How do you fit 5 people into a RV designed to only really fit 2-3 comfortable. Well we install a Triple Bunk Bed.
When my wife and I were looking into the RV lifestyle, we both looked at so many RV styles, from 5th wheel toy haulers, to building our own buses and even some class a rv’s we could modify to fit our needs and wants. What made us settle on the Monaco Class A was the cards kind of all fell into place. We have learned when that happens it’s always best to follow that path.
So when we looked at this RV we saw so much potential with the massive super slide on the driver side. This open the front up so much then a standard 8ft wide bus. We also found the ability to remove the old dining room table and chairs and open this area to allow for some Murphy style bunk beds. At first this seemed to be the best solution. After talking to our daughter and some of the other kids, we thought a triple bunk bed would be a better solution to give a full 4 sleeping spots in the front with the couch.
Here is Day 1 of building out the triple bunk bed in our Monaco Executive Class A Diesel Pusher.
On Day one we built the main structure of the frame where most of the weight will ride. We secured two 2×4 studs to the back wall to help carry the weight. We weer concerned the crappy plywood would not hold the weight of the 2×6 boards. Then we installed two 2×4’s on the ceiling to have a mounting point for the front 2×4 studs, and finally added two more 2×4 studs on the front. We then focused on building out the box frame. The box frame is where the mattresses will site are made of four 2×6 pine, and four 2×2 pine and will have around ten to fifteen 1×3 slats to help spread the weight of the mattress and the body weight. We are doing this for all three bed sections to give about 21″ of opening to climb in and hang out or sleep. We spec’d out the mattress to a standard RV Twin mattress of 28″ wide by 72″ long.
We have a lot more to get done, we will be building out some shelves for there personal items and some USB charging stations for electronics and personal lighting. Each section will have a privacy draw curtain to give some privacy.
One thing we did leave was the window in place to allow us to open it for those nice cooler nights and mornings to allow for air flow but also to give the kids another escape window in the event something ever happened.
We will eventually add a ladder to the front and enclose the sides and some of the front to dress it up, and finally some paint to give it that wow factor. Basically the design is similar to the entertainer buses on the road that have triple bunk beds in there for band members. Once of the reasons for the raised bottom bunk and why it is not all the way on the floor is the heater vent we have to allow for. The middle of the front will have a 12″ vent, and we are thinking maybe a couple drawers one on either side to allow for more cloth storage.
We re always looking for feedback and how everyone found us and what is interesting to people. Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel @jkbroncoadventures. When you subscribe, share, and like our content it helps with bringing you more content. Also be sure to check out our swag over at the merch store https://www.jkbronco.com/swag.