I Built the Ultimate Camper Conversion Bed for my TINY Van 

Uploading 2 days in a row. It’s a miracle

It's coming along nicely. While your skills are impressive, I think you're design aesthetic is even more impressive. 👍🏽

Three helpful tips, when cutting your finish cabinet plywood, use a razor knife to score a line on the top veneer. That will keep the saw from splintering and chipping the wood. #2 Use a electric knife when cutting the foam, it makes it so much easier. #3 Use a good pair of heavy duty upholstery scissors for cutting the fabric. I am really impressed by your builds and your adaptability. You do amazing work. I will always believe the sky is the limit for what you can do.

I get so inspired by what you do, then I remember I have zero skills to do it. hahahhaha. Still so satisfying to see what you create.

Awesome job my dude! A couple of suggestions to help up your carpentry game. I would use washers on the wood side of those bolts on the slides. It will prevent the screw heads from tearing through the ply under stress. Especially since you counter sank them a few layers. Also try to refrain from using drywall screws on anything other than drywall. Their shear strength is not great. They will do in a pinch but its generally frowned upon by pro carpenters. Keep up the good work!

Love the reuse. No waste!

Hey DualEx, thanks to your videos I just bought my first Van and I will be converting it before Burning man this year. I'm stoked, so thanks for all the detailed work you have shown us over the past few years!

I love that feeling of getting a project in place after all kinds of planning, engineering and building only to realize you overlooked one little detail and have to redo it all.😆

It’s always nice that you can admit that something didn’t work the way you wanted to. And then go on to make it even better! 🤙 When I built my off grid solar system for my house, there were many times I wanted to give up because I didn’t really understand a lot of it and had to redo it. In the learning, a lot of it are things you just don’t know and I had to learn as I went along. Even after watching many many videos, there are things they just do not tell you in those videos. Then you have to hit up all the forms and ask a lot of questions.

This is high level thinking and he has great carpentry skills to put it together. Bravo.

Can I just say (over and over again) how your planning, designing and building skills are NEXT LEVEL for sure!!! I’ve said it before and I’ll continue saying it bc I want you to know your work is exceptional and continues to improve every time. I’d also like to say it was nice seeing your gf back with you in your video. It’s been a min since I saw her.

I know it's basically all put together, but what about some tucked up/hidden either pull down or spring loaded feet for that 1/3 section of the bed that's just kinda floating? Like some legs that fold up into the bottom of it while it's in couch mode, with some tension springs, where as soon as they've cleared the couch section the pop down so it's fully supported.

I love watching you work. ❤️

That was just Awesome how you moved the rail away from fridge. You are a Very Creative young man. Really enjoy watching your build. Awesome talent, God Bless.

It’s coming along nicely 👌🏻 try using a bread knife to cut the foam, works pretty well.

Hey It might just be me, but I feel that you should put a washer on the board side as well, not only on the slide side since it has a bigger risk of being torn out.

The way the bed slides out is well done. I've seen tons of 'folding bench/bed' designs that were, let's be honest, half assed. The only thing I think would have been better would be to build a power bank yourself or relocate the one you used so the bed is lower in seat mode. The current height means you need to sit with your head in the vent and at the same time short peoples legs will dangle. I get using a prebuilt system for simplicity though.

Amazing design!! Add a lock washer on the rail hardware.

When I bought my van it had a similar bed that filled the entire floor space. I quickly realised that having to get out to pull the bed out, get out to put clothes on etc was totally impractical. Now I have an 80cm wide bed down one side. Beautiful woodworking though 👍

Fantastic job ..... just a tip for cushion making .... people always make the covers too loose bc they cut the fabric the size of the cushion with added seam allowance . If you cut the fabric the same size as the foam and sew up , you can squish the foam in and have nice tight covers .

Well done! Only thing I can nitpick at is your upholstery technique which isn't really bad, but it's usually best to start at the center and work your way outward. It helps keep your fabric much more evenly stretched and helps with keeping edges and curves really crisp. 😅 Some upholstery tacks would help make it nicer too, but is unnecessary, just a nice detail. 😉 One piece of advice I can give you is that if you anticipate having to cut more mattresses like this, buy an electric turkey carver. Makes a much smoother and easier cut in foam much faster, plus they're not too expensive. 👍

Really smart! Thank you for filming the different steps. I wondered why you made a few choices early in the build but you were so thorough in what and how you filmed it that the reason became very apparent and your solutions were genius. I learned a few things in the video as well and was unfamiliar with the circ saw with the cutting guide and I did not immediately recognize your jig saw. You have definitely improved on the bed design!

This is the same concept I’m trying to figure out for my class c slideout. I want the bed to open/close both with slide as well as manually. Thanks for showing your build.

Another tip on cutting the foam, is using an electric meat knife, it cuts through it like butter and allowsbyou to easy roybd out corners for a orofessional look. That's basically what professional upholsterers use. My mother was a professional same stress and upholsterer. You can pick one up for about $10 at any local Walmart.

I'm loving your work DualEx. Keep it coming.

You are so inspiring to watch, from the beginning to the end. I've watched you for awhile now. When living a "NOMADIC LIFESTYLE " , wasn't as popular as it is now. You make an old lady, feel like I can do this. In my thoughts I know what I want, just putting it together is half the battle. I've wanted to live this lifestyle every since my daughters were teenagers, now they're in their late 30's. How you be reached to help me transform my "DREAM HOUSE" on wheels?

Thumbs up for the camera person.👍

Love your calculated, meticulous creativity. Thanks for all the great ideas.

Enjoying this so much! I have a big Van that I'm trying to make into living space...almost impossible with a bad back but you are such an inspiration! Thx.

Your carpentry skills are insane. Well done. 💛🇬🇧💛

Nice shop and build. Looks comfy cozy! Great gear, and you know how to use it well. Props!

I love watching you work! You sure are good at figuring things out that will work. Amazing!

Have you looked into doing a project with linear actuators to raise and lower your camper shell for more headroom while camping? It was an idea I had, not knowing it was already done in commercial products until I did a search for it. It appears to be a good idea--one that I would be interested in doing myself.

Great job and I wish I had known you 49 years ago as I built a bed and storage for the rear of a 1973 Chevrolet van. What I built was nowhere even close to the professional job that you have done of building out your van I also installed an ice box for food with a container which held a 25 lb block of ice to keep our food cold. I bought large plastic containers which I could slide under the bed for our food stuffs, clothing, toiletries, etc. I made curtain rods from about a 1/2" wooden rod at night which I screwed in to the sides and over the back doors to hold blackout curtains. I even bought the material and cut it out and sewed it together to fit the windows around the van including the front and side windows which shocked my wife. Things weren't as available for DIY building vans out for camping back then. It was nowhere near as nice as what you have done, but it worked for my wife and I and I didn't know anyone else who was doing that. We used that equipment for years even after I traded the Chevrolet in on a 1976 Dodge Maxivan which gave us even more room without some of the side windows which helped keep the van cooler when it was hot and hotter when it was cold.

Such an awesome project and incredibly ideal for what I need at the moment, as I contract and live away from home. With raising costs of accommodation, etc it would save me the expense. When you’ve finished this build, would you be uploading or be willing to sell the design of it? as I would like to duplicate this for myself.

I love all of your wood work! Such great designs and execution.

Such a pleasure watching you work. Your marksmanship and attention to detail is fabulous. 😊

Amazed at your vision, craftsmanship, very nice work. Inspiring

I have a low transit and you have given me the solution for the space under the bed and my shelves. Sliding panels. Brilliant. Great work. ❤️👍🏻👍🏻

Love watching your process and appreciate you sharing the challenges and how you overcome them. Definitely very inspiring. Once I get my bus i will definitely be watching all these videos on repeat...lol

Nicely done. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

Don't you just love how each build creates 3 new problems 😆. Genius build bro, def gonna steal some stuff!

Thanks so much for the video , i have always thought that abed that folds up into a couch would be better to save space when the bed wasn't being used, many campers have a full size bed in place all the time taking up a lot of space. very nice design . Appreciate all your videos and your talent !

Your design and consolidation process is pretty cool. Awesome job!

I think you are so creative at things do. It is amazing how you made the bed for the van.

Your skills are incredible. Keep up the fantastic carpentry, electrical, plumbing skills that you have and thanks for sharing.

You are from another galaxy dude, keep it up!

Electric carving knife for your foam cutting needs

Dope design. I’ve been planning something similar but wasn’t sure if it would work, so cheers for the boost in confidence.

I really appreciate how much you are willing to experiment (and do over) your work in the pursuit of an ever more perfect design. It inspires me to not accept “good enough” in my designs.

Always interesting to see other's builds. I went like you .. built out a nice bed and cabinets and a year later it's all gone. Took up too much space. I now have it setup so I can exchange everything from one rig to another .. have an old Ford Explorer 4x4 and a Subaru Crosstrek .. both are set up for overlanding. I love your use of wood glue! LOL Nice job. 🤠

Love the content, awesome use and reuse with no waste, great skill and job😉👍

that was so cool twitch. Really helps me visualize the steps (and tools) needed to do a project like this. Kudos! Very Nice.

I totally get and understand your plan for this bed it’s a great build very well thought through thank you for sharing

great video . great couch /bed saving space combo. two thumbs up!!

WOW. just found your channel. You are so impressive! Not only your talent for carpentry and design but for producing the video itself. Well done! 👍🏻. Can’t wait to see more. 😊

Very impressive build. So professional and beautifully designed. Subscribed to your channel.

Your woodworking skills are improving and this is a great design.

Nice work !I love to see young people working with their brain and hands ! THANKS 😊

love the asmr and editing. super fun to watch!

Outstanding job my Brother! Wow nice woodworking skills too!

Your skills are out of this world!! Well done!!!

I love your brilliant creativity with your builds of course. But I would like to also address the beautiful creativity of your videos. My goodness these are so well filmed.

Very cool ideas. Love the use of space. Great content.

This is phenomenal. Excellent customization. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

You are true inspiration bro....you just gave me a set of new ideas for my build....gotta admit that I love your dome provision!

You made it work, looks great, thank you for video the process!

Yay! So happy to see you build this with the same drawer slides in this one as I had bought after watching your first amazing bed build video! I had went with the more extreme right off the bat because I'm planning on making mine also needing to support more weight. My question is what was the bolts and sizes you used to secure them to the frame. I'm having a hard time choosing. I've been seeing some use Sex bolts. What are your thoughts on the options and what you decided to use? And thanks for all the great helpful videos! Keep them coming please! 💕

You are an amazing story teller, short simple efficient. Nice job on the build

I was told you can use an electric carving knife on foam and it works well!

LOVE YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! 👍

Magic! What a perfect design! Your skills are unbelievable. I learnt from Nikki Delventhal (van lifer) that an easy way to cut through a thick foam mattress is using an electric turkey carving knife! You can always give it a try. I don’t live in a van but I’m fascinated by how these projects are done . I’m sure lots of people will apply your ideas and methods to their own ‘bigger’ homes too! Thanks so much for your amazing videos❤🏆

Awesome 👏 very creative and so functional!

Your Skillzs are amazing. I enjoy watching you create all those puzzle pieces and watch you make it all work good stuff. Keep up the great work.

amazing work! God bless you and yours!

This is superb dude, great design and careful detailed work - big up!

I love it! I'm learning a lot of woodworking techniques and stuff from you. :D

Hello DualEx, I Love following you, you always have my total attention regardless of what I am doing because it is my pleasure to see what you have accomplished. I pray that you realize how Blessed you are. I will continue to pray for your build journey no matter where you are. God Bless love 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️❤️❤️🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️❤️❤️👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾❤️❤️❤️👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾

You are really good at this! One of the best.😊

love it! you are doing such creative work!

Wow, talented in design and fabrication. Great job! The skill to do, comes by doing. Envious of your skills.

I love the bed. I wish I can put that together for myself. Like always great job.

Innovative and beautiful. Well done!

I’ve just started watching your channel and I am so impressed by what you’re able to design and build. Two suggestions from a person who will try anything. Invest in a serrated bread knife to cut your phone. Not the electrical ones but just a long serrated knife. It will cut straight and like butter! Second, invest in a good pair of upholstery shears. Your upholstery projects will dramatically improve with these two adds to your workshop. Great channel.

Wow thanks so much for the way you filmed this it makes so much sense

That is a real cool bed/couch conversion ... well done.

Great. Nicely done ✅ Blessings from Maracaibo, Venezuela 🙌🏻🙏🏻

Wow. It is art. You are so talented!

Your carpentry skills are beyond on point 💯🎯👏🏾 I ❤️ your problem solving skills 📐🥾🪚🦺🚐

Legit super talented, it’s a pleasure watching you, that bed is so good. All the best from England U.K.

Good job. Thanks for sharing

Your videos are very inspiring, and it's nice to see how your wood working skills have evolved over all of your builds.

Great job mate! I hope i can learn woodworking in the future! You're truly inspiring!

You do so much detail you make me dizzy. I can’t believe the patience you have. Are all these projects just for you? I just now subscribed. Great designs.

Great design and work, top job man

That's a brilliant design. I like all the hardware you chose

Talented AF bro! Ive got a tip for cutting bed foam for you- use a bread knife! Honestly cuts like butter and straight edges.

That bed is freekin Awesome 😎 I know, that one's comfortable. Great work Dualex 👍🏾

That’s perfect. I was looking at doing a happy Jack. This will save me a lot of money. Also give me a seat to sit on. So happy I follow you. Keep up the great work my friend

I love watching your videos, you are so talented. I wish you would explain each step of your builds with measurements and all for others to copy. I too have a Transit Connect but have no skills so watching your videos makes me dream of what could happen to my van...lol Thanks for sharing