Westy rock n roll bed

I've just got some new cushions made for my full width westy rock n roll bed. It did have some rear seats from a big saloon which were great for sitting on but awful for sleeping in.

My problem now is the gap when in the seat position.




The trimmer reused the boards which don't seem a bad size (from reading internet) with Back cushion 18.5" 470mm, Bottom cushion 21" 540mm, Base height 12.5" 320mm. 4" foam.

It is perfect as a bed.


Can't lower rear cushion any further as mounting brackets get in the way.


I can't seem to figure out how to adjust mounting position as it is bolted firmly to the van and any adjustment of height would screw up bed position.

Is this adjustable? Would I be better with some new hinges without the long mounting bracket (the existing catches are pretty bent and not as easy to put up and down as could be)? I hoped the trimmer would have fettled this, but maybe beyond his remit.

A few more photos of the brackets;



Thanks!

 

@Aang

Can the seat go back more?

 

No, the back of the stops there and the bracket in last picture ties everything together stopping the whole seat going back.

I hope I'm missing something obvious though.

 

@Aang i got the same setup but the foam on mine i think is thinker was yours originally before the lovely new ones

 

Not sure if this helps but here is a side image of how it should sit.


(mine is currently a nice ornament indoors!)

It seems to me that the back cushion is an inch too high.

Let me know if you'd like any other images as its easily accessible!

 

I'm pretty certain the problem you have is that they are early hinges that have very thick foam, 150mm, whereas you have used late foam, the mechanism hinges in such a way to allow for the foams to fit together in the bed and seat positions, I think if you fit later hinges you will almost certainly fix the issue

 

@Eastcombe - thanks for the photo. Mine doesn't go down further due to the bracket it bolts to the van with and the back rests on in the bed position (photos 4,5,6,8). Do you have a photo of your seat where it bolts to the van?

@davidoft, is there any way to tell early or late hinges by looking? Van was made in November 1972 - must be one of the first late bays rather than crossover - not that that guarantees when the hinges are from.

 

Yours are early for certain, the latching mechanics on the hinges is the give away, later ones have a less robust looking latch

 

@Aang @davidoft
What about 12mm or 18mm Ply Shims?

 

How thick is your foam ?

 

@davidoft
mine?

 

Ignore the original photo I took as it was taken of the bed tilted up.

 

6inches / 150mm

 

No, his ^^

 

That's what I thought, yours is early too

 

Correct, mine is a 73 model made in 72

 

@davidoft. pic above The base i would have though would sit as is.....and the upstand lowered slightly?

 

I think Davidoft has figured it out. As per the original post the foam is 4 inches but the correct thickness for that rock and roll bed is 6 inches.

 

This is making more sense - thank you

My new foam is 4" - I left it to to trimmer to figure out which was my first mistake. He told me he does 20 of these a year - either all late ones or he was fibbing. Old foam was car seats, so difficult to measure. Bit annoyed I didn't figure this out before getting seats made.

Shims would put the position of the bed out (I think!)

But seems fixable with new hinges. Are the nla ones favourite? Or am I better holding out for used original ones? It is quite usable as it is, just not perfect - annoying. Or these ones without the extra rear bracket http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/182485441216

 

There's another issue which is the early bed bases are longer, those eBay ones aren't the ones to get, try adding a piece of wood between the hinges and boards just to see if I'm right first, I may have a set of hinges