Wardrobe replacement for the loft bed

Updated – January 21, 2023

The loft bed has to go and wall cupboards are now being installed instead. 40 x 40 x 2 aluminum angles are attached to the existing threaded bushings on the vehicle frame on the right and left using suitable holes and M10 screws with washers. A 10 mm plywood sheet measuring 2165 x 680 mm is placed on these angles.

With the help of two “third hands”, the plywood panel is supported at the height of the front edge of the driver and front passenger seats.

At a distance of 37 cm, the depth of the cabinets, from the front edge of the load-bearing plywood panel, an approx. 60 x 40 mm roof batten is placed across the entire width and screwed on from below. On the one hand, it serves for stabilization, on the other hand, it serves as a stop for the wall cabinets and also as a fixed point for screwing them on using 6 x 45 mm Torx screws.

Now a 400 mm, a 600 mm and another 400 mm wide IKEA wall cabinet 400 mm high and 370 mm deep are placed in the middle of the plywood board and the side walls are screwed together using four cabinet connectors.

Two further 400 mm wide wall cabinets for the outside must be shortened in width. The outer right and left corners must be 3 mm shorter than the front ones, i.e. the boards must be sawn slightly trapezoidally on the outside so that they fit.

The front drill hole of the M10 screws is transferred to the right and left of the outer wall of the respective outer cabinet, drilled out to a depth of 10 mm with a 35 mm pot drill and finally drilled centrally with a 11 mm drill (slowly, with wood underneath to prevent the coating from breaking out). avoid).

These “cabinets” cannot be used as a cupboard, otherwise the front flap would also have to be shortened. Anyone who is fit in gluing can of course do this. If you don't, you can use it as a space for speakers, for example.

Above the wall cabinets, a chipboard and an iron rectangular profile are also bent slightly upwards, welded to flat steel and placed so that they are congruent with the top edge of the cabinet. On the upper outer edges it must be beveled to around 20 mm at an angle of 45° to accommodate the aluminum profile rail on the body side in the roof-side area.

An aluminum L-profile 40 x 40 x 4 is cut to length for each cabinet across the respective internal width, measured between the hinges. For 60 cm wide cabinets, three 7 mm holes are made at a distance of 20 mm from the long edge, approximately 30 mm from the end of the profile, the third in the middle. For the 40 cm cabinets, the outer holes are sufficient.
Then countersink the holes to fit the 6 x 80 mm screw head.

The cut profiles are now held flush with the top edge of the cabinet from the inside under the cabinet ceiling and drilled through the cabinet ceiling and the plywood panel with a 7 mm drill. Threads are cut into the rectangular profile for M8 machine screws. Screws of the same length now connect the L-profile, the top of the cabinet and the rectangular profile and ensure the necessary stability.

Finally, the outer side parts that have not yet been fixed, which are currently only held to the chassis with one M10 screw each, will be fitted with a similar aluminum L-profile on the side in the upper and lower edges, as well as the cabinet base with three 5 x 20 each mm, on the cabinet ceiling again connected to the entire cabinet structure with 6 x 80 mm screws.