Category Archives: Transportation

Van Platform Bed

Posted on by

The small NV200 van I purchased is basically an empty box. I plan to get it converted to a camper van, but that will be months from now.

An empty van is not very comfortable to sleep in, so I decided to build a platform to support a comfy mattress. That would also give me space underneath the platform to store camping and travel gear.

As I wanted the platform to be hinged, I had to figure out where to make the cuts in the plywood. I used a single 4′ x 8′ x 3/4″ piece of plywood.

I cut the plywood so that approximately 1/3 of it could be hinged and folded back. This would give me easy access to place larger objects inside the van, when the bed is not in use.

I added 2″ x 3″ frames around the two pieces of plywood to attach the legs.

I decided that when the hinged piece of plywood is folded back, the 11″ legs should fold down. I rounded off the top of the legs, and added a bolt, washer and nut. I glued and screwed the other four legs to the larger piece of plywood.

I installed the two sections of plywood and secured them together with a piano hinge to allow the smaller section to fold back.

Here is the tri-fold mattress layed out.

Wow, very comfortable. Ready for a mini road trip!

Brew Hauler

Posted on by

If you are looking for a different gift idea for a beer drinking friend, then consider this Brew Hauler build.

I built the wooden carrier all from scrap that I had around the house.

I bought a plastic toy truck at the thrift store for about $2.00. I used a hack saw to cut off the truck’s cab and screwed it to the wooden carrier.

I purchased a bottle opener and bottle top collector bin from the local hardware store. It came as a set and was labeled with Coca Cola, which I removed.

Make sure that you use a piece of hardwood for the back end. That way, when the bottle opener is screwed into the wood, it will be very secure.

I finished up by stenciling Brew Hauler on each side. You could also add the person’s name too.

A simple, inexpensive and cool gift for your brew guzzling friend. Cheers, Saluti, Kanpai, Prost, Lkheym, Salud, or Tchin Tchin. Beer brings people together!