Here’s the design for the couch tops. They have been designed to offer two options – a 20″ couch depth, and a 30″ bed depth. To accomplish this, a double hinged top was built.
Here’s a picture of the passenger side, with our newly custom ordered cushions in place. (curtains are temporary)
Here’s a look at the top piece, segmented with hinges. In this position, the top surface is 30″ wide and is comfortable for sleeping or a quick nap! The top surface extends 6″ past the end of the bed base. The cushions were made at 24″ wide and 6″ wide, and 4″ thick. Placed next to each other, they form a 30″ (24+6) sleeping surface.
When the plywood section closest to the wall is hinged up, the couch surface slides back and overhangs the couch base by about 3/4″. Note: the wall isn’t there yet!
The center plywood strip has a wooden clamping strip that keeps the top surface attached to the couch base. The plywood slides to each position and is held by the clamps underneath. The clamps on each end are held in place by two 1/4″-20 bolts shown in the picture above, between the hinges.
Near the front edge, there are two wood blocks to keep the top from sliding from the couch position. to slid the top, it is lifted about an inch, then slid out. Of course, the main piece of plywood is hinged to allow access to storage under each couch!
When extended, a stop built into the couch base keeps the top from extending beyond 6″
It works really well and takes about 5 seconds to convert from 20″ sitting couch to extended 30″ bed!