Retrofit a Bunk Over Driver?

[mljuw89]

Has anyone out there ever added a bunk over the driver compartment in a Georgetown? Ours has storage on the periphery and it looks like it might fit, but is there any aftermarket option for this?

[cbmerton]

Be careful, if it did not come with it I would make sure it will structurally work

[mljuw89]

Totally get it, that is why I asked

Don't want to mess anything up!

[360true]

I have not been able to get a straight answer from FR or my dealer on this. It became available as an option on the 2015's. It appears that there is a powered and fold down. The fold down is a twin with a 200 pound capacity.

[ArmyW4]

A frienf of mine and I bought 2014's at the same time. Mine had the bunk and his didn't. The dealer told him he could have one put in. He called Forest River and they told him that there was not a retrofit available as the bunk is attached to the frame during construction.

[mljuw89]

Thanks for that feedback. Makes sense too. I knew it would need good support, and that is why I wanted to seek feedback from those who know!

[frugalbk]

We also have a 2015 Georgetown XL and were interested in having the bunk installed. FR Georgetown Rep said it would be a liability to add it after-market as noted above it needs to be tied into the wall structure/frame.

So my next plan is build a frame out of furniture pvc and make so that it could be stored below when not needed, but easily assembled when needed for one of the the GKs!

[360true]

Frugalbk.... Be sure to post photos if you "git er done"!

[siskom]

We have a 2014 335DS that has the manual bunk and the rating on the bunk is 350 engineers at FR did stress analysis and upped it to 350. All you need is a frame comparison from your year to 2014 I'll bet they are the same. The manual bunk has few moving parts I suggest you find one with the manual bunk go and take plenty of mounting pics.

[360true]

Who makes the fold down mechanism? Lippert? We have a 2014 378.

[Cornelius]

Another option to consider:
I removed the terrible fold-out sofa bed, and replaced it with a regular bed that I built to fit. The factory sofa was never comfortable to sit or sleep on, and the vinyl upholstery had deteriorated badly. I constructed the new bed frame using 2x4 wood and metal brackets made for 2x4 projects available at Home Depot. A plywood top under the mattress lifts for storage between the 2x4 frame, and there is also storage under the bed. A real innerspring mattress was custom ordered to fit the exact size.

The original brackets that secured the sofa to the floor were reused to secure the bed to the floor for safety. The bed can be removed, and the original sofa reinstalled if needed in the future, but I doubt I would ever want to.

[360true]

Good idea. Can you provide photos?

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by siskom

We have a 2014 335DS that has the manual bunk and the rating on the bunk is 350 engineers at FR did stress analysis and upped it to 350. All you need is a frame comparison from your year to 2014 I'll bet they are the same. The manual bunk has few moving parts I suggest you find one with the manual bunk go and take plenty of mounting pics.

I have a 2015 or late 2015 335 with the manual bunk. Did they do this analysis and not change the warning label, mine still says "under 200 lbs." Frankly I find it hard to believe that there are differences in a coach that has one, vs a coach that doesn't. In the drawings that I have of the roof assembly, the only thing that I see is a 6" backer on the ceiling side that is used to anchor the mechanism that holds the bed when it is in the travelling position. In the use position, all of the load is transferred to the cabinetry on the sides over the window and there is no load transferred to the roof. perhaps they don't trust the dealer to install the mechanism correctly.

Those of you who have visited the factory have a better idea of what goes on but I doubt that every component for every coach is tracked based on the options ordered like in an auto plant. Sure the bunk is bolted to the wall cabinets, but do they modify the anchoring of the cabinets during assembly if a berth is ordered?