What are your camper van murphy bed options?
I modified a standard murphy bed plan set to fit a custom size mattress inside my 2017 Ford Transit van.
This project seemed intimidating before I started but it’s really just a bunch of 3/4 plywood and a special hinge designed for murphy beds.
The mattress I was able to fit was between the size of a twin and a full. In this video I show you how it works and how you can make a similar murphy bed fit in your van.
Where can I find a murphy bed plan set for a camper van?
I used this murphy bed plan set. The kit included printed plans, the hinge which allows the murphy bed to pivot, and two struts designed to counterbalance the weight of the mattress frame and mattress.
I ordered a queen mattress plan set and modified to fit my smaller mattress dimensions. I bought the mattress through mattress insider. The size of the mattress is 45″ x 74″. Depending on who you ask, the bed may or may not be able to sleep two.
The plans were easy to follow and modify for my custom dimensions. The bones of the murphy bed is 3/4″ plywood. Some 1″x2″ pine is also used across the bed frame.
The murphy bed frame is anchored to the cargo van sheet metal using plus nuts. If you’re not familiar with what those are, they’re basically the sheet metal version of dry wall anchors. Plus nuts and rivnuts are very similar but I use plusnuts instead of rivnuts because they have a much higher pull through strength. With this special tool it’s really easy to faster wood or anything else to the sheet metal: Here’s the plusnut tool I use.
I elevated the bed another foot higher than the original plans which meant I couldn’t use their bed support as designed. Instead I used a saw horse to support the other half of the murphy bed. It’s easy to set up and store.
Murphy Bed Review
I’ve been using this murphy bed every day for a couple months and love it. I’m travelling the country in my DIY camper van on a mission to give 1 random act of kindness in each state.
This murphy bed as comfortable as any bed I’ve had in a normal house. And this a huge improvement over my original DIY bed in this van which was a bench with wood slats that would extend out and essentially had glorified pillows as a mattress.
