawers were for my partner and I’s clothing each. The back drawers were for a kitchen area and other general supplies, such as food and cooking supplies.
The bed frame for my van I created can be replicated, or used as a model for other van builds. It’s functional, durable and easy to make on a budget. All measurements below go at length x width x height in centimetres.
How to Build a Functional Bed Frame for a Van
Materials
- 180 x 121 x 2 cm Plywood sheet
- Three – 1200 x 600 x 9 mm Plywood sheets
- Three – 900 x 600 x 9 mm Plywood sheets
- 700 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm worth of timber sticks
- 450 x 10 x 3 cm worth of timber beams
- 200 – 2.5 cm wood screws
- 100 – 4 cm wood screws
- 15 – 90 degree angle brackets
- Battery Drill
- Measuring tape
- PPEs (safety glasses, dust mask) (optional)
- Jigsaw with wood blade
- Two – 51 x 24 mm hinges
- Drawer Slides (insure proper weight and length)
Method
- Measure the area and decide on bed frame measurements
The first step to build a bed frame for a van is to see what’s possible with your van’s size and design. I had 260 x 80 x 150 cm of space in total for the bed frame. I made the bed frame itself 180 x 121 x 50 cm. I chose to have the bed frame slightly smaller than the mattress because it doesn’t need 100 percent support to stay up.
I built a shelving unit for the middle portion of the van, so the bed frame takes up the remaining space in the back. The bed frame’s 50 cm height leaves 45 cm for deep drawers. If your van doesn’t have the same measurements, adjust before moving on.
- Design the bed frame
Going off of what I did for my van build, I made four large drawers under my bed frame for different storage. One of the drawers in the back has an additional flap for cooking.
Instead of adding too much weight to my van overall with unnecessary wood, I only used what was necessary. To manage this, I used nine pillars to stabilize the overall bed frame, but not line it completely. Once the bed frame is installed with the mattress, it uses the van’s walls to stabilize—mine doesn’t move around at all. This is also a good time to decide how to cut the plywood into the necessary cuts for the bed frame design.
- Design the drawers
The most important part of this design is to build a bed frame for a van with lots of storage. My front drawers are 65 cm x 36 cm x 45 cm. The back drawers are 84 cm x 48 cm x 45 cm. All are made with plywood 1 cm thick, but 9 mm also works. There’s extra space below the drawers for the runners, for me this was 2 cm. For the runners, I did wood on wood. If you’re installing proper drawer runners, add a twistable knob where the drawer meets the bed frame in the front. This will prevent the drawer from sliding out while driving.
To stabilize and attach each side of my drawers I added in some extra wood sticks. These need to be make for every corner where the drawer walls meet, mine are all 44 cm x 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm.
- Measure and design a back flap (optional)
For the back left drawer, I installed an extra flap-panel for cooking.
It’s necessary to make a 1.5 cm indent (or, thickness of your wood plus 0.5 cm) on the front end of each wall of the drawer. The flap needs to be inside width inside the drawer, plus the thickness of one wall. This is because it sits inside the drawer with the hinges and stays supported on the opposite side of the drawer.
- Cut your materials
After designing, it’s time to put your materials and tools to work. Before cutting, measure out and make notes with a pencil of where to cut. If you just go straight into cutting you may end up having to buy more plywood. Cut the materials with the jigsaw. Start with the biggest pieces and work down. Use something with a straight edge for measuring, to ensure the straightest cuts.
To co-ordinate with the image below this is what each item represents that needs to be cut: 1. Top of the bed frame 2. Pillars for under bed frame 3. Front/back of front drawers* 4. Sides for front drawers 5. Bottoms for front drawers 6. Front/back of back drawers* 7. Sides for back drawers** 8. Bottoms for back drawers 9. Wood to stabilize sides of walls of drawers 10. Flap for back drawer (optional).
*Remember to add handles to front face of the drawers, it can be a cut out (like I did), holes and rope, or an extra block of wood.
**If you’re doing the flap for the back drawer make sure to add an indent on these sides (see step 4 for more information).
- Assemble the bed frame
Once the materials are cut, assemble the bed frame first—not the drawers. To build the bed frame for my van, I used the 40 mm screws for the pillars onto the largest piece of plywood. Use a box or something else close to the height of your bed frame while installing each pillar. Which helps to prevent the whole thing falling over while using the screw driver. This is also the best point to add the twisting knobs if you’re using proper drawer runners. A simple way of doing this is with a small piece of wood drill it in completely to the bed frame, then loosen it, so it can shift.
- Install the bed frame
After getting those stabilizing pillars drilled into the bed frame, next install the entire thing into your van. For me this went on top of my floor, which covers the insulation. My bed frame sits right in the middle of the van. I used the 90 degree brackets to hold the bed frame in place. I used about two brackets for some pillars, and none for others. Just use what you need to make it stable enough. I installed the empty bed frame first as the drawer runners will be installed directly on the flooring. This is a good time to make sure your measurements line up and the drawers will fit well.
- Assemble the drawers
Once the bed frame is installed in the van, move onto assembling the drawers. Use the 25 mm screws for this. It’s important to do this after the bed frame has been installed so you can make any final adjustments to the drawer’s measurements, if necessary. It can be tricky to assemble the drawers together. What I did was start with screwing the sides together then add the bottom last. When there was some balancing going on, or somewhere that needed support for me to screw, I cut some scrap wood to the right size to fit in-between that spot. Once you’re done assembling the drawers, make sure they fit underneath the bed frame—with the right amount space around.
- Install the drawer runners
Before installing the drawers, it’s time to install drawer runners for smooth sliding. Instead of using drawer runners I opted to use other wood to slide it on, and use a wax to help it slide. I recommend using drawer runners though and eventually I’ll be switching mine for these. Sliding wood on wood has limitations, as the drawers can’t be as heavy, which isn’t ideal for jugs of water. Either way—whether it’s more wood or drawer runners—install them on both the bottom van’s floors and the drawers’ bottom.
If doing the wooden drawer runners, cut up the 800 x 6 x 2 cm worth of timber beams to fit underneath and behind the circumference of the drawers. I screwed this wood right into the van’s floor with the 40 mm screws.
- Install drawers
This should be the easiest step. Either connect the drawers to the runners and slide in, or match the drawers with the wood runners.
- Design and cut side panels
With the drawers in the bed frame, I had some empty sides where my bed frame didn’t meet up with the van. This is normal because otherwise the bed frame itself wouldn’t get in smoothly into the van. Either way, I wanted a seamless fix for this so I grabbed some thin plywood that matched the height of the bed frame and cut it to cover this area.
To do this I used some old cardboard to get the outline of the van’s curve. Once cutting the cardboard and matching it to the curve I replicated this by cutting the wood and then screwed it in the bed frame. The mattress will cover the rest of the open spaces—in the back anyways.
With the bed frame build for my van complete, here’s some more images of how functional the small space in my van now is. Aside from this, it’s also made cooking so much easier with a dedicated spot. My partner added a hole for our water jug so we don’t need to pull the drawer out all the way for water. It’s just another reason why doing your own van build can have the best results.
