Bring the bunks back

[Deb H]

My 13' 74 Boler came without bunk poles or hardwear. I was wondering how to rig up support poles, and securely attach them to upper bunk and lower frame so they can't be knocked out accidentally and crush someone or somehound.

I'm thinking of one greyhound sleeping on the bottom bunk and light storage up top.
Deb
(I love this site. Such a wonderful mix of knowledge,creativity, practicality and friendliness )

[Raya]

I have a 1974 Boler too

Mine has the original bunk supports. They consist of pole sockets that are mounted on the fiberglass surface of the lower seat, then a pair of hollow poles, and a pair of screws that are partly screwed into the upper bunk and "catch" the tops of the poles. I can post photos for you later if you like (no access to them now).

I remember reading someone's website where they found that a certain brand of shower rod holder (hardware store) was identical to the sockets.

Raya

[Daniel V.]

Here's one past thread on this topic.

[Deb H]

Here's one past thread on this topic.

Thanks.
I can mount the bottom that way. But I still don't get how the top of the
pole gets secured Raya, maybe photos from you would help.

[Mike Watters]

They aren't really secured. It's just held in by gravity.

If you wanted something a bit more secure, I'd suggest drilling holes through the whole affair and getting some pins to run through the holes.

[Doug Mager]

IMHO:
MOST of the upper berth supports consist of shower curtin rod holders which are screwed to the undersides of the upper berth. I would use wooden clothes hanger rods for support, plenty of strength and easy to come by and simple to cut to length. Can be stained, painted or whatever your l'il Egg luvin heart would care to do to them!!!

[Pete Dumbleton]

On Scamp, and I would presume the Bolers, the bunk support pole has a welded loop perpendicular to the pole -- The loop is set to fit around a screw in the bottom of the bunk so the bunk must be lifted before pole can be removed -- The bunk sits on the loop, not the pole.

The poles are available from Scamp parts; $12 in my 2005 PDF, listed under welding shop.

[Daniel V.]

On Scamp, and I would presume the Bolers, the bunk support pole has a welded loop perpendicular to the pole -- The loop is set to fit around a screw in the bottom of the bunk so the bunk must be lifted before pole can be removed -- The bunk sits on the loop, not the pole.

Interesting...

Picture, anyone?

[Carol Ann in TO]

From our boler....






The screw is in the bottom of the bunk and it sets into the loop. As Mike said, gravity does a good job of keeping it in place.


BTW Deb, that is the arrangement in our trailer. Just substitute Rhodesian Ridgeback for Greyhound.

[MikeCM]

I would suggest that you look at scamptrailers.com, parts store under hardware. Looks like they sell the poles, brackets, and caps. These look similar to those in my Burro, fairly simple, Lift top bunk insert poles in brackets and all done.

[Raya]

I forgot about the little loop, but yes, my poles have that too. It engages the screw.

R.

[Chris de Haan]

This is my first addition to this web site but have been visiting for the past couple of weeks every day. There is a lot of useful info. I have the same problem with my 72 boler (which I acquired just last year). The previous owners did a pretty good job updating the interior but I need to set up the bunk beds because the fitting are missing. I was thinking of using some shower curtain rod holders (2 in the bottom and 2 under the bunk) with a rod (or dowel) placed between them. And have gravity hold it together. Will this work or will the cushions get in the way?

[Raya]

Welcome, Chris

Here are two photos of my 1974 Boler that show the bunk poles and sockets (sockets in the bottom, and loops/screws in the top. I can't immediately think of any reason sockets wouldn't work in the top too (although of course there might be one!).

As you can see, when the poles are in they do "smoosh" the seat cushion just a tad.

I believe this is the original set-up, going by how original the rest of the trailer is (just two owners, and the previous ones to me for 18 years!)









Raya

[Roy in TO]

I'm thinking of one greyhound sleeping on the bottom bunk and light storage up top.

Here is a picture of our previous dog Molly a 95 Lb. Rotty x Ridgeback (??) in our trailer. You can see the shower curtain rod holder on the bottom. The pole with the loop and screw. Lower bunk with dog and upper bunk with a little more than light storage. 2 suitcases plus whatever else filled up the space.

[Deb H]

[quote]Here is a picture of our previous dog Molly a 95 Lb. Rotty x Ridgeback (??) in our trailer. You can see the shower curtain rod holder on the bottom. The pole with the loop and screw. Lower bunk with dog and upper bunk with a little more than light storage. 2 suitcases plus whatever else filled up the space.


Attachment 18510


Thanks everbody!!! I'm going to call Scamp for the parts. They did a terrific job replacing my cushions.(the back banana was just a tad small for a Boler, but still works)

[Doug Mager]

This is my first addition to this web site but have been visiting for the past couple of weeks every day. There is a lot of useful info. I have the same problem with my 72 boler (which I acquired just last year). The previous owners did a pretty good job updating the interior but I need to set up the bunk beds because the fitting are missing. I was thinking of using some shower curtain rod holders (2 in the bottom and 2 under the bunk) with a rod (or dowel) placed between them. And have gravity hold it together. Will this work or will the cushions get in the way?

to the site Chris, and your system will work the bottom (seat) cushions will deform slightly when the bunk beds are deployed (as seen in the appended pix above)....

[Pete Dumbleton]

What I did on my front bunks was to put some PVC piping over the ends of the support poles and made some bed rails for the upper bunk, plus drilled out some PVC T fittings, slid them on the lower part of the pole and made a bed rail for the lower bunk. I needed the bunks as storage space and the rails kept my stuf from sliding off on ruff roads. The first part is hard to do if the poles end under the bunk instead of going past it.

Thought I had some pics, but don't.

[Raya]

Ah, yes, good point in favor of the loops and not sockets (with the loops the poles extend a bit upwards of the upper bunk) if you want to be able to make any sort of guard rail on the upper bunk (I knew there must be something )

Raya

[Daniel V.]

Good thread. By any chance, would anyone have figured out a way to secure poles that only prop the bunk from underneath (Trillium-style)?

[Donna D.]

Good thread. By any chance, would anyone have figured out a way to secure poles that only prop the bunk from underneath (Trillium-style)?

You mean by using a flange?
Shower curtain flange