Anyone have 'Van Furniture' U shape furniture - favour required

[MurrayT6]

Hi - so my self build is on the go. U shape seating system. I'm looking for a favour from someone who perhaps has the U shape seating system installed from one of the main suppliers like Van Furniture.

I'm looking for some detailed photos of the internals of each section. Basically some images without the cushions on and slats raised to show what's under the bed slats and bracing each section etc.

Can anyone oblige?

Thanks

Murray

 

[Belly]

Hope you can see these, not Van Furniture but Van Project 77. I can take some more in the morning if not good enough..

 

[MurrayT6]

Belly thanks for that. It's a different format to what I'm going with but very helpful none the less. I won't trouble ypu for any more pictures. I'll let you know if that changes!

Sorry for late reply been busy on the van and forgot I'd even asked the question

Thanks again

Murray

 

[jowinney]

@MurrayT6 did you have any luck sourcing photos of the internal U shape structure? I am about to embark on a LWB self build using the Van Furniture U shape layout. Tough I have most of the dims I need, I am not sure how the carcasses are constructed.. I assume there is some kind of baton that runs horizontally across the back top and bottom of the carcass for structure? Also does the slatted bed pieces sit on top of the carcasses? This isn't clear from the photos I have seen. Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

 

[doningtonphil]

@MurrayT6 did you have any luck sourcing photos of the internal U shape structure? I am about to embark on a LWB self build using the Van Furniture U shape layout. Tough I have most of the dims I need, I am not sure how the carcasses are constructed.. I assume there is some kind of baton that runs horizontally across the back top and bottom of the carcass for structure? Also does the slatted bed pieces sit on top of the carcasses? This isn't clear from the photos I have seen. Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

Hello MurrayT6 and jowinney. I have recently built the u-shape furniture (SWB) and can take photos of what you need to know. Can do that tomorrow. It is held together by 3 screw furniture blocks and is surprisingly rigid. I will have to remind myself if there are any bracing 'cross-members'. i dont think there are. I imagine the ultimate structural strength comes from when the 3 parts of the U are fixed together.
It was generally easy to put together, ut you are relying on butting one panel up to the next and then securing wiht the furniture blovks so it is essential you ymake sure they are square as the screws go in.

Regariding 'raising the slats', the side section adjacent to the kitchen (in the SWB version at least) does not raise, access if by the front locker access only. Across the back, the slats raise like Tower Bridge in London, rather than hinged at the back.

Come to think of it, the seat on the passenger side, you cant lift the slats there either, as this is the bit that is doubeld up as the slats unfold to create the double bed. Under this section you have the drawer unit. I will have to remind myself if this has a locker front to it.

I do have a lingering doubt about how readily accessible the storage is going to be, but we certainly like the idea of the seating arrangement

Jowinney, I will try to show how the slatted bed structure is fixed to the carcasses

Phil

 

[jowinney]

Hi @doningtonphil, thank you so much for this, it's very helpful. The construction sounds much more straightforward than I suspected which is very pleasing to hear! Out of interest, are the 'butted together' panels then screwed into each other?

Interesting to hear the x2 sections aren't accessible from the top, I am tempted to hinge them to allow dual access. Thanks for the info re: the back slats split into 2 sections, I will factor this into my plans.

If you're able to send some photos of how the slatted structure is fitted to the carcass that would be amazing, thanks so much for all your help with this, really appreciate it.

Jo

 

[doningtonphil]

Hello
I forgot that the back of my van is in turmoil as we were doing the electrics on it last week. But hopefully these are helpful. Genrally they are showing that everything relies on the 3 screw joining blocks. There are no screws through a panel into an other panel. The top louvred panel provides the streght to the structure as it is screwed in place (again with joining blocks). If you are going to hinge this I woudl suggest adding your own reinforcement to keep the unit 'square'. The majority of photos are of the section that is at the side of the kitchen unit. Let me know if you need any interpreatation of these

Phil

 

[jowinney]

These are great, thank you so much for your help! These are just what I was after. Will report back once I've attempted my build.

Thank you!

 

[jowinney]

For anyone interested, here some pictures of my U shaped self build. Not quite finished, I need to cut and fit the middle slatted bed that flips over, but you get the idea.

I bought the cushions from van furniture then used them to finalise the dimensions of the build. Glad I did it this way as the measurements of both the cushions and the furniture online are way out. I bought 2 sheets of laminated furniture board from Morland and 1 sheet of lightweight ply. This gives me enough laminated ply leftover to build the kitchen. I went for double sided ply, I may have got away with 1 sheet of single sided but wanted to give myself some flexibility in case I made any mistakes. It's all cut with a tracksaw and I used a router with a 2mm bit to cut out the doors. Few things worth mentioning:

• I raised the back panel so the back cushion has something to lean on and not fall down the gap.
• I installed a wider step so the corner of the long right hand side has something to rest on
• I made the slatted 'lids' removable so the storage is accessible from the top as well as the doors. The door openings are a bit restrictive for larger items so I wanted to have this option. I've added rails underneath to stop the 'lids' from moving around.

I think that's all. Hopefully that's of use to someone! Will upload some more photos when it's finished.

Cheers

Jo

 

[signtoo]

Hey @jowinney , how are they holding up? I'm also considering van furniture

 

[jowinney]

Hey @jowinney , how are they holding up? I'm also considering van furniture

Hiya! It’s all working really well thanks, the layout is brilliant for us. Nothing I’d change so far. Kitchen area isn’t quite finished but here’s the latest. Bought an oak kitchen worktop from worktop express which I’ve used for the kitchen and the centre table which is on a sequoia leg. (I sprayed the leg Matt black)

Hope this helps - shout if you’ve any questions!

 

[signtoo]

@jowinney That looks great! Did you ask them to provide the vinyl colour or did you do that yourself?

I'm considering the exact same layout with a poptop very soon as well. I'll probably go for bare wood, and add some

A few questions if I may:
1. How's their cushion material and the actual foam insert? do they seem stain resistant, hardwearing, and good to sleep on?
2. The rounded edge on your kitchen top is really nice, is it hard to swap those out? I presume it's the usual cut out the sealant, get a suitable hole for the dometic and you're good to go?
3. Any reason you went with the square as opposed to the round dometic hob? I also prefer square, but just wondering...
4. I noticed your cupboards had slightly different openings, theirs seem to have a surrounding frame, and yours is the entire door (see image below)?

 

[jowinney]

@jowinney That looks great! Did you ask them to provide the vinyl colour or did you do that yourself?

I'm considering the exact same layout with a poptop very soon as well. I'll probably go for bare wood, and add some

A few questions if I may:
1. How's their cushion material and the actual foam insert? do they seem stain resistant, hardwearing, and good to sleep on?
2. The rounded edge on your kitchen top is really nice, is it hard to swap those out? I presume it's the usual cut out the sealant, get a suitable hole for the dometic and you're good to go?
3. Any reason you went with the square as opposed to the round dometic hob? I also prefer square, but just wondering...
4. I noticed your cupboards had slightly different openings, theirs seem to have a surrounding frame, and yours is the entire door (see image below)?

View attachment 247062

Thank you. So I bought the cushions from van furniture first then built the furniture to fit the cushions. I used the same design as the van furniture u-shape with a few tweaks and I bought the laminated ply for build from Morland. (They have loads of colourways and the ply is lightweight)

In response to your questions:

1) The cushions are great quality, they are quite firm. I upgraded the material to the chenille which is a bit more hard wearing (I have a spaniel who is half hippo!)
2 +3) I found fitting the worktop and the hob/sink pretty straightforward. I also considered the round sink, but preferred the look of the square one, I was tempted by a double hob and sink but I didn’t want to lose the entire worktop so settled for a single hob. Bought the sink/hob from clearcut conversions.
4) I had originally planned to make the doors the same as the van furniture one, but decided I’d prefer to have drawers above and I thought the “cut out doors” below might look a bit odd next to the drawers. Also access is a little easier with full doors.

…hope that makes sense, any other q’s just shout. Cheers.

 

[signtoo]

Thanks @jowinney , my concern about Chenille is my dogs claws getting stuck in the material. Whilst it is more hardwearing, I get the feeling the threads are thicker as well?

 

[Wills]

EVO U-SHAPE BED SYSTEM (FOLDING) FOR T5/T6 SWB

 

[OwenT6]

Hiya! It’s all working really well thanks, the layout is brilliant for us. Nothing I’d change so far. Kitchen area isn’t quite finished but here’s the latest. Bought an oak kitchen worktop from worktop express which I’ve used for the kitchen and the centre table which is on a sequoia leg. (I sprayed the leg Matt black)

Hope this helps - shout if you’ve any questions!

View attachment 247054

View attachment 247055

View attachment 247056

View attachment 247057

Hey @jowinney did you get your cushions from

 

[OwenT6]

Hey @jowinney did you get your cushions from

Could you let me know the dimensions of the cushions please? I’ve purchased the bed from Van furniture but going to do the cushions myself and they don’t provide dimensions anymore.

Also did you laminate your bed panels yourself? If so any tips. Tia, Owen.

 

[jowinney]

Hey @jowinney did you get your cushions from

Hiya, they are from van furniture here

 

[OwenT6]

Hiya, they are from van furniture here

Hey thanks, I’m looking to make my own do you have the dimensions as van furniture don’t publish them anymore. Tia, Owen.

 

[doningtonphil]

I thin

Hey thanks, I’m looking to make my own do you have the dimensions as van furniture don’t publish them anymore. Tia, Owen.

I think the link to the Evo designs version further up has images with outline dimensions on.

I'm not sure why a manufacturer would put production dimensions into the public domain