We never used the rear dinette area.  It seemed like it would be nice to be able to sit there and have dinner looking out the picture-window sized back window but we never did.  The need to make and remake the bed would make using the rear dinette – even if we had a table – too much work.  The other factor was the seam between the seats when the dinette was made up as the bed made the bed less than comfortable for me.

This project got started (in the Spring of 2010) because our house water pump was too loud.  I like to get up early and Carol likes to sleep in a little.  The house water pump is right under Carol’s pillow and it runs when you use water.  It is pretty hard to get up and not use water so I wanted to replace the water pump with one that would not be as loud as the one we had.  I found one that, if I recall correctly, was recommended as efficient and quiet by another GMCer.  It is a Whisper King and it is quiet.  The photos show how I installed it with double sound insulation by using the mounts from the old water pump and the new one.

The platform for the bed was constructed so that I could easily access the water pump when I need to and, hopefully I won’t need to, with a few screws I can access the water tank.  The original design had a blanket chest on the passenger side that was so badly deteriorated from water damage that we didn’t use it.  In order to gain some length for the bed I replaced it with a solid headboard and a slightly wider shelf for stuff like alarm clocks, etc.  The driver’s side is where the water fill door is located so the foot-board had to allow enough depth to cover that.  The new overall length of the bed is 82 inches which is slightly over queen-bed length.  The width is still standard double width but very comfortable for us.

The next part of the problem was a mattress.  We settled on a 5 inch thick queen-sized mattress pad from JCPenny and have a waffle-foam mattress pad over that.  The mattress pad was cut down to standard width using an electric knife – very easy.  The resulting makeshift mattress is very comfortable – we used it for almost 8 weeks on our trip last summer.

The final part of the project is just being completed – a large drawer under the bed for storing less frequently used items.

The Whisper King in back of the water tank
  The photo on the left is the Whisper King water pump installed on a double insulated mounting constructed from the old and new mounting brackets.  The green thing in the background is a filter that I had not yet removed.

 

The framework that will support the bed platform
  In the photo on the right I constructed a framework that provides support for several separate pieces of plywood that makes up the bed platform.  Panels were sized to allow access where it might be needed.

 

The foot of the new bed
  Photo on left shows the foot-board installed and covering the water inlet.  The wood is natural maple – the wood we chose for the rest of the coach.

 

The new headboard
  On the right the headboard has to have a shelf that can serve as a nightstand but not interfere with sleeping space.

 

The completed bed - with valance installed around the window
  On the left is the completed bed with the matching valance around the gigantic rear window – it is six feet wide and three feet tall.