A DIY Bed Lift for Campervan that's Under $200

I am all about space saving. But how much space can you actually save in a Ford Transit Connect? This video shows you the parts that I bought to make my very own bed lift for $200. Not counting the bed frame. A bed lift will give me a full size bed and still manage to have a sink cabinet underneath. Best of both worlds. The bed frame was made out of 1"x3" extruded aluminum. Just a simple electric motor, a drive shaft, and some seatbelts and I have myself a very simple yet effective method for raising and lowering a bed in my camper van. Something that has been very desirable with recent builds.

Honestly, I didn't think it would fit in the smallest of smalls van build with the Transit connect. But all signs point to success. Now I can build out the rest of the van!

Parts List

Motor $71

Arbor $14

Drive Shaft $63

Seat Belt Strap $16

Anchor support buckle $16

Bearing $10

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TIMESTAMP
0:00 Talking about the parts
6:14 Assembly

[kenmackenzie]

As I said in my other message, I was quoted over $2000 for a project 2000 bed lift complete system bed frame included here in the UK. I did manage to find another supplier who could supply the motor etc for me to install it myself and build the bed frame myself for just over $1300. I decided that if you could do it so could I. I did manage to find all the items in your list that you kindly provided, and the total cost is just over $320 here in the UK. That is, with slight modifications to your design. I will fit another bearing just after the arbor to take the load off of the motor shaft. I will fit a seat belt buckle at each mounting point of the belts, that way the belt can be released and hidden while the bed is in the down position, that way you don't see the unsightly belt hanging down while you are in bed. Again, many thanks for the inspiration and hope you return to vlogging.

[glennr]

Really like the KISS design. No reason to complicate something that should be simple. Thanks for giving us the detailed supply list. That's really helpful.

👍👍

[MooseVan]

I'm building my bed lift now, similar to this design but found a stronger motor with 8N.M torque (this video shows a 6 N.M motor), hopefully will be strong enough for a queen size bed 6" mattress.

[TheMadamDragon]

Finally a video explaining this properly!! I couldn't figure out for the life of me how the motor attached to the shaft in any other video example. So cool will definitely be doing this when I get a van

[wertwyn]

Nice work, simple, straight forward, inexpensive.

[Kazz]

Thank you! Exactly what I was looking for as soon as I knew about beds that go up, when I saw Happy Jack in much bigger vehicles, (and much higher prices lol) I'm looking to buy a transit connect and now this can be the first thing I build in it.

[MeironEgger]

Beautiful

The elegance of simplicity

[philipwalters]

Good ideas. I have see people use ratchet straps (using the ratchet part at the upper mount as an adjustable length) instead of seatbelt . And awning motors as another choice.. Either way, great ideA

[seven_o_savage]

Very cool to see someone make this bed lift system for a fraction of the cost DIY!! good stuff 🤙

[mehranrostami]

Dude, love your mustache! I was looking for this information for a while. Thank you! you saved a day.

[dennisandrews]

Option D... you build a murphy bed, you get to keep the kitchen and bed folds up and out of the way.

[janversteeg]

Ziet er echt geweldig uit, gewoon simpel maar wel functioneel. Dank voor het laten zien.

[Vanrchy]

Thanks for this! Subbed in appreciation

[GuiMendesNZ]

Hey mate! Nice video!! Would you be able to update after using? I’m curious to know if it holds the weight while sleeping.. I’m about to build my own and this is my only concern at the moment! Thanks!

[boazila]

Nice design. My concern is that the motor seems to be rated at 4.4lbs ft-tq. That means that towards the end of the lift where the seatbelt is more than 1.5 inch radius around the shaft your lifting force would be under 50lbs. My question is - does it still work with the mattress on it?

[masterofnone]

That's impressively awesome and simple.

[gurhankaya-gk]

This is a great idea. you are a genius :) what I want to ask is if the motor breaks down, can you move the bed manually quickly and easily?

[ozmanfidaar]

Would linear actuators woek better? I intes to go this route.

[zeeed]

I'd caution people on this unless someone can say a finished product works. After trying many fixes I've determined this will not work once loaded with a queen mattress. I'm providing 13.8v to the motor, dropping to 13.3v when running and with the weight of the mattress added it overloads and blows a 30A fuse. I think this setup fundamentally needs a stronger motor.

As the webbing wraps it makes the shaft diameter longer (think gears) which makes it harder and harder on the motor. Mine only goes about half way up before being overloaded. Now I could run each webbing strap independently to the shaft to reduce the wrap diameter, but I still think it wouldn't have enough power.

I was originally running 12.3 to it which showed significant voltage drop which stalled out the motor and blew fuses. I thought correcting the voltage supply would fix it, but still not even close.

[johnnygun]

Super impressive DIY system Ryan. This will be a great addition to the van life community.

Can’t believe I’m the third comment and 157th viewer of the video.

Everyone should subscribe away. Great work.