Cargo Van Conversion Murphy Bed - Part Three 

Thank you for the praise! I don't know whether I deserve it, but thanks anyway. You should be able to find a few decent conversions, but many are of the 2x4 type, let's say utilitarian. That's not to say, that those are any less, because in the end, it's not about the interior, but the experience that it creates. Besides creating a video log, my intention has always been to show how many details are involved in a van conversion and how much time goes into it. Showing a complete build inside a 4 minute video, just doesn't do it for me. In some ways, I feel more like an artist, who applies several new concepts, while improving the build. The wall-mount floor vent, now the Murphy bed and next, a movable shower, are some of the things that I have created or improved upon. I appreciate your comment and hope you'll keep on watching! Van Williams

Hi SLUMDOG TRAVEL, Thank you. One main reason for these videos is to show that many of us can build something nice with only a few tools and with a lot of effort. Van Williams

Hi Pamela, Thank you. There's lots more to come. Actually, in the upcoming weeks I'll be finishing the bed with Formica, followed by the final install. Enjoy. Van Williams

Made it specially for you :) Hope you'll come and check it out. But thanks for the feedback, I have a smile on my face now! Van Williams

Hey Shey, I very much appreciate your feedback. I have taken great care of figuring out what I wanted in a van and while my choices aren't necessarily the same as others, I think that I have included (and will add more) some unique features, that I wanted in my design. The Murphy bed is one of them; it's a fairly large bed for a conversion, but preserves much living space (when folded up). It will have two pictures (paintings) and a foldup desk, I can work at with the sliding door open for a cool breeze :) Thanks for watching! Van Williams

Hi Jack, BTW The bed is not ready yet (like so many other things). It'll still get some small cabinets above, but more importantly a fold down desk on the front/bottom of the bed. When the bed is in up position, you can use the available space or fold down the desk to work on. The 'simple theme' and step-by-step installation is just to show almost everybody that can handle a hammer and a nail, can do a conversion. How well-finished depends on your experience and your need, but that's with all things. Van Williams

Lots of ideas, but this time I wan to do it right. I will make my own stool for use behind the desk and as a leg support sitting in the front swivel chair. Thanks for watching! Van Williams

Hi William, Meanwhile I've tested the bed out on a real weeklong trip to Georgia; worked great and never slept so well. I even got approval of my dog Joey :) Couldn't get him off of it. After I've finished installing my flexible solar panels, I'll with the bed: mostly applying finish materials and the final install. Thanks for watching! Van Williams

You're funny! It's really difficult to stick to the one week time schedule. Besides the work itself, I'm often working two days on the videos themselves. Not much time is left to go shopping, clean and make dinner. Your comments, likes and all the subscribers, make me get up and do it again. Thanks for watching! Van Williams

As it is my first working 'prototype', I'm glad that it worked out so well. The pivot mechanism works better than expected and the whole bed feels really sturdy. Now still the desk, two pictures, a chair and a lot of finish work. Van Williams

no danger of running out of projects!

Hi Simon, Thank you for that. It's been a long road so far and still a bit to do. Hope you keep watching! Van Williams

Thanks a ton! The bed has worked out great and it saves a lot of living room space. Thanks for the feedback! _Van Williams & Joey_

Well Ryan, I strived to be a cool dude my entire life; I finally made it :) Thanks for watching and great to hear from you. Van Williams

Thank you. It took me a long time to figure it out. The dimensions and location of the desk in relationship with the height of the lower cabinets is crucial. Thanks for watching and the feedback! Van Williams

Hi Roadhog49, I often use what I have at hand and yeah, it could go a bit faster :) But I'm never concerned about the speed; just enjoy the work. Thank you for watching and the feedback! Van Williams

Hi Jean, Right now, I'll be making the connection between the shower drain and the gray water tank. And in the near future, I'll be installing a permanent sliding shower head above the side cabinets. Lots more to come :) Van Williams

Thank you for your remarks! I've never regarded myself as an artist, but perhaps I should revisit that. I have a lot of plans for the van and I, too wonder how everything will turn out. So I'll join you on the journey :) Van Williams

hehe yes we will see how it all goes :) I work kind of like you do I have an idea and it evolves and grows into the final product :) you are so much of an artist from what I can see and feel, plus you are very smart the way your mind work :) Lovely talking to you and looking to the journey :) best wishes Kat xx

Thanks for watching! I try to post every Friday on RU-vid and there's lots more info on the website cargovanconversion.com with many free downloads. I hope you'll enjoy. Van Williams and The Boss (Joey)

Thanks for watching. Van Williams

Hi V Star 1300 Adventures, That isn't such a bad idea; there will be a collapsible desk under it, where it could function as a computer screen too. I am working on an idea to store a TV screen vertically on the opposite wall inside a narrow cabinet; from there it could pivot to a horizontal position for viewing. I appreciate your feedback! Van Williams

Thank you. It took some time to figure it all out, but it has been working without fail. Van Williams

@@cargovanconversion really good..takes into account the thickness of the mattress and bedding !

@@cargovanconversion end hinges fully supported...so much stronger than cantilevering out from the side wall of the van to the side of the bedframe..

@@duggydugg3937 Hi Duggy, Missed your comment earlier. You are right about end hinges. I faced many issues while designing this Murphy bed. The elevation of the bed above the floor of the van was critical. On one hand, I wanted enough space under the bed to possibly store a kayak. On the other, the two picture frames and the height of the hinge for the foldable desk, above the floor are directly linked to the elevation of the bed. While I may have been able to find a way to use hinges, once I had it all figured out, I stuck with the side mechanism. Van Williams

Yahoo! I think so too! :) Van Williams

Hi Liberty Craze, Thank you and thanks for the feedback! Enjoy the videos. Van Williams

Thank you for watching! Van Williams

Thank you for watching! I appreciate the feedback; that keeps me going :) Van Williams

Hi Stephano, Would love it for you to use my ideas; and add a few of your own to make it yours. Would love to see a few pictures when you're done. Good luck :) Van Williams

Thank you for watching! Van Williams

Thank you for watching! I'll be finishing up the bed in the next couple of weeks, so you will see the final install soon. Van Williams

Thank you! I will do the final installation of the Murphy bed in the next few weeks. It'll be all finished with Formica. Van Williams

Hi Frederic, Thank you for watching! My bed is about 39 inches wide and I assume, you would be able to go up to 50" in a Medium High roof van like mine. Probably wider in a High Roof model. I'm just one person in a LWB Transit; with more people living together it is highly advisable to upgrade to a LWB-Ext version. With the additional space and possibly a higher roof, I think a better solution would be an elevated, but permanent bed in the rear of the van. It creates a lot of storage area underneath, while maintaining the height to sit up straight in the bed. And a so-called garage accessible through the rear doors. Van Williams

I struggle with width to construct a bed that is at least 78 or 80' long. It sounds like this is doable. I just had never thought about a murphy bed in a van. Truly inspiring and unique.

With the increase in width, you'll also have to compromise on the height above the floor. For increased strength, I used a honeycomb double bottom; you may also have to reinforce the pivot mechanism. Good luck! Van Williams

All makes good sense. Thanks for concept and the advice.

Hi Live Free or Die, I can only give some general information as there are too many variables, I don't know about. If you have watched some of my videos, you should be able to discern, that I am a minimalist. Sure I have a tablesaw, jointer and planer, but use them rarely. I can do most with the tablesaw and that's only needed for precise work. I frequently use a handsaw, handplane, chisels and even a manual drill. They work just as good, but work goes slower. And that's a good thing! You'll see a lot of final work done on the Murphy bed in the coming weeks and I do go out of the way with some materials, that need some specific tools, but if you keep it simple, the bed can be done with handtools. And most of the materials are from Home Depot and the like. The only ordered parts are the pivot mechanisms; these are simple to order and I'll detail that in the upcoming videos. One important advice about hand tools (non-electric): make sure they are SHARP ... and be careful. My bed is 39" wide and only a few inches shorter. For sturdiness, I created a reinforced double bottom. If you need more specific info, please let me know. Van Williams

Well... Still working on the upper cabinets and in the future a Formica finish, build & attach a desk, create two paintings, install lighting, install doors.... But largely finished for now. Van Williams

Part 7!

Glad, you have found it, Phillip. Hope that the video makes it clear. All also depends on the required elevation of the bed and the cabinets underneath. Keep in mind that the wall of the Ford Transit isn't straight, but curves into the interior. That effect is more pronounced in a Sprinter and a bit less in a ProMaster. It can affect how vertical your bed is, when folded up. Van Williams

Thank You! I appreciate your feedback. Van Williams

Hi Traci: I love to help others, but beside answering questions, I cannot do much more before I finish my own build. After the build, I will move into the van permanently (soon) and go on the road. While on the road (throughout the US and Canada), I would like to do multi-day visits to some of my viewers, to give them actual hands-on support and advice with there builds. The latter however only when I'm visiting the area. BTW Right now I'm located in Central-Florida and if you are interested or have questions, shoot me an email. Van Williams

Hope we meet one day on our travels. I am in las Vegas for now working on my build slowly. And my layout was inspired by your work. Thank you

Hi Jennifer, You have to wait a bit longer for the van tour :) I'm still working on the van and there is a lot to do before I can move into the van permanently. By then, you can expect an extensive van tour. Regarding the shower, you can go to my RU-vid channel and choose 'PlayLists' at the top and go to 'RV Shower' or click here: ru-vid.com/group/PLyrIiniKvmg7ni4oeiaqefldQmtqCCQ7R Since this is a work in progress, you'll find here all the videos containing all or parts of the shower build. When the shower is completely finished, I'll create a specific Shower Project video, from beginning to end. For the time being, I'll be posting my weekly video every Friday. Van Williams

Hi Curt, Wouldn't want to mess with non-standard fuel ports into the original Transit tank. You may consider a separate tank for either or both appliances. Van Williams

That was a coupling nut, a short hex bolt, a longer cap head bolt with a shoulder, some washers and a couple brass bushings.

Thank you for watching and knowing that someone appreciates what I doing, makes the work a lot easier. While I do many random projects, the intention was to construct the basic cabinets/bed/etc for the drivers side wall first. I've done part of the wall panel, the Murphy bed and cabinets; another closet still has to follow. I also still have to install a window frame, that I will have access to when the bed is down. Like ever so often other things happen and I deviate from the original plans. On August 21 a total solar eclipse will happen and I will take my van and have my 2 minutes of fun. But I wanted to finish the bed first and install the roof vent too. I recently had the vent install ready to go but the weather didn't cooperate and changed to a quick Shower-In-A-Box project. That took off and I'm still working on it. Anyway, the first thing after that I will build the closet and when I'm ready to permanently install the drivers side cabinets, etc., and before the insulation, I'll do the wiring (12V/110V/solar) followed by the insulation. Both insulation AND ventilation are the most important items in a van conversion. You're correct to notice that. I'm likely to use a combination of Poly-Iso and Blue Denim. Happy 4th! Van Williams

Hi Hiker Biker, You said it: eyeballing. I place the small square close to the drill; that gives me enough feedback, both front to back and sideways, to drill fairly straight into the wood. You don't have to hold the square, just let it stand while drilling. It may not be a perfect plumb hole, but usually straight enough. With larger/wider holes, I love to use Forstner bits. Working freehand, I use a simple jig, just a piece of scrap wood with a perfectly drilled hole, the size of the bit. I clamp the jig, where the hole has to come and the hole in the jig perfectly guides the bit through the targeted wood. Sure, I make the hole in the jig on the drill press, but without it, it's just a matter of trial and error until you have a straight hole and since you use a scrap piece of wood, it doesn't cost anything either. Van Williams

Hi David, No, insulation is an integral part of any van conversion. I do have a somewhat different look at the issue. First, insulation depends mostly on the location and season, that you use the van. In colder climates, substantially more effort must be undertaken to insulate. That said, I plan to chase the 70 degrees (20'C); in my opinion, insulation will then play a lesser role and ventilation is more important. Currently, I'm finishing up the Murphy bed and the cabinets around it; did a lot of finishing materials, wiring, etc. and if you look at my latest videos (as of Mar'18) you'll see that I'll be permanently installing the bed over a completely insulated wall. I used a combination of Poly-Iso (high R-value), Denim (R-value and noise reduction) and spray foam. Thanks for watching and the comments! Van Williams

No, I wanted to keep the design as simple as possible (it is already quite complicated with the bed mechanism, the picture and desk) and didn't see a need for it. Lifting is a bit heavy, but it works flawlessly and poses no problems. It also saves some weight, cost and maintenance. BTW Joey is the supervisor :) of this project; he is a Golden Retriever mix and my best (dog) friend. Van Williams

Cargo Van Conversion oops :)

Hi Httjoeyy, I just happen to be working on finishing the Murpy Bed now and you'll be seeing more videos on that in the upcoming weeks (every Friday). I will post all the details then (in the video description and on the website cargovanconversion.com ). I collected different parts from different online companies. One source, I often use is boltdepot.com ; for the sleeve bearings www.oilite.com If you need the specific part numbers and/or sizes, send me an email or message/comment, otherwise, I'll have them on-line soon (set video email notifications by subscribing and clicking on the 'bell'). Merry Christmas! Van Williams

Cargo Van Conversion okay I will make sure to see the next video thank you, merry Christmas

Thanks for watching! The pivot mechanism of the Murphy bed is not available as one set; I acquired the individual parts from several companies. Every project in this build is published as a video first and will be followed up on the website cargovanconversion.com/projects with a detailed article, containing a step-by-step building guide, a tool-and material list. The components of the two mechanisms are as follows: boltdepot.com: 8x SS 18-8 1/2" flat washers 2x SS 18-8 1/2"-13x1-1/4" coupling nuts 2x Alloy steel black oxyde 5/8" shoulder (1/2"-13 thread)x1-1/2" shoulder bolts 2x Zinc plated grade 5 - 1/2"-13x3/4" Hex bolts cadencesupply.com: 4x Oilite FF852-01 self-lubricating bronze flanged sleeve bearings The written article will contain the same information with prices, photos and how to assemble them and also will be available as a free download. If you want to be updated as to when it becomes available, you can subscribe at cargovanconversion.com/subscribe-to-my-newsletter Van Williams

Hi Petr123 paco, This bed was just temporarily installed at the time, while I used it on short trips in the meanwhile. Since then, the driver's side wall has been finished. and in the upcoming weeks the Murphy bed, a closet, a water tank and lots of electrical cables will be installed permanently. Van Williams

Thanks! We're the same height, so my reasons to choose a Medium High Roof van may apply to you too. Many of the involved issues are discussed in my videos about the floor installation. The first of that series is ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g4UqVwShR5Y.html Some of the issues that played a role in my decision, where: price, interior height, stealth, deed restrictions where I live and simultaneous use as my daily vehicle. Before I go any further, if your goal is to create an RV that will function as your primary home, for more than one person, primarily boondocking, it is well-advised to get the tallest longest vehicle available. In case of a Ford Transit, the HR (high roof) LWB-Ext (extended long wheelbase). Main reason for this is (height) inclusion of a standard shower/bathroom and it's suitable for taller people, (length) allows for somewhat more storage (bikes, tools, clothing), again a real bathroom/shower/toilet. I decided to go with the LWB MR (medium high roof): - Price: These aren't cheap vehicles and while prices start at about $30.000, a high roof and extended length will add thousands to it, even before adding options. - Interior Height: With a Dodge B-250 as my previous conversion, one of my requirements was standing interior height. With my 5'-7" in a 5'-11" vehicle, that has been a decision that was long in the making. You have to remember that you'll loose at least an inch at floor level (that's why I have minimal floor insulation) and two inches at the ceiling (the space between the ceiling cross members). How this all works out in the end is still a question! - Stealth: A shorter and lower vehicle is easier to park, has better access to remote areas, is less 'visible', better MPG (fuel efficiency). - Deed Restrictions: I can't park the MR in my garage and the HOA already frowns upon this kind of vehicle. - Daily vehicle: Although I don't drive much, this is my daily vehicle and as such. it's easier to drive and park. Hope this gives you a clearer understanding of my decision process. This will be a 'warm weather van', but if you live in a colder climate and with your height, a high roof may be a better choice as it allows for more insulation under the floor and in the ceiling. Van Williams

Thanks so much for your reply! We are definitely leaning towards the extend/high top. Well I am at least :). I can't imagine not appreciating that extra space. It will be our primary dwelling for 6 months to a year. Thanks again for your videos. I know they prove invaluable as we build ours.

I love your input; that keeps me going. Let me know, what you decide and how things work out! Van Williams

Hi Manuela Gonzalez Hernandez, I could be from Seville, but no, born and bred in The Netherlands. Have some Catelan and Mallorquín in the immediate family :) Lived most of my life in the US, but never got rid of my accent. Thanks for watching the videos! Van Williams Podría ser de Sevilla, pero no, nacido en Holanda. Tener Catelan y Mallorquín en la familia inmediata :) Viví la mayor parte de mi vida en Estados Unidos, pero nunca perdió mi acento. Gracias por ver los videos! Van Williams

Hi Lee, While designing the interior, I couldn't find an alternate way and while an open-slat design was preferable, that would have completely changed my goals for the van. Frequent airing (and cleaning) should be sufficient. Mold is not an issue (I'm in Florida). Wish you Happy New Year! Van Williams

Yes, I am an amateur and I appreciate that you view my work as interesting; I must be doing something good :) Van Williams