Windsurfing Van

[momo6383]

I have been seeing alot of message on diferent sites about converting chevy astro vans for windsurfing. Most people have a rack for boards,sails,booms, etc. and some have a second floor with a bed. Im interested in learning how to build a second floor (bed) in a van...

Jason
the kid

[H2Oratt]

For my van I made a raised area 12 off the floor, I store my sails, masts & booms below, and have a bed on top. (the boards ride on top of the van)I just used 4x4s in the corners, 2x4s for the frame and plywood for the deck. It worked great until I rolled it 5x. but thats another story!
If I were doing it again I would add board racks made out of galvanized 1 pipe.
Good luck!
waiting for spring! bob

[isobars]

May we presume youre following the current van thread on rec.windsurfing?

Now ... the raised bed. Build legs and a platform from wood, steel, aluminum, titanium, iron pipe ... whatever material you have ready access to. (Anchor it the metal van wall so it wont fall over. That may require cutting through or removing that stupid foo-foo, space-robbing, molded plastic wall-covering crap unless your Astro is a cargo van with a steel interior.) Lay plywood on it. Lay a mattress on that. Lay a sleeping bag on that. Lay your body on that. Go to sleep.

But unless youre going to store stuff on the inside van ceiling, build the bed off the floor as high as you can go and still sleep in it. That gives you much more storage space under the bed, and air above a bed is wasted space.

Mike \m/