[Alaska]

Hi Alaska,
I'd suggest you mock up the platform at the height (including mattress) you are thinking about and see if you can sleep in it comfortably.

Nothing worse than a bed that is not comfortable to sleep in.

Gary

Good suggestion. We do plan to mock it up prior to a full build. However, we currently have an old truck and camper that match the dimensions we are talking about and it works well for us.

 

[Alaska]

You might take a look at adapting an aluminum folding vehicle ramp for the purpose. A few of us on the forum have had good success with this method. Here's mine: Bed Platform

Thanks for the idea...I will look into it!

 

[Vanpediem]

Siding w/ DIYTECH. Hard to beat a try-fold ATV ramp. Holds 1k+ lbs, lightweight, hundreds of holes for air circulation (reduces mold / mildew), can be raised on the ends to access garage, super easy install (attached to 2x6" bolted to the wall ribs). This is a Black Widow brand.

 

[cahaak]

I just installed my bed platform and used ATV ramp. Specifically Black widow 5477. It's the exact width of a double bed. That version has larger openings, but not an issue with my mattress. Hung off a 2 by and angle iron. Just cut the ramps to length.

 

[Alaska]

Siding w/ DIYTECH. Hard to beat a try-fold ATV ramp. Holds 1k+ lbs, lightweight, hundreds of holes for air circulation (reduces mold / mildew), can be raised on the ends to access garage, super easy install (attached to 2x6" bolted to the wall ribs). This is a Black Widow brand.

View attachment 116224

View attachment 116225

Its hard to argue with that...and it would be easy to find them up here in Alaska!

 

[ascdesigns]

Piling on to the loading ramp design/build... I used the Harbor Freight house brand. I also created the option to strap them in (not shown in the pic) rather than bolting so that the conversion to haul, say a refrigerator, can be done in 2 min. Here's a pic of my build - was dry-fitting the bike fork mount and T-slot channel locations:

ASC Bed n Bike Dry Fit.jpg

• ascdesigns
• Apr 30, 2025

 

[Dennis CampMaker]

Piling on to the loading ramp design/build... I used the Harbor Freight house brand. I also created the option to strap them in (not shown in the pic) rather than bolting so that the conversion to haul, say a refrigerator, can be done in 2 min. Here's a pic of my build - was dry-fitting the bike fork mount and T-slot channel locations:

ASC Bed n Bike Dry Fit.jpg

• ascdesigns
• Apr 30, 2025

Which Harbor Freight ramp did you use?

 

[ascdesigns]

Which Harbor Freight ramp did you use?

I used two sets of these:
HAUL-MASTER 1250 lb. Capacity, 13 in. x 77 in. Straight Aluminum Loading Ramps, Set of 2

I had to cut off the flat tab ends to make them fit between the two walls but that was cake with a circular saw. (Believe it or not, a wood blade will slice thru the aluminum with no damage to the blade!)

 

[daklein]

IKEA beams are working good so far. https://www.promasterforum.com/posts/870405/

I put rivnuts into existing holes and some new holes, bolting plywood and 1x4 aspen to the van, with IKEA brackets mounted to those. I made two height levels. Before you commit to 1x2 or 1x3 square steel tubing (1/8"wall?), do a price check. Steel is not getting any cheaper.

The IKEA SKORVA beams are very nice and light, but perfectly strong for a bed, they are well designed. And they are $15 each! The brackets are probably still free, ask in store for them. LUROY Slats (two rolls) are $50 for queen bed, probably less cost than plywood, and definitely lighter.

SKORVA center support beam, galvanized - IKEA US

SKORVA center support beam, galvanized

www.ikea.com

 

[puffcard]

We used aluminum angle bolted in with the Ikea adjustable beds slats, super lightweight

Love it. We fit two folding bikes, two inflatable kayaks, grill, two chairs, two tables, plus all the camping gear under the bed

 

[Bobb]

Love the out of box thinking...just not very comfortable for me. Thanks!

Two suggestions, rivnuts into columns to hold your header and Ikea bed frame with slats. I used both and have a low and high position for my bed that way I can adjust to what I am hauling / sleeping

 

[Alaska]

Love the suggestions. Alaska is a great place to live...but...we don't have a Harbor Freight or IKEA and neither of them will ship up here. I think I am going to try the ATV ramps. Thanks so much for the ideas and input!

 

[rjcarter3]

You just need to transfer the weight of the bed to the waist of the van or the floor. I have a second bed that slides down on rails from the ceiling supported by blocks built out from the waist.

I highly recommend placing the bed absolutely no higher than you need. The difference between sleeping comfortably and feeling like you're in a coffin is a matter of a few inches. The last thing you want is to have finished your build only to find out that you can't sleep in your bed due to claustrophobia with your ceiling.

 

[wade.scherer]

My build is a little shorter/lower than yours.
I’m hauling dirt bikes under the bed. The bed platform uses skorva/ikea rails hooked onto 1x1 aluminum u-channel that is rivnutted to the wall and the sheet of 3/4“ plywood.

It can be quickly broken down or set up.
I’m still in the setup phase, getting ready for my first trip in a week or so.

Good luck!

 

[rjcarter3]

Also, it's a good idea to factor in whether you'll ever be sharing the bed with someone. A comfortable height gets a lot less comfortable if you need to climb over your sleeping partner to use the bathroom.

Just make sure you build it as low as you can while still fitting everything into your garage. You'll never regret having too much headroom.

 

[michelemoreno]

+1 on the aluminum ATV ramps. And to solve the bed height issue, we put our bed frame on linear actuators, so can easily adjust height (see the attached video below) depending on whether our bikes were in the back or not. Also made it much easier to have more space when loading the cargo area or working on the electrical system.

During the build, before we had finished the 8020 framing:

Video of raising the platform with the press of a button:

The vertical supports of the actuators do need to be stabilized. I had planned to frame them in directly attaching them to the 8020 frame, but since we weren’t able to get them perfectly plumb we found that the did have to move left/right ever so slightly as the bed was raised/lowered. So ended up using tie-down straps that we adjusted the tension on as needed.

Purchased the linear actuators online from Progressive Automations. We sold this van because we wanted a larger one and the new van was already built out, and this is by far the #1 feature that I miss!