I need some advice / help / suggestions with my rock n roll bed. I was given the frame and having never fitted one before I find I am struggling to figure out how it is supposed to sit! I have it moving from bed to seat so I think the hinges are OK however what I can not work out is:- How close to the rear bulk head does the floor support need to go? How far up the wheel arches does the bed need to attach? Am I missing any bits from my frame? I have the height of the front plinth at 29cm however this is sometimes too high and sometimes too low depending on where I move the floor support. How does the rear of the seat base get supported when in seat mode? How does the top of the backrest get supported when in bed mode? Do I need a bracket on the bulk head? Does the seat need to be level and the back rest almost upright when in seat mode? How close to the bulk head? Is 4" foam OK to use? I know that is a lot of asks but me and my Dad messed around for ages tonight and could not get it to sit right which I want to do before drilling the mounts for it. Any and all help very much needed and appreciated as it is really annoying me! Some pics below...
You needs bracket / support on the bulkhead for when it's in bed position, if you get the base of the seat flat in seat position then that should determine the angle of the back, if not make your bed support bracket( a bit of 2x2 timber is quickest and easiest) so that the seat back rests against it in seat position, make the wood thicker or thinner to achieve what you need, foam wise, I don't know but again you can put a piece of timber on the 2 edges that come together when in bed mode and you should be able to work from that.
Thanks for that - it is the only bed type I have ever touched but I have figured out that you need to have as many arms as an octopus to fit the damn thing! The difficulty I have is that, depending on how high up the arches you put the floor/arch mounting piece, the height of the seat base varies. I can get it level at most heights but either the back rest is in the wrong place or the bed is too high / too low / sloping. I can not get it right. I am sure that it is a doddle once you know the technique but I cam lacking that! It is entirely possible that the seat belt mounts could be used on the arches as this seems to line up however that would make the bed way too high. I am beginning to think that I need to change the frame for something more user friendly - as you say, Westy style.
if I were you I would concentrate on getting it right in the bed position as this needs to be correct, get the 2 bed halves flat then get them inline with the top of the bulkhead and let the hinges fall into a natural position on the arches, then sort out the height at the front, looking at it I wouldn't assume the front should be on the floor when the bed is flat, but if it is then that's a bones
the trick to fitting these Devon style frames is quite simple: assuming everything is bolted together and the whole thing can be moved as one: unfold the seat so it's in the bed position take a long flat length of timber and rest it on the cargo deck extending out into the living area, over the bed position the unit so that the bed frame is level with the underside of the timber and just touching the sloping face rear bulkhead draw the whole unit forward about 5 mm. (notice that the bed now sits approximately 15 mm below the cargo deck/timber guide) this discrepancy is taken up when you add the boards...so you end up with a flush, level bed. It helps if you have a couple of G clamps, or other means to clamp the seat and backrest in the bed position, and then clamp this to the large Timber guide, (using chocks the same thickness as the boards you are using, between frame and guide, or just fit the boards)
These frames are excellent once installed....the seat is a nice height, the seat swab is the right width, the backrest is at a good angle, the legs fold out of the way for improved storage, the bed is easy to make up, and it's bolted securely to both wheel arches and the floor....persevere.
you may find that the issue you're having is to do with the height of the floor you've installed... assuming the bed is level, if it appears to be flush with the cargo deck, once the boards are installed it will be Xmm higher than the cargo deck... if this is the case, you need to account for this in the board thickness used, the foam thickness (Devons use 4 inch for the seat and back, and five inch for the cargo), or board out the cargo deck to match, and use 4 inch foam throughout....
Cheers Billy, that's helped massive amounts. Didn't actually get it fitted tonight, I got distracted with a roll of insulation, a pack of dynamat and some 10 gauge speaker cable! Will let you know how I get on when I fit it.
@vanorak would you recommend bolting directly to the bus floor or through the flooring such as @gbcamper has?
The Devon frame is designed to be bolted directly to the floor, wheel arch and bulkhead....BUT....if you want to run some flooring beneath (which I did) then since the relative position has changed slightly, it's simply a case of adding a spacer/packing piece on both the bulkhead and wheel arch....Think I used seat belt nuts @Dicky has just gone through the same process with his R n' R frame....think he used seat belt nut plates...... Spacer size will depend on how thick the floor is.....whatever you use, you're aiming for a bed that folds out flat and level with the cargo deck....no spacers will usually result in the bed being slightly tilted (but only slightly)
I've just 'converted' one popular brand of RnR to give me the same unobstructed storage space as the Devon .....this has been spaced out to accommodate raised flooring You wouldn't normally have the wooden uprights either end with this bed...I fitted these to create separate storage spaces for gas and Zig unit, plus it stiffens up the fascia when using lightweight ply
