Custom Couch in a 550

Dustin, please excuse my ignorance - did a brief site search and didn’t come up with anything.

Is that a couch in your 550? Factory, custom? Is there a post on the site with more info? Or, did you move up to a 560...

 

It is something custom I added. I liked the 560 couch but also liked our 550, so added this homemade one to ours. Here are a few more pics.

 

That is a great-looking 550 interior! Well done!

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like 5/8” ply and fabric/strap hinges? I’d imagine it’s very nice on those occasions when you want to hang out in the cabin.

Using the storage for a foot well reminds me of the Aero teardrop made here in Portland. If I recall, their couch is all made in the tri-fold mattress. The also put a 4” (?) socket on the bottom of their single, full width storage bin, and a similar socket under the storage cover. Add a 4” steel tube/column, and you have a dining table, also the storage well to put your feet in.

 

It's been a couple years since I built it, but I think I used 1/2 inch ply to try keeping the weight down, and yes-I used 2"webbing strap for hinges.
We have enjoyed it when we've used it, but everything is a compromise of some sort. You add that, you lose a little toe room height all of the time ( I didn't put the spring mat under the mattress in the toe room area), and if it is in sofa mode, you lose access to the front storage area, so you better have anything out of there you might need before it goes up.

I like to tinker, and try to come up with ways of making things more usable, mostly using ideas that someone else has come up with, and then I might embellish them a little to fit our needs. This forum has been a great resource for many of those ideas!!

 

I missed that completely. The access behind the 560 couch is not easy to get to when it is up.

 

Good move, making this a new thread.
I kinda wondered if that should happen when the posts wandered off topic on the memory foam topper / Froli thread, but didn't know how to do it.
Thanks!
Dustin

 

It really is an interesting project! Thanks moderators, for making a spot for it that people can find.

Dustin, if you were to start it again, would you do it the same way? Any thoughts on potential improvements?

 

Does the 550 with the rounded leading edge of the roof give you enough headroom?

 

Seth,
It's a good question, and I really can't say I have a good answer for you. We would probably use it more often if it wasn't kind of a pain to get up and down.
It tends to easily get cocked, and stuck along its path of travel, so that makes it especially difficult for one person, but even with two people, if you aren't pulling with the same force and speed on both ends, it will still get cocked, although it's easier to get unstuck with two people. I haven't come up with a good way to solve that yet. I put some 1/8" x about 3 inch wood strips with red plastic on top along each edge and the middle for it to glide on. Not sure that's the answer. Maybe some Teflon tape strategically placed might work better...but again, not sure. Getting some plywood of the quality that Camp-Inn uses would be nice too, but that's not something that's readily available at your local big-box store. It probably would only be an advantage to have for the seat section however.
Tour 931,
I was a little concerned with the headroom too,but at 5'11" it was fine for me. I haven't checked how much extra there might be beyond that.

 

That's looks super

 

Just Might be mine next project....

 

Rounding all the leading areas (like tracing a quarter coin) in each section would help or event it cocking and getting caught. Also waxing the edges and side walls a bit will help as well. Looks amazing!

 

Good observation Rob!
It's been long enough that I don't recall for sure now whether I rounded the corners of the panels or not, but I do know I didn't wax them. It might be worth the work of pulling it out, grabbing a bar of paraffin (or even that bee's wax I got at the CICO ) and giving that a try.
Thanks!

 

Yes bees wax (ordered mine from CI, hope to pick it up personally at the rally!) paraffin should work just as well with the rounded corners. Great work and creativity!

 

I am a newbie here... and cruising the forum I ran across this thread.

It reminded me of a folding futon my wife and I had for our VW van back in the late 70s.

Surprisingly we still have it and it’s in good shape! I put it in our 550 this afternoon.

I have not Googled it but I’m sure somebody makes them today.

 

Nice!
Yeah, that would certainly be the easier answer rather than the folding wood platform I built for ours. I wanted to use the nicely covered Camp-In mattress however, and so that is the main reason I built ours. I also needed to make V cuts in the CI foam mattress at each of the joints too so that it would fold into the couch, and not just want to stay a flat mattress. I worried a little about feeling those, but haven't noticed a difference.

From your pictures it looks like yours is a very good fit. If yours still has a tag on it somewhere, it would be interesting to see if the company is still in business, and makes the same one.

 

Sorry - I could not find any tags.

 

Great idea!

 

Bruce O...
That setup looks super clean. I need to find a mattress like that for our 560 ultra. Thanks for the post, although its kinda old.
rolls

 

Rolls - I posted that is 2020 and to be honest, I never use that set-up. If I'm inside reading or watching a movie I just sit propped up with some pillows. Easier than faffing around with a comforter and sheets. Also in another post somewhere on this forum, I described my setup... I use a bottom sheet and a down comforter in a duvet cover. During the daytime I just shove the duvet into the foot space with the pillows and spread a small canvas drop cloth over the bottom sheet. As I'm in and out during the day or if the doors are open this keeps everything clean. I've also marked the drop cloth with a couple lines at the doors and head of the bed so it's easy to line everything up to tuck it in along the edge of the mattress. If I'm camping solo - I just untuck one side of the drop cloth and just shove it to the side or into the foot space before bedtime