slat beds

if you have a roof rack you can so what i do and just bring a normal twin sized bed camping though i probly coudl get away witha full size:)

Emyrs

Hee hee! Once again... There was a post on another tribe about Period tent plans. I have drawings I can send you or make for you (I am a drafter / designer by trade) but any format I can write to that can be universally shared on tribe is not able to be uploaded as an image. What I would like to see is some sort of database feature where I could simply upload some PDFs and everyone could look at them and use them as they see fit.

I have made a rope bed... very comfy and simple to make, a bit more of a pain to set up than a slat bed but I have been considering a modification that would change that. I can even describe the basic design. Use 4x4 posts for legs (mine are 2' long. This gives me enough room under the bed to store most of my gear so the floor of my tent is clear. I used 1/2" bolts and good heavy washers to bolt the head and foot boards and side rails to the legs. 4 bolts for each leg 2 into the head/foot 2 into the side. 1/2" is probably overkill but I tend to build things "Too Strong... Not break" Along that same line of thinking I used 2x10 head, foot and side boards with a hole drilled every 4” along their length about 2” from the top of the board. Then I just run ropes through the holes. Pull them nice and tight and put a futon mattress on it.

Mine sleeps as good as my regular bed.

I had refused to sleep on an air bed for another two weeks before Pennsic 33, but we were running out of time to make anything. So we came up with this fairly quick & easy solution....
We stole the bed frame from the extra bedroom & my husband cut wood slats that complety cover the frame. Then he added 2 solid metal supports (about 2 inches wild) for extra security (hey, it is Pennsic) that go between the slats. Added a futon & poof instant camp bed. Believe it not, it's pretty comfy (& much better than an air matteress).

A good friend of ours made a rope bed this year. It only took him a few hours. But of course, this is the guy who sleeps on a rope bed as his real bed in his house.

I made four sturdy wooden boxes, one holds my tent (a 16x16 regent), one holds the canopy and ropes/stakes, one holds all the bedding, and the last holds camp misc. The boxes are 30 inches tall (and due to my love for 2x4's very heavy!) Anyway after we unpack them they become the base for the bed and we put a platform on top and a queen sized air mattress. This system works wonders because we do not have to store all kinds of unsightly rubbermaid bins or whatever while we are camping, it keeps us out of any water on the ground and provides space underneath for more storage if need be. We got the idea from some friends who have a similar set up, but their boxes open on the side to allow access to them without dismantaling the bed to get more blankies or whatever.
The only other stuff we have to pack is the 3 coolers, clothing, poles and chairs/table. It is cool.

IN Peace,
ME.

Several years ago I made a fast and simple bed thats still going strong. It's 2 2x8's 8 foot or over and 7 - 8 closet rods (1 1/2 inch dowels).
I taped the 2x8's together (with duct tape of course!) and drilled through them with a large bit. Then sanded down thw dowel ends to fit. It takes a hammer to put it together and take it apart, but it is sturdy. I put an air mattress on the cross pieces and a futon on top of the air mattress.
Last year I made another for a friend and her husband. They love it to.
Maureen

Years ago our van broke down on the way up to war and we had to leave the whole bed operation behind -- so we went to the goodwill in Butler and purchased a queen size mattress and box spring for less than 100 bucks. We just put it in storage each year, one day I will build a frame for it, but for now I don't have to sleep on the "Back breaker" a.k.a. an air mattress. The box spring makes it sturdy and my bed is lots of fun, when you have the most comfortable bed, people tend to want to be in it. :)

This post was deleted by Ðarter

I thought I would bring this subject back up as I am now seeking a new bed myself. I already have a "Slumberjack" cot that is 40” x 86” x 20” and pretty comfy for one. Now I am trying to find a cot for two.

Does anyone know if they make a quality cot that is a double? I have bever seen one...

A few years ago I made a queen sized slat bed based on the Gokstad find. We use a queen sized air mattress on it and use a wool blanket to protect the air mattress from splinters, and another wool blanket so that we aren't directly on the air mattress.

Here are some photos (and plans): tinyurl.com/pgz5y

I have made a number of SCA camping beds. I started with a rope bed, but they tend to sag in the middle, so they tweak my back. You can carefully fold a few blankets under the futon to compensate for this, but it always ends up bowed or lumpy.

Then I added a 2 by 2 down each side at rope level, and put slats down under the futon. Way more level, but stringing the rope is a pain.

I now use a design that is similar to a rope bed. The difference is that I use 4 by 4's for the corners with slots routered into them to recieve the side pieces. Also, I got tired of stringing the long rope, so I put an eye bolt inside each leg, and I re-use ratchet ties from my trailer to tension the frame in a matter of minutes. I also ditched the slats with space between them for an accordion of flat boards put together with piano hinges in the center. It's like a sheet of plywood that folds up into a little (heavy) box.

Sometimes, assembling the parts long enough to put tension on them can be a pain. I put small door hinges at every connection. I pull the pins out with pliers, and put them back in with my fingers. It's just enough to hold all the pieces together while I put tension on it without a leg falling off and crashing everything. (it happened once)

I have also made canopy beds for years now. There is nothing worse than trying to nap with a fly in the tent. I hang one of those bug netting domes from the canopy, and tie it to the corner posts. Blissful sleep without inturruption. Curtains hung from the canopy can block the view behind the bed, and look cool.

The bed is tall enough to slide short Rubbermaid totes under it like drawers for stuff you need to store and keep dry. The totes saved us when our tent flooded. Dry socks can mean so much.

I used to bring blocks of wood to shim up the legs on uneven ground. For this last bed, I built a nut into the bottom of each leg, with a heavy threaded rod that becomes an adjustable foot. It also keeps the wood from sitting directly on the ground. It's like having shims that you can't forget to bring.

Any clever monkey with a hand saw and a wood chisel can make this stuff. A router and a chop saw will make quick work of it. Bribing someone with tools is as good as having them. Just insist that you'll do the boring sanding and varnishing, and most woodworkers can easily be bribed into doing the tehnical parts.

Does anyone know where you can just buy a bed??

i've made a few in my woodshop over the last few years and we're looking at making another one very soon.

14 pieces. 4 4x4s 4 foot long (thats alot of 4s), Two long rails for the sides and two wider boards for the head/foot. On the head and foot boards cut two 6 inch tenons on each end, about 4 inches between them. The side rails get a single tenon. The 4x4s get holes the correspond to the tenons, opposite faces get 2 holes, the others one. This way the tenons will pass thru and you can then put pegs in to hold it all tight. inside the rails screw a 2x4 about an inch below the rail edge, this is where the slats will sit. On the head/foot boards, i screwed a 2x6 with two notches taken out to accomdate 2x4s that run the length. This was a king size so these were to help distribute the weight. Then slats of plywood that cover the inside.

Thats a sub par description, but you can see photos of it at:

www.wackyland.com/wood/bed/

with a fully outfitted shop, you could probably pump the frame out in a day.

...*thinking* ...How about I just hang my hammock inside my tent?

After hearing too many "flood" horror stories, and a bit of water in my tent last year, I am investigating any method of getting my bed off the floor of my tent. As I don't have tools or a budget for a lot of supplies, I am thinking I might go with a simple futon platform from IKEA or the like. That should get the bedding off the ground by a few inches, enough to keep "unexpected moisture" off the bedding. If that falls through (buget) I can go for a ne air mattress, and put the futon on top of it again. It wasn't bad.