What camping accessories do you really love?

[Betty]

THat's some set up you've got there Kev. Is it an air mattress or a real one?

Spoiler:

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Betty

Right on Kevy! I knew I'd picked out a good one. Did you find it easy to set up?

There was some initial confusion when inserting the diagonal poles across the top. Once we got that figured out (and we labeled them the next time we put the tent up), it was a breeze: only took about 10 minutes the second time we set it up (and that was working at a leisurely pace.

Originally Posted by Betty

(and now I must go try and find photos of this tent of yours.)

Thank you for finding that. I started to, but time was an issue for me.

Originally Posted by Betty

That's some set up you've got there Kev. Is it an air mattress or a real one?

Susan is a comfort fanatic, so from the bottom up, there is:

1. Two Sleeping Pads side-by-side (almost the same size as a queen mattress)
2. Feather Bed
3. Opened sleeping bag (optional - for colded climates only)
4. Fitted sheet
5. Person(s)
6. Top Sheet
7. Down comforter
8. Miscellaneous Blankets (though usually only on her side)

Also, she draped mosquito netting from the roof (not necessary: Susan did it for effect) and lots of pillows.

Yeah: were really "roughing it"

[Morrigoon]

Wait, what's the structure of the bed? Is the bottom completely slatted? (Eg: no spaces?)

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

Wait, what's the structure of the bed? Is the bottom completely slatted? (Eg: no spaces?)

The corners are 4 x 4's
Rails are 2 x 6's
2 x 4s and 1/4 ply make up the head and foot boards (between the 4 x 4 posts)
Bottom is solid (3 fit pieces of 3/4" Baltic Birch Ply.
Whole thing can be assembled (or disassembled) by one person in 5 minutes with no tools
Designed by me

[3894]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Designed by me

Genius, pure and simple genius. If you make a decent eggs benedict, I may need to write you into a novel.

[Betty]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

The corners are 4 x 4's
Rails are 2 x 6's
2 x 4s and 1/4 ply make up the head and foot boards (between the 4 x 4 posts)
Bottom is solid (3 fit pieces of 3/4" Baltic Birch Ply.
Whole thing can be assembled (or disassembled) by one person in 5 minutes with no tools
Designed by me

Neato! So - between the tent and the bed and bedding, how in the heck do you manage the space to bring anything else with you?

[Pirate Bill]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Designed by me

Is the design in your head or do you have it drawn up and available for me to use?

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Pirate Bill

Is the design in your head or do you have it drawn up and available for me to use?

Mostly the former (and I am not sure where the existing drawings are), but I could re-create them pretty easily. I would be more than happy to share with you. But note that I didn't design it for looks; we use this bed for camping only.

I used these as the hangers. You need two sets: one set for the rails and one set for the cross-braces between the rails.

Also, I had access to a large tenoning jig on a table saw.

[Pirate Bill]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

But note that I didn't design it for looks

Fine by me. I'll take whatever sketches you've got or can drum up. They don't have to be perfect. I'm often tweaking designs as I go anyway.

When I originally saw the pictures from last year's Camp Swank, my first thoughts were of wanting to crawl into your tent and fall asleep on that awesome looking bed. Then my mind went on to start designing an easy to transport easy to setup camping bed. Then I visited Google and started researching DIY yurts. Then things got busy at work again and I had to file it all away into the back of my mind.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Pirate Bill

Then my mind went on to start designing an easy to transport easy to setup camping bed.

One modification that you may want to make is to the height of the headboard. I made it too large to even fit into our GMC Safari (which is fairly good sized). I have to put the bed on the roof for transport.