Eurovan seat can fit if you grind off a rail on the bottom. Plenty
documentation on the samba with pictures.

I like the plywood idea, seems the best option beyond just getting an add a
room from the depot.

On Fri, Apr 3, 2015, 12:46 PM Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@yahoo.ca>
wrote:

>  Here are some pictures of a 180cm (6' thermarest) put in different
> hypothetical "bed" positions in the front of the vanagon.
>
> Across the seats: With doors closed there's about 150cm (5') between the
> doors, so this only works for short people.
> http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~jag/Pictures/IMG_20150403_100000_sm.JPG
>
> Diagonally: Still doesn't fit the whole 6' thermarest, but gives a bit
> more space. Would be a more complex to build a bed base for..
> http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~jag/Pictures/IMG_20150403_095638_sm.JPG
>
> Front-to-back. Here the full thermarest fits.
> http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~jag/Pictures/IMG_20150403_094633_sm.JPG
>
> As I mentioned before another family take out the front seat and made a
> plywood bed to put here. Then the front seat has to be stored during night,
> and the plywood bed during trips.
>
> I hope there's some intermediate modification, so that it is quick to put
> in the bed, and no bulky parts to store.
>
> Thanks for the tip that the Eurovan seat folds flat. Does it fold flat
> without a "bump"/ridge between the seatback and bottom? Anyone tried if
> that fits well in a vanagon? (same rail system? Or requires cutting and
> welding?)
>
> I agree that messing with the Vanagon seatback mechanism could be
> dangerous. What I had thought of was if there was a way to keep the cam
> mechanism for driving, but look for a way that the seatback could be popped
> out of the cam mechanism for folding, them put back for driving. (So not
> inventing a new mechanism) During assembly, disassembly obviously the
> seatback is put in place.
>
> Martin
>
>
>      On Friday, April 3, 2015 9:42 AM, Stuart MacMillan <
> stuartmacm@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>  Don't mess with the seat back tilt, that mechanism is structural for
> safety in a rear end collision.  You don't want that seat breaking and
> launching a passenger backwards.  The seat is easy to remove, it just
> slides off the front of the swivel, so you could build a folding plywood
> platform with folding legs to put over the swivel. It could run from the
> glove box to the end of the seat bed if you want.
>
> Put the seat outside under a tarp and you have your bed solution.
>
> The hammock over the seats can also work if you roll down the window and
> let your feet extend.  A friend did that for his son until he was about 14,
> at least when it wasn't raining!
>
> Stuart
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of Poppie Jagersand
> Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2015 8:27 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Pass front seat bed or other 3rd bed ideas?
>
> > My daughter currently sleeps in a hammock across the front seats:
> >
> > http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~jag/Pictures/1406GerSwedenSelect/IMG_20
> > 140605_074726_sm.JPG That works for a kid up to about 150cm.
> >
> > Does anyone have suggestions for how to create a longer 3rd bed up front?
> >
> > I saw a family who each night took out the passenger front seat and
> > put in a plywood bed extending backwards partway across the sliding
> > door. However, taking out the seat is tedious and creates a storage
> problem for it.
> >
> > If the back of the passenger seat could be made to fold all the way
> > back flat I was thinking a small extension in the front could make it
> > a bed. (Or swirvel the seat and make an extension towards the rear)
> >
> > Something like appears to have been done here in a small station wagon
> > (Mini)
> >
> > http://caravanlounge.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/17d66970-d27c-0130-
> > f62a-00163e2e85a5.jpg
> >
> > So would it be possible to modify the vanagon seat so it folds more
> > than 30degrees? The cam mechanism looks non-trivial. Is the seatback
> > tilting mechanism the same for 82-84 and 85+?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Martin
> >
>