The Swift safety straps make it difficult to store bedding on your drop-down bed. In this video, I'll show you how I quickly modified my bed to accommodate some additional space while retaining the safety straps.
We've had safety straps fitted but I assumed they were permanently fixed to the bed - the fitter didn't tell us to remove/attach them. Will have a check tomorrow
I wonder if you’re referring to the original straps behind the canvas? That’s part of the bed. Safety straps were added later and, without removing them, you’d not be able to lower the bed to use it.
Hi - I think they came from Wilkos but I dare say B&Q or somewhere like that would sell them. There’s more information and pictures on my Facebook page: facebook.com/share/p/NveCe3KtR1FmhLQ4/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Hello again Tim/Ed, Thank you for the reply. I do have the button like yours. It is the same type of bed. I too am concerned with the safety straps being screwed into the wood side wall as I am unsure it will take the weight of the bed. I have search all over, and have not found another fitted like mine. It would appear that I have your story mixed up with another chap who has the same issues we have. I do have the button you speak of, and the bed is the same. However this should interest you as the following is a extract of the other chaps story. He had called Swift on a lot of occasions, had work done to fit the transit straps. It was not done to his satisfaction, so he called the back. The next text is his it starts mid sentence. Although he is talking about "alignment, he is talking about the fitting of the straps. Quote. "he was concerned that he had done something wrong, so much so he called me later that night and said they would come back this morning to double check. Well they both came back this morning and could see the cupboards were misaligned, they checked their work and measured the position of the last ratchet and checked it using masking tape to see if the catch broke the tape showing it had engaged, it had, so they confirmed that it could not possibly go any higher than it did and the ratchet mechanism was out of line" That is the ratchet I meant when I asked you about it in my message, however it was on another forum that I found it. Nevertheless it could have some bearing on us being able to drop the bed by repositioning, or redrilling a location hole in the proverbial ratchet. If we/I can locate it. I cannot ask the other person as he is no longer posting. Just a thought. I do not do RU-vid, but is it alright to do this on here or should it be by email. Please let me know what you think. Kindest regards, Trevor.
Interesting. Are we talking about making the bed sit lower when it's in use? If so, let's say that you figure out how to adjust the top and bottom positions on that cable so that the top is lower, and the bottom is lower. I can see a few problems you'd need to overcome. Firstly, the top position could then be low enough for you to bump your head on the bed when walking underneath it. Secondly, the vertical wall rails will need to be mounted lower on the wall otherwise the mechanism will hit the bottom bung of the wall rail before the bed drops to the bottom position. Third, the seat belt webbing will need to be longer to accommodate a bigger drop. Obviously, the ladder won't fit when it's down further, either. Is this what you're thinking of doing?
Hi, No. I am going to look at the "ratchet" whatever that is. I have a garage in which I keep my motorhome. I will be going to it this week, and I will strip the bed and try to locate the ratchet device to see if it can be altered. I do not want to go to the lengths you describe. That would be far too involved. If you note in my previous mail, the engineer talking to the chap who also has the problem you will see the engineer says "he put a piece of masking tape over the holes in the ratchet to see if the locating pins engage the top locking point. He checked, and the pins punctured the tape . The conclusion was the bed was at its maximum height. Therefore if we can find the hole that the engineer put the tape over, and work out if a new hole could be made to set the bed between the top position we have now, and the next position down (the one you would bang your head on) we could have a position between the two. Obviously it may not be possible, but I will try this week if I get the time. Regards, Trevor.
We have a 2018 Swift Escape 604 Champagne Special Edition. Our bed is almost impossible to lift by one’s self. My wife lifts standing behind the driver’s door and I stand on the opposite side pressing the release button. Also the safety straps are 150mm short and even without the bedding and the ladder the bed will not raise high enough to attach the safety straps. Therefore we travel without them. I have thought of making a similar modification that you have made, but why on earth should I have to as they should be correctly sized to include all bedding, pillows and ladder, because the bed is designed to be left made up at all times. Unfortunately we also have a leaking shower tap which has never been used and it’s impossible to fix due to an awful and faulty design. You can not remove the ceramic cartridge from the tap and you can not remove the tap because it’s impossible to remove the plastic screen it’s fixed to. The vehicle only has 6,000 miles on the clock and I’m extremely disappointed with these awful designs. Everything else about this Motorhome is okay apart from the clean water and waste water motorised emptying valves not working, .e. the waste is stuck open and the clean water is stuck in the closed position!
Sorry to hear your list of issues, there. I sense your frustration! However, everything you’ve listed can be resolved. I have the same issues with my drain down valves. I’m soon going to fit some replacements, but for the past 18 months I’ve used a pair of pliers to turn the valves manually. Those solenoid blocks sitting on top of the drain down valves can be removed. They simply turn a brass valve and you can do that yourself with pliers. I’ve seen detailed descriptions of how other owners have replaced one or both of the gas struts in the bed, and lots of people have replaced taps and/or cartridges as they tend to split if they freeze with water in them. If you’re not already a member of our Facebook group, please feel free to join and you’ll find me and lots of other helpful people there: facebook.com/share/ghR9WeWugPCo75tE/?mibextid=K35XfP
@@ASwiftEscapethank you for your reply. Yes I realise that I can fix the bed and the drain valves with a little effort. However the shower tap can not be taken apart to replace the ceramic cartridge as per most other taps. This tap has a recessed black plastic nut underneath the chrome top. Therefore you have to remove the complete tap, but it’s pretty much impossible to remove the back screen that it’s attached to. I have been in touch with Swift technical support department asking for a RU-vid link to show how to remove it, but they can’t help 🤷♂️ Absolutely useless company to do business with!!! Lots of other Swift owners writing comments about this same issue.
Hi, great video and very helpful thanks. We are really struggling with the noise our drop down bed makes when we're travelling. Do you have any tips please for how to improve this (or perhaps it would be an idea for a future video :) ). The problem seems to be where the bed brackets are loose in the running channels. Do you know any way to tighten these so that the bed still moves up and down but there are less rattles? Any advice would be greatly received and we look forward to more Swift Escape vlogs from your channel.
Hi Tim, That's a great idea for a video - thank you. Yes, I think I have a guide for you on our modifications Facebook page: facebook.com/swift.escape.modifications Essentially, I found that the rail will rock forwards and backwards - pivoting on the screws that hold it to the wall. I removed each rail, put some double-sided gel tape on the back of each rail and put it back on the wall. This stopped the sqeaks almost completely for me. I hope this helps. Ed.
Hello Tim, Enjoyed the video. I don't know if you still have your Swift, but I have a Bessacarr 524, and have a problem dropdown bed. So hard to put the bed up to the top position with just one light weight quilt, and two pillows. Swift say they will do no more as it is the design of the bed. Regarding the two "transit straps" I was keen to try lowering them and using them to run with the bed lowered just like you did, but the engineers that came to my house have fitted one with the metal bracket. however the other strap fitted by them to the other opposite corner is just a strap screewed with two wood screws to the vertical woodwork seperating the cab from the habitation area ? So I am thinking it may not be strong enough to take the weight of the bed. I wondered if you would know if the ratchet you refered to can be modified to allow the bed to rest between the top position and the next one down. Where is the locking ratchet you spoke about, as I may try to have a go at it. I will be interested to see what you think.. Kind regards, Trevor.
Hi Trevor. I think you may be referring to the button I need to press before the bed will move up or down. Here's the point in the video when I talk about that: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kfLUy4eUP60.html Without pressing the button, the bed won't move up or down. Therefore, to the best of my knowledge, the bed will happily sit at any height between the top position and the bottom position. I've be a bit concerned about the safety strap being screwed into the wood though - I can't see that holding the weight of the bed if the cables snapped. Is your Bessacarr bed the same design as this? Does it have the button to press like mine does? Ed.
