What's the perfect bed platform height?

[pugslyyy]

I'm trying to figure out the bed platform for my E-350, and am wondering what other folks experiences have been - what height works well to maximize storage space underneath while staying far enough away from the ceiling that you don't feel like you are sleeping in a coffin?



Also, I realize this is probably too much to ask, but if anyone has or can point me in the direction of a 3D model of the inside of the E-350 that would really help with my layouts.

 

[luthj]

I feel that the best bed height is one where you can sit upright and not hit your head. It makes getting in/out of bed much more pleasant.

Sitting height is usually between 29 and 37 inches.

If you opt to go less than sitting height, the minimum space above the bed is approximately shoulder width plus 3-6". This allows for easy rollovers an you can lift your head to look at your feet.

As far as under bed storage goes, it depends on what you need to store! If you don't have any large items, then you can make the bed lower, and use overhead cabinetry for the remaining small stuff.

 

[Endoftheroad]

42" offers plethora of fornicating options not available in a coffin.
A luxury, but it is a bed..

 

[simple]

if your going to sit on it like a chair or couch, 16-18" off the floor is about right but like mentioned before, really depends what you want to store under it.

 

[flightcancled]

Mine is 24" including the 4" foam mattress. That's about perfect for me at 5'10"

I arrived there by starting at 28" and working down. That would be my recommendation.

 

[Corneilius]

Remember to include the foam thickness in your "seat height"....ask me how I know

 

[luthj]

Remember to include the foam thickness in your "seat height"....ask me how I know

*compressed foam thickness. Sit on your mattress/cushion, and measure your sitting height. Pretty much the only way to be sure.

 

[java]

Doing similar planning, I came up with ~24" to top of mattress was about max for sitting on.

 

[naterry]

Are you planning on sleeping longitudinally or transverse? If you're under 6' you can do transverse, but the bed height won't leave room to sit up sans hightop. In this case the widest part of the van is roughly level with the bottom of the windows.

 

[pugslyyy]

Are you planning on sleeping longitudinally or transverse? If you're under 6' you can do transverse, but the bed height won't leave room to sit up sans hightop. In this case the widest part of the van is roughly level with the bottom of the windows.

I'm 6'3" so it is going to have to be north-south.

 

[naterry]

I'm 6'3" so it is going to have to be north-south.

There you have it, then chair height (18").

 

[Luinil Explorations]

I was just working this out today before it started snowing and came up with a bed height of between 12 and 14". This allows me to sit up straight and not hit my head on the ceiling. Our old van, 1989 Ford E50, had a dinette that converted into a bed. The seat height to the top of the foam was 16". I could not sit up straight on the seat and it drove me nuts. Am 5'-10". Storage will be whatever is left over after building the platform. Right now storage looks like it will equivalent to six 18"x18"x10" deep drawers plus some other space. Am hoping it will be enough.

 

[Randall Dee]

Maybe figure out how you want to organize your under the bed storage as far as totes or whatever first, then make the platform just above that so you don't have any wasted space.

 

[jschmidt]

8,000 feet. A starry night helps too.

 

[pugslyyy]

This is great, I appreciate everyone's feedback. I realize "perfect height" is a pretty open ended question - good discussion. I think what my wife and I need to figure out is how much head space we need. If it ends up needing to be "sitting space" on the bed that really limits the underbed storage...