Hi buddy thanks for the reply. I haven't seen a bed with the fold up,supports on all 3 supports before just the middle one. Did Devon ones all fold out the way? I certainly could do this for you if that's what you wanted but tbh I don't think they take up much room left as they are. I'm always willing to help people have the bed to the spec they want that's why I offer custom widths if that's what people want. Regarding the finish, yes they used to be wet painted which was ok at the time but very time consuming, the main reason they were wet painted was to keep the cost down and keep the beds cheaper for people, however I since found a reasonable priced powder coater and only had to increase the price of the bed fractionally, it's a much better finish i do 100% agree with that and my beds are still probably the cheapest out there for what they are and what you get for your money. Thanks for your reply and happy new year to everyone and don't forget to come see me at the shows for some free stickers for your vans/ tool boxes Lee
Cheers mate. Buddy seats almost ready mate just finishing of a batch of beds to go out to Texas and Cyprus.
I had the same situation where I had fitted a devon bed, then after 1st camp decided now was the time to sort it so I got some westy hinges and welded them to the metal devon frame. Best of both worlds.
That's right, it's not safe as there is a significant risk of submarining, particularly with kids. This is where they slip under the seat belt. Seat safety is up there with seat belts, mounting points, lowering, panel van conversions, welding a beam etc etc. There will never be a general consensus as the law is too woolly and people have different views about what they consider to be safe. As I said up there, the riviera is a great bed, yet it's held to the floor with 4 wood screws!
Just my two pennies worth too... God forbid the worst happens but how heavy are these beds fitted into the seatbelt mounting points? I just have visions of 3 people say on a rear bench with all their camping gear behind them and the bed detaching. Just before the van folds like a cardboard box
I have a rusty lee bed that I am fitting and making sure the washers are in the right place and the nuts are correct tightness ensures easy action. After speaking to Lee I am also going to attach a small tab on the back of the base which will make it even easier to move from bed to bench! I am very pleased with Rusty lee full width bed!
I treated the frame as if it was boards and made a westy bed. I didn't like the droopy devon props and I don't like the way the westy ones crush stuff under the bed so I put them at each side. Inside there are steel posts which the props rest on. You can sit on the edge no problem.
Clever chap! Elegant solution I can't get my head round where the hinges bolt to the sides. Mine bolt inside the bed cabinet box. Are these earlier ones different Zed?
I fitted a Bluebird bed a couple of years ago and was not that impressed, the welds on the metal base with holes in came apart, making the whole thing bang when you sat on it, the lever they give you to change from seat to bed just doesn't work, and i found that (and this is what it looked like to me, i may be wrong) the bed was too low in that when it was a bed it was to low to sit flush with rear floor of the van over the engine, it seemed like they had changed to metal base/back and not redesigned the hinges to compensate for the lack of 18mm ply. As i said this was a couple of years ago and the design may changed, But i wouldn't buy another one.
The bolt to the outside of the sides, so the hinges are outside the box in the gap you can see on one of the pics.
