Bed Platform Prototype Progress
Yesterday was a beautiful day out, nice and (relatively) warm, so I decided to get some more work done on my bed platform prototype.
This effort went far smoother and faster than the first try a couple of weeks back, where I ended up splitting a rail by putting too much force into drilling in a wood screw. Meh. I learned my lesson; take it easy, and also, I ended up using a larger bit to pre-drill my holes, and that made things much easier.
The amount of time I spent in total on the smaller rear section, between the last time and today, I spent maybe a quarter on with the large section. Progress! And I even didn’t screw up my measurements. Rear section is 25″ long, main section 55″ long.
Now I’m at the point where I need to puzzle out the support structure. I suppose I could just slap it together in the way I had planned from the start; basically lengthwise rails that are positioned beneath the lengthwise main platform supports, and then attach the strips of plastic I bought to act as a surface for the top platform to slide forward and backwards on.
My working plan has been to use linear actuators, and puzzling out the mounting points will be crucial, in order to get those mechanisms to have enough angle when the platform is deployed to push the rear section up.
But, lately, I’ve been pondering the possibility of using a pair of hinges designed for futon couch/bed combos. Those mechanisms move pretty smoothly with minimal effort, and the end positions that the futon frames end up in is pretty much exactly what I’m after with this setup. The only question mark in my head is that futon frames, when in couch mode, there’s a slope to the main seat section going down; I’m pretty sure this is mainly due to where the hinges are mounted on the frame, and how the outside of the seat section of the platform rests on the main support frame.
I found some cheap futon hinges on Amazon, and put in an order this morning. I’m going to hold off on putting together the support structure until they arrive, as I’ll have to rethink that whole thing – I’ll still need the rails centered beneath the platform supports, for the sliding portion, but the futon hinges will need something to mount to as well, just outside the edges of where the main bed platform pieces meet. Though now, after typing all that out, there’s really no reason not to build the support structure as planned; the hinges will need something added to the whole thing, affecting the initial design minimally.
(Edit: Crap times two. First one: Thinking about this idea, the hinges would need to be mounted to the support structure in a fixed spot, and my ever-worrying brain decided that the positioning of the rear platform piece in both positions probably would not work after all, so I went to Amazon and cancelled my order, that would have been in on Sunday.
Second one: Thinking more about it, I realize that futon couch/bed platforms work just like what I need, because they’re sitting on the floor next to a wall, and the edge of the platform that sits closest to the wall doesn’t bounce off the wall when you move the whole thing around. So I put the order back in, but now it won’t be in until Monday.
Crap!)
A Random Meeting
I rolled to my local WalMart today to pick up some power steering fluid for my truck, and to look at some camping gear. I was in REI a couple of days ago, looking at the high-zoot titanium mugs and cups – one company’s products were $80-100!!! WalMart’s got some decent looking stuff for, surprise, a few bucks. I’m always keeping eyes out for options.
On the way in, though, I spotted this old RV parked on the street nearby. I was going to snap a photo of it from the nearby intersection, decided that was too far away, and pulled up closer… and just after taking a photo, the woman inside saw me and came to the window. She turned out to be very friendly, and I chatted her up on her experiences living in her vehicle. She had plenty to say about how many local municipalities are cracking down on overnighting on city streets; the town just north of me recently added some hamfisted regulations on this, largely because of a lot of bad actors, and the stand-up folks are getting affected as well, unfortunately.
I did inquire as to how long she’d been in the area and where she’d been parking, as despite a WalMart being just off to the right of the photo, it’s one of many in Colorado that does not allow overnight parking. Turns out she’d overnighted right where she was parked, and the previous night just farther down the road a bit. It’s a street that really sees very little traffic, but it’s also very wide open and exposed. I try and scope out good overnight parking spots in my area, just in case I should run across someone online coming to town and looking for a good spot, I can give them some options.