Switching from twins to king size bed

[Jps190]

Has anyone modified their Ollie from the Twin bed to a king size bed.  We though the twins would work for us but we just don't like them.  From what I see removing the nightstand is just 4 bolts and some caulk.  The bed rails appear to be riveted as seen I the picture below.  Would the best approach be just drilling out the rivets?  I don't see anything below them that I would need to be concerned about.  Any experience would be appreciated.

 

John

 

[AlbertNTerri]

Foy is an Oliver owner and wood worker who makes many upgrades for our Ollies, here's a link to his catalog, if you scroll down to page 17 there is an option for you to consider to covert the twins to a king.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17XFL_5ine1WusHVKYguUBRmkj2KnJUN_/view

[topgun2]

Other than what ANT says above - you are correct - you will need to drill out the rivets to remove the "side extensions" of the twin beds.  The night stand removes fairly easily too.  

Bill

[NomadLife]

Looking at Foy's Twin bed modification PDF file photos, we don't have to remove the "side extensions" (drilling out rivets).  What approach did you end up going with for this bed space modification?

 

Kevin

[MAX Burner]

@Jps190:

Here's an idea for you, brother...

We made a Lagun table with Red Oak and fitted it with slots to fit onto the overhanging bed "wings" - its purpose was to be used as both a table and dog log rack.  More space for the humans and the canines during slumber operations.  I'm pointing to the slots here:

The table top can be lowered onto the bed wings and pillows fill in the height gap between the table top and the mattresses.  One or both of the Huskies fight for the cushy pillow addition... (Pls. ignore the dog logs in the pix below):

Magnus won the fight:

You wouldn't need to remove the night stand as the dimensions of the extended (port/stbd) sleeping area is approximately 52.5"W x 80"L.  A standard queen is 60"W x 80", FYI.

 

To make this design into a larger sleeping area work for you and save some $'s...  All you'd need to do is 1. Make the table top 14" longer or 2. Use the existing Lagun table top dimensions and make a separate 14" section to fill the gap from the table top to the head of the bed.  Then it's just a matter of getting a memory foam insert to match the height of your mattresses.  The advantage to this system is its versatility - you can have the extra table space of the Lagun-style table plus the larger sleeping area with just a single additional component to your load-out.  FYI:  We store/strap our Lagun table top onto the inboard bulkhead in the closet - out of the way completely until we need it.  Easy peasy.

PM me if you need additional details - happy to help out.

Cheers!

Edited January 14 by MAX Burner
added a picture...

[Geronimo John]

On 1/13/2024 at 8:32 AM, NomadLife said:

Looking at Foy's Twin bed modification PDF file photos, we don't have to remove the "side extensions" (drilling out rivets).  What approach did you end up going with for this bed space modification?

Just yesterday in another post I saw the Foy catalogue with their really nice folding table and commented that the idea could be modified for this purpose.  Liked that it is sturdy, but not "flat enough" to store under the mattress for separate sleeping time.  

9 hours ago, MAX Burner said:

We made a Lagun table with Red Oak and fitted it with slots to fit onto the overhanging bed "wings" - its purpose was to be used as both a table and dog log rack.  More space for the humans and the canines during slumber operations.  I'm pointing to the slots here:

Your approach is more in line with what I'm thinking.  If I don't use the "stiff legs", and upped the read oak to 1/2" (maybe multi layered plywood???), I'm thinking I could just mill 1/4" slots for the bed rails and have a flat board .  That could easily be stored under the street side mattress.  

Not being a carpenter, What material would work best that comes in sheets?

GJ

[MAX Burner]

11 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

Not being a carpenter, What material would work best that comes in sheets?

Hey, @Geronimo John - Mahalo, Brother;

Hope all is well in the islands for you and June!

If all you're looking for is a means to convert the twins to a larger "cozier" sleeping area, then a single purpose wooden extension between the bed rails is all you'll really need.  I'd suggest any high quality plywood in 1/2" thickness.  The piece would be the same width (20 1/4") as our Lagun but long enough to fit from the night stand drawer front to the the curve of the bed rails (49 1/2").  The grooves are 3/8" wide to accommodate the white plastic rail edge caps installed earlier (see pic below).  The edge cap material protect the raw fiberglass rails as well as your fingers when making up the racks.  All edges should be champhered, flat surfaces sanded smooth, then entirely sealed. Being only 1/2" thick, it would stow nicely under a mattress - Princess June would think it was a "pea".

In fact, let me make this easy for you - I will design and make a prototype for you.  It will be ready when you're here next summer.  All you'll need to do is decide on the type of filler material you'll want to use between the twins - frankly, we use the spare pillows, works great and you're not having to stow another piece of kit.  

Like I mentioned in the earlier post, "easy peasy."

Cheers!

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, MAX Burner said:

I'd suggest any high quality plywood in 1/2" thickness.

I am a woodworker.  I suggest a hardwood plywood, like oak, maple or birch.  Even when it comes to plywood, hardwood is stiffer than softwood (like, say, pine).

And, don't use Orient Strand Board (OSB).  It lacks the tensile strength of plywood.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

We have, courtesy of the previous owner, two inserts that span the aisle between the beds.  A neat unintended feature is that by stacking the foam pads with one insert on top,  next to the galley counter, we have a nice counter extension.  At this time, I don’t have photos.

[Geronimo John]

2 hours ago, MAX Burner said:

If all you're looking for is a means to convert the twins to a larger "cozier" sleeping area, then a single purpose wooden extension between the bed rails is all you'll really need.  I'd suggest any high quality plywood in 1/2" thickness.

Art:

So gracious.  Thank you.  I was trying to think of ways to cut the groves with a skill saw.  Not ideal.

I'll be bringing Costco steaks and plenty of wine.  Bet I know someone with special steak cooking skill!.  You may want to invite Ruth Chris over to learn how to REALLY cook steaks. 

Thanks so much.  Will coordinate further off line.

John

[jd1923]

A king is nice, but in this application hard to climb into and even more so to get out of! We're not getting any younger! We had a full length (60x80") queen in our old Class-C, instead of the shorter RV queen, and there we had side paths to exit. The Oliver twins are a single, half a short queen with radius corners to boot. Space is at a premium, in this narrow Oliver.

At home we have the best hybrid Cali-King money can buy from Brooklyn Bedding. At 6' 3" and 220 LBS on a good day, I would kill for these little singles to be 80" long, let alone the 84" length of the California King! We did one short trip on the Oliver premium twin mattresses and listed them in the Free Stuff section on Craigs when we got home. Nice to have them out of the way for my other upgrades! Went with BB again at rvmattress.com for new single mattresses available from 6" to 14" deep.

A king mattress will not fit (4" too long), and an RV king will not fit through the Oliver door. Keep the two single beds and add a center cushion? The best you could do for a permanent installation would be to buy two high-quality twin beds allowing each person the 39" width of a twin vs. the 30" width of single. Just some thoughts to consider.

[MAX Burner]

Oh well...  Do what you gotta do!

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

A king mattress will not fit (4" too long), and an RV king will not fit through the Oliver door.

Have you considered an inflatable king, like a Sleep Number?  It will fit through the Oliver front door easily when deflated.

We have the "standard" floor plan with the king bed.  My wife and I use (and love) a California King Sleep Number bed at home.  I like it at 100%, while she needs a much softer setting, like 35%.  When we picked up our Hull #1291 in 2022, we chose to see how I did just sleeping on the stock Oliver 4" cushions with a king bed sheet over them for me, along with a 7" H inflatable Coleman air mattress on top of the stock cushions for her.  We agreed we would then decide whether to invest in an RV Sleep Number mattress.

Although it places her sleeping position about 6" higher than mine, the "stock cushions/air mattress" solution has worked for us.  We both get a good night's sleep.  So, we still use that system, and have not felt the need to invest in  an RV Sleep Number mattress. 

But, a Sleep Number might work for you, if you opt for the king bed configuration...
 

[jd1923]

On a different vein, another thing to think about is the water valves, HWH bypass, etc. There is also the furnace to think about.

When you cover the walkway to the nightstand, you will be covering the main (first) heater duct and the air return. You may want to close off that duct, pushing more air to the other(s). I'm not remembering now how many there are. By having a heating duct in a semi-closed space with the return you are cycling the furnace. The hot air comes out of that duct, and it has nowhere to go but right back into the return.

@Jps190 If I was to do a king, I would work your original idea!
Drill out those rivets carefully and lose the rails, so you can have the mattress(es) at one common height. This is the best answer, given you want the king bed setup the majority of the time. 

[Jps190]

I ended up taking the rails and nightstand off.  I ordered a custom mattress from Tochta to fit the space. Made a wood platform to span the middle and use the area underneath for storage and the dog bed.  
 

John

[MAX Burner]

MASSIVE!  Very impressive!  Thanks for sharing the results...  What was the disposition of the night stand?  Just curious.

[jd1923]

On 1/18/2024 at 8:30 AM, Jps190 said:

I ended up taking the rails and nightstand off...

Excellent work John! Would you happen to have a picture of your work before the mattress was added? Rails off, showing your platform and how the nightstand was either cropped or removed. That would be a great addition to your post. Thanks

[Jps190]

On 1/19/2024 at 9:51 AM, MAX Burner said:

MASSIVE!  Very impressive!  Thanks for sharing the results...  What was the disposition of the night stand?  Just curious.

Someone on the forum bought the rails, nightstand and the KTT mattresses.

 

John

[Jps190]

16 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Excellent work John! Would you happen to have a picture of your work before the mattress was added? Rails off, showing your platform and how the nightstand was either cropped or removed. That would be a great addition to your post. Thanks

Unfortunately I don’t.  The rails came off pretty easy, just drilled out the rivets.  The nightstand is held down with four angle brackets and some caulk.  Easy mod overall.

 

john