Slidepod owners - what's your set up?

[hunta]

Inspired by the photos in the for sale post @Malalajan has put up I thought I'd ask everyone with a Slidepod or similar what they've found works well and what doesn't. We've got ours ready to go, just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit so we can use it.

I like the idea of cargo nets for books and other smaller bits when using the bed. We've got a Dometic 35 fridge which I'm hoping can sit on the rubber floor without sliding around too much.

Still haven't solved the riddle of how to make the best use of the space on top of the folded bed without everything sliding off...

Any must-have ideas please would be great!

 

[Malalajan]

Hi @hunta

Do you mean that when the seats are up you need to fold the deck over towards the back of the van? If so, I found the same problem with my unit which gave a pretty poor transport solution so I made up a new deck that was a few cm shorter and can be kept down, whatever the seat position. This gives a nice large and flat area for bags and storage without anywhere to fall. It doesn't rest on the folded seats any more but I have slept on it and it seems to be fine. Underneath the deck we use 'really useful' boxes which fit and stack perfectly.

cheers

Jan

 

[hunta]

Hi @hunta

Do you mean that when the seats are up you need to fold the deck over towards the back of the van? If so, I found the same problem with my unit which gave a pretty poor transport solution so I made up a new deck that was a few cm shorter and can be kept down, whatever the seat position. This gives a nice large and flat area for bags and storage without anywhere to fall. It doesn't rest on the folded seats any more but I have slept on it and it seems to be fine. Underneath the deck we use 'really useful' boxes which fit and stack perfectly.

cheers

Jan

Hi Jan. Yes, that's exactly what I mean and I've been thinking how to go about something along the lines of what you describe. Does your replacement deck attach in the same way as the original? If you have any photos I'd be really interested in seeing them.

I was also trying to work out what the red bungee cords were for on the driver's side back panel?

 

[hunta]

Oh, and which size really useful boxes do people find work best?!

 

[Malalajan]

Hi Jan. Yes, that's exactly what I mean and I've been thinking how to go about something along the lines of what you describe. Does your replacement deck attach in the same way as the original? If you have any photos I'd be really interested in seeing them.

I was also trying to work out what the red bungee cords were for on the driver's side back panel?

Yes, I will see if I can get some pics in the daylight but essentially I removed the stock item and traced it onto a sheet of ply and shortened it slightly. I used threaded inserts to attach the hinge to the main unit and it is completely interchangeable. I also carpeted the top which I think is also a better finish, much less slippy.
The red bungee cord is just for sticking larger items in, pillows, coats and clothes, bags etc. On the whole, this and the smaller net pockets work quite well for me.
We bought really useful 35l xl boxes which seem a good size.

 

[hunta]

Yes, I will see if I can get some pics in the daylight but essentially I removed the stock item and traced it onto a sheet of ply and shortened it slightly. I used threaded inserts to attach the hinge to the main unit and it is completely interchangeable. I also carpeted the top which I think is also a better finish, much less slippy.
The red bungee cord is just for sticking larger items in, pillows, coats and clothes, bags etc. On the whole, this and the smaller net pockets work quite well for me.
We bought really useful 35l xl boxes which seem a good size.

Hi Jan. I've been giving this more thought lately. Have you sold your unit yet? If not would you consider parting with the upgraded section separately? I see you're not far from me.
Did you find that the revised design was able to support two adults for sleeping or did you change out when shifting to overnight camping mode?

 

[Malalajan]

Hi,
Thanks for the offer but I think I have sold the unit (TBC) and this was part of the deal so it looks as though I will not be able to sell this separately.
Yes the revised design is plenty strong enough, we sleep with our heads at the back of the van anyway so probably not much weight. It does flex a bit if you put your weight on it but I have not been concerned that it will break. My original plan was to run a ~1" reinforcing beam across the width at the seat end but this has not been necessary, the other three sides as well supported of course. I would also add that the carpet is much better than the plastic top and if I had kept the pod I would have made a new section for the static part as well with carpet on. It was not hard to make but if you are not very handy I can give you some pointers?

 

[VWSAWKS]

Inspired by the photos in the for sale post @Malalajan has put up I thought I'd ask everyone with a Slidepod or similar what they've found works well and what doesn't. We've got ours ready to go, just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit so we can use it.

I like the idea of cargo nets for books and other smaller bits when using the bed. We've got a Dometic 35 fridge which I'm hoping can sit on the rubber floor without sliding around too much.

Still haven't solved the riddle of how to make the best use of the space on top of the folded bed without everything sliding off...

Any must-have ideas please would be great!

Hi, I've just purchased a Slidepod. Have got any pictures of your setup? Just looking for some inspiration.. thanks.

 

[VanDamMan]

Hi All….Don’t know if this helps …we took out the single rear seat to allow better access then slidepods added a removable bracket then added a extra base so the mattress is supported
We use the rear platform to transport the solar panels in transit ( strapped down )
We only have a SWB and tow a trailer

 

[VWSAWKS]

Hi All….Don’t know if this helps …we took out the single rear seat to allow better access then slidepods added a removable bracket then added a extra base so the mattress is supported
We use the rear platform to transport the solar panels in transit ( strapped down )
We only have a SWB and tow a trailer

View attachment 153160View attachment 153162

Thanks for the pics.. where did you get that floor carpet from? I hadn't thought of getting one of those.

 

[VanDamMan]

Thanks for the pics.. where did you get that floor carpet from? I hadn't thought of getting one of those.

Hi.. @VWSAWKS .. had it made by FatBobs….

The home of handmade custom vehicle rugs

Fat Bob's Emporium specialise in handmade, bespoke, custom rugs for cars, vans and campers. We specialise in VW vans and campers and create unique rugs in designs and colour combinations not available anywhere else.

fatbobsemporium.co.uk

but if you find a good local carpet company and get a template made up for them to cut…...as my carpet is a domestic heavy pile with edging ( and used anti slip under it …could even put a thin underlay to give that Luxury feel ) it was a bespoke fitting …

 

[Levron73]

Hi @hunta

Do you mean that when the seats are up you need to fold the deck over towards the back of the van? If so, I found the same problem with my unit which gave a pretty poor transport solution so I made up a new deck that was a few cm shorter and can be kept down, whatever the seat position. This gives a nice large and flat area for bags and storage without anywhere to fall. It doesn't rest on the folded seats any more but I have slept on it and it seems to be fine. Underneath the deck we use 'really useful' boxes which fit and stack perfectly.

cheers

Jan

Hi sorry to jump on the thread! We have just collected our T6 Kombi with Slidepod 2 installed. Have the same view that the transport solution is compromised by the fact that the bed base doesn’t lay flat with the seats up - everything will fall off the back. Seems simple from a newbies perspective, why not have a slightly shorter bed base with an additional cross member, thus the gap to seats would be minimal. Would then make full use of the van from a storage , transport perspective. Has anyone approach Slidepods about this?

 

[hunta]

Hi sorry to jump on the thread! We have just collected our T6 Kombi with Slidepod 2 installed. Have the same view that the transport solution is compromised by the fact that the bed base doesn’t lay flat with the seats up - everything will fall off the back. Seems simple from a newbies perspective, why not have a slightly shorter bed base with an additional cross member, thus the gap to seats would be minimal. Would then make full use of the van from a storage , transport perspective. Has anyone approach Slidepods about this?

I've been over this in my head a fair bit too. If I've understood what you're proposing properly I think the issue might be ensuring that the add-on piece is adequately supported to take someone's weight when they no doubt sit on it to get out of bed, change etc.

 

[Levron73]

Would they ever sit on it in that place? If there was the 1” cross member installed from the ends of the side rails then there would be full support across the front edge. Probably a gap of no more than 20mm from the edge of the wooden bed base to the Kombi seats when folded flat - with the mattress on top you would never know. Alternatively there could be a small 3rd hinged section that folds up when seat are up to allow base to be flat and fold down to rest on the seats when they are flat?

 

[Levron73]

i mean by shortening the bed base by enough to allow it to lay flat when seats are up?

 

[hunta]

This is basically what @Malalajan did at the top of the thread, but without needing any additional section when down as a bed (so nothing to break!).

 

[Levron73]

Yes. Just seems strange that slidepods don’t offer this set up? Also small picky point but I also don’t understand on a beautifully built product why they leave the unfinished hinge cut outs in the bed base?

 

[Malalajan]

I've been over this in my head a fair bit too. If I've understood what you're proposing properly I think the issue might be ensuring that the add-on piece is adequately supported to take someone's weight when they no doubt sit on it to get out of bed, change etc.

Hi All,

I can confirm that I had no issues with an unsupported and shorter section, there was some flex which I considered mitigating with an additional beam of ply bonded to the non-hinge end of the section but this never came off the to-do list as we used it and slept on it with no issues. Perhaps you could also buy an IKEA table leg or something which could be modified to be removable and support the middle?
I would add that by making up your own section you can carpet over plain ply which is infinitely preferable to the hard and slippery surface and being able to fold the section over gives you most of your boot space back so it was all upside for me.

 

[Levron73]

I had a great conversation with Jonny at Slidepods today and there is a solution. The unfinished hinge cut outs are there to add another bed base section if you have a LWB. As if by magic the additional LWB base section is 340mm, which is exactly the size needed. I have ordered one (they have them in stock) then simple job to swap with the existing 420mm base section and will have a flat and practical boot. They are also going to make a horizontal aluminium cross section to add some support - told them they should brand it the SWB Kombi Kit! Will post pictures when done!

 

[hunta]

I had a great conversation with Jonny at Slidepods today and there is a solution. The unfinished hinge cut outs are there to add another bed base section if you have a LWB. As if by magic the additional LWB base section is 340mm, which is exactly the size needed. I have ordered one (they have them in stock) then simple job to swap with the existing 420mm base section and will have a flat and practical boot. They are also going to make a horizontal aluminium cross section to add some support - told them they should brand it the SWB Kombi Kit! Will post pictures when done!

Have you had this done yet @Levron73 ? I'm still trying to decide how best to tackle mine.