A new (or should I say old!) seat and bed for a Bongo
Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:45 pm
Afternoon Bongonauts,
Had to post this on here - A safe, comfy bed for the back of a Bongo! See below the dashed line if you don't want to read or story first! Thanks to Ian Taylor at http://www.japcarimport.co.uk for the bed...
We bought our Bongo (known fondly as Bungle) around a year ago, because both me and my brother fly gliders in the Black Mountains and needed a small camper-van which was capable of towing a glider trailer without struggling.
As you all know, the seats in the back fold into a vaguely flat position - The plan was that our parents could sleep on that, whilst my brother and I could sleep in a tent.
I'm sure you will agree that when laid out flat, the Bongo seats aren't nearly as comfortable as a proper bed, with lumps and bumps not designed for prolonged sleep! Needless to say, this resulted in rather sleep-deprived parents...
We then had two dogs - This produced a second issue...space, or rather a lack of it! We had a couple of cramped journeys down to Wales, before deciding enough was enough, and a solution was required!
Rock 'n' roll beds can be in excess of £1000, and over £2500 for a crash-tested one (if you have people using the bed as a seat during travel)...no chance!!
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We had a chat with Ian Taylor at Jap Car Import (http://www.japcarimport.co.uk), and he came up with an ingenious solution! Why not use the original seat frame, and just replace the cushioning!
As only four of us ever travel in the Bongo, we didn't want the extra seats at the back...but until this point we had needed to keep the seat inside for the bed.
The bed Ian had planned for us revolved around the following ideas:
- Totally flat, for more comfortable nights
- More space in the Bongo (for food, bedding, people and two dogs!)
- A folding extra section on the back of the seat, to complete the bed
This afternoon we went to have it fitted, see the images attached for the finished product inside the Bongo!
They will cost approximately £1700 to make and fit - a worthwhile investment indeed! We now have a lot more space in the Bongo, my parents now have a comfy and convenient bed to sleep on, and me and my brother have a safe seat to sit on during journeys (as the frame is original)!
Feel free to message me on here if you have any questions about this!
Had to post this on here - A safe, comfy bed for the back of a Bongo! See below the dashed line if you don't want to read or story first! Thanks to Ian Taylor at http://www.japcarimport.co.uk for the bed...
We bought our Bongo (known fondly as Bungle) around a year ago, because both me and my brother fly gliders in the Black Mountains and needed a small camper-van which was capable of towing a glider trailer without struggling.
As you all know, the seats in the back fold into a vaguely flat position - The plan was that our parents could sleep on that, whilst my brother and I could sleep in a tent.
I'm sure you will agree that when laid out flat, the Bongo seats aren't nearly as comfortable as a proper bed, with lumps and bumps not designed for prolonged sleep! Needless to say, this resulted in rather sleep-deprived parents...
We then had two dogs - This produced a second issue...space, or rather a lack of it! We had a couple of cramped journeys down to Wales, before deciding enough was enough, and a solution was required!
Rock 'n' roll beds can be in excess of £1000, and over £2500 for a crash-tested one (if you have people using the bed as a seat during travel)...no chance!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We had a chat with Ian Taylor at Jap Car Import (http://www.japcarimport.co.uk), and he came up with an ingenious solution! Why not use the original seat frame, and just replace the cushioning!
As only four of us ever travel in the Bongo, we didn't want the extra seats at the back...but until this point we had needed to keep the seat inside for the bed.
The bed Ian had planned for us revolved around the following ideas:
- Totally flat, for more comfortable nights
- More space in the Bongo (for food, bedding, people and two dogs!)
- A folding extra section on the back of the seat, to complete the bed
This afternoon we went to have it fitted, see the images attached for the finished product inside the Bongo!
They will cost approximately £1700 to make and fit - a worthwhile investment indeed! We now have a lot more space in the Bongo, my parents now have a comfy and convenient bed to sleep on, and me and my brother have a safe seat to sit on during journeys (as the frame is original)!
Feel free to message me on here if you have any questions about this!