Plywood thickness for sleeping platform.

[Stumpalump]

I'm OK welding up metal but I'm lost when it comes to wood. I built a steel platform base out of a bracket that houses a huge sliding shelf. The wood top or platform will hang over 4 1/2" all the way around and have 24" on center steel cross braces. Do I need 3/4" plywood or is thinner OK? The platform will be 58"x75" in a 1 ton van.

 

[Joe917]

1/2" Russian Birch ply(7 layers as compared to 4 layers for spruce or fir) Also under the name Baltic ply

 

[Stumpalump]

Is the better grade a Home Depot or Lowes or do I need to find a lumber yard?

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Yeah, quality is important, but also the strength and spacing of the platform support is critical-

My storage/sleeping platform is LOWES 1/2" exterior plywood/sealed/painted/covered and supported by Schedule 40 piping, spaced at about 16" centers--plenty strong

Good luck

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[SSF556]

1/2 is all you need......remember your sleeping platform and storage solution is cutting into your GVW of the vehicle....lighter is better.

 

[mattiep11]

i used half inch ply sanded and covered with carpet pad and army fabric... used 3 threaded pipes and flanges to make it all removable and collapsible for one or two people...takes five min. to take in and out and all strapped down to the bed ties via ratchet straps at the corners...cost less than $200 got everything cut for free(pipe and wood @home dp) shoot me a PM ill send u a photo

 

[Stumpalump]

I've got to rip a whole sheet of plywood and get it straight. Should I throw the whole sheet up on a table saw or is there a better choice like circular saw or small jig saw. I have the tools but I'm not looking forward to this cut since I need to rip two sheets.

 

[Joe917]

Table saw with a run off table and good support is 1st choice. 2nd is a circular saw with a straight edge clamped to the work as a guide. Jig saws are made for cutting curves, not an option.

 

[mattiep11]

buy your wood at home depot or lowes and they will rip it for you on their big *** cutter..it was straight, easy, and free ...or make a guide for your rip using your other sheet kind of like a ruler...if u plan on covering it you can hide your squiggley cuts,

 

[Stumpalump]

You guys rock! I just got back from Home Depot with the 3/4" birch and they cut it to length and width for free. $47 per 4x8 sheet. They had 1/2 as well but due to a slight change to fit the water tank I wound up with a bit more unsupported overhang and wanted it solid. The wood was so nice I could have made a dining room table out it.

 

[precision powder]

Next time you need to build something, I would go with a sheet of 3/4 AC UL. It is designed as an underlayment so it can handle getting a little wet, it is also made to be stiff and very study. You would use it as a subfloor in a kitchen or a bathroom. It is also smooth, not as smooth as the birch but smooth. It is normally cheaper than a birch will be with equal build characteristics.

 

[AA1PR]

I too went with 3/4"

 

[mattiep11]

any pics of the bed.. my friend has a cool little set up in his van next time i run into him ill get pics for you ...just some cool simple ideas... he has the short run 3/4ton !!awd!! chevy van (late 2010 isn i think) ... not many made. he has DHL yellow for the color..bought and ordered new, and never gets stopped cause he looks like a school bus /delivery guy...

 

[Herbie]

When I built my first bed system, I was trying to maximize under-platform height to fit my storage bins, so I used 4 steel legs on ~17" spacing. Notice there's no cross-bracing, I couldn't spare the extra height, the bins just barely fit. With this setup, the entire forward edge of the platform was also supported on a box.

Turns out this was WAY overkill. On my new setup, I removed the box and moved the legs to the corners and I now have an unsupported span of about 50". I don't have a great picture of the current setup, but you can sort of see here how there are no legs in the middle span area. With cheap Home Depot 3/4" CDX plywood, this works fine for at least myself or my wife+kid. Haven't tried me+wife on this setup yet, but I suspect it would be ok but bow slightly...

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: mine has a different end use--Cargo/sleeping-

The forward compt. is for ALL RECOVERY gear, straps/ropes/infrequent tools and the rear compt is for all tools/compressors/pumps/frequent tools/gas welding/long tools/HiLift-etc

Raingler nets for mobil winch/airtank/fluid bag/outboard mtr/spare battery-whatever-

Sleeping preps

Seems to work well for a JKU/trailer

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO