Broken Bed

[poosu]

Our latest issue happened while packing to head home last weekend. We lifted the bed to store something under it and when we closed it I felt the wood under the mattress shift. We opened it again and the hinges had ripped out of the particle board. After crawling in and checking I thought it was a failure of the cylinders that help with the bed lifting. With my wife holding the bed up I removed the cylinders. Turns out the cylinders were fine. The hinge screws and particle board just weren't strong enough to deal with the force the lifting cylinders put on them. Looks like we'll just have to do without the help from the lifting cylinders. Put it back together with toothpicks in the screw holes that were torn out. LOL.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Would it be possible to install 1" X 2" behind where the screws go? If so, glue one in place and install longer screws.

 

[wdk450]

Replace the particle board with regular plywood. My bed base is wafer board plywood and has held up well.

 

[whp4262]

Replace the particle board with regular plywood. My bed base is wafer board plywood and has held up well.

I 2nd what wdk450 said. If it's particle board replace it with wafer board or finished plywood. I'm sure particle board is good for something but I've never figured out what.

 

[EandJ]

I 2nd what wdk450 said. If it's particle board replace it with wafer board or finished plywood. I'm sure particle board is good for something but I've never figured out what.

It's good for getting rid of all the extra sawdust in the mill. That's about it.

 

[dalspot]

We finally screwed our in from the top all the way through the small board after it came loose the second time from the wood we replaced the particle board with. Just countersink the screws so the mattress doesn't catch on them.

Karen

 

[poosu]

Hopefully this isn't a dumb question, but can you buy plywood in a size that allows a single piece bed board? It looks like it's bigger than 4 feet in both directions. I store the trailer remotely and can't measure it.

 

[JohnDar]

Typically, standard plywood sheet comes 4' x 8'. You can find Baltic birch plywood in 5'x 5' sheets at lumber yards. It is fairly expensive by comparison.

 

[poosu]

Can't do this. The both side of the bed board, the stationary and the hinged part are on top of a 2x4.

 

[poosu]

Sorry this takes so long to reply, but for those who have repaired the bed board, did you reinstall the counterweight cylinders of just leave them off and hold the bed up manually?

 

[cookie]

I think that bed will be awful heavy to hold up without the lift aides.
You might try to glue and screw a length of plywood, say 1/2" thick and 3" wide the width of the particle board.
Then screw your hinges through the particle board into the plywood. You did say that the hinge screws pulled out right?
You might also consider doing that where the lifts screw in as well.

Peace
Dave

 

[poosu]

The hinge screws pulled out of the moving side of the bed board. There is no room to add thickness under the particle board where it pulled out. Storing the coach in a remote location is a pain I can't go look at or try anything. The counterweight cylinders have a piece of 2x2 to attach to and are well mounted

 

[JohnDar]

Or remove the wood screws completely, drill new holes nearby for the hinges, and use short machine screws with locknuts. On the underside of the particle board, place a strip of 1/8" x 1" aluminum strip, drilled for the bolts, as a reinforcement. If there's a clearance problem for the nuts or the strip, use a chisel to make space.