Max Headroom

Remember Max Headroom from the 80's?  Bizarre but (sometimes) amusing. 

I'm not talking about that guy.  I'm talking about making some extra head (and foot) room/space for the bed in Ansel.

In Anatomy of a Bed, I referred to "cut outs" at the head and the foot of the mattress.  These are to not only maximize the length of the bed when placed crosswise in the van but to also eliminate the need to trim the full-sized memory foam mattress.  Initially I thought I would have to trim an an inch or two off the mattress, but when I "deployed" the mattress (it comes tightly rolled up in a vacuum sealed bag), it easily fit between the two van walls.  While it might be a little tight making the bed, I figured there was still enough room for about 1/2 inch of insulation and the shiplap wall on each end.

Since I wanted to maximize the length, I avoided use of a sub-wall and simply glued the faux-shiplap to the insulation board.  I then framed everything with wood and stained it black in keeping with the van color scheme.  On our inaugural camping trip, we recognized that it would be nice to have some kind of shelf above our heads to lay our books, phones, etc.  As a result, I also designed in a little cubby.  I added a small drawer for lip balm, keys, etc. in the center.  On either side there will be dimmable LED reading lights with USB ports for charging our phones.

It's starting to materialize!!!

The faux-shiplap being glued up.  I bought a 4x8 decorative panel and then ripped into 5-1/2" wide "planks".  When installing, I used nickles or other spacers to create a gap and the illusion of real shiplap boards.  Much cheaper!

The "foot side" cut out.

The head side cut out.  Note the wires on either side for the reading lamps (I actually want to raise these a few inches).

Close-up of cubby and small drawer

View looking towards rear of van so you can see both cut outs.  You'll also note insulation on walls and ceiling, which I'll talk about in a future post.