New from Ohio with ?? about modifying RV

[bh06906]

Hi there! I stumbled across this forum while searching for some information - we just purchased our 2014 Salem 30FKBS. For right now, we are on a seasonal site at a campground close to home, but our intention in about the next 5 years is to become snowbirds - either in this camper or by upgrading to something bigger (thinking 5th wheel!). Anyway, this camper has a HORRIBLE RV king mattress in it. We would like to replace it with a standard king mattress and at first thought that would be a simple task since we have 80 inches to work with in the slideout. What we didn't realize, since when we looked at and measured it the owner had all the bedding on the bed, is that there are "nightstands" on either side of the bed, allowing us less than the 76 inches needed to accomodate a regular king mattress. My husband is very handy so we figured we would just remove the nightstands, extend or replace the platform and be done with it. Then our son in law pointed out that there could possibly be "things" inside the nightstand (think wiring, gears, etc.) so I called the dealer where it was originally purchased and the service mgr. said we might compromise the structural integrity of the slide by removing them. I find it hard to believe that those two flimsy little nightstands are providing any structural support, but who knows? Does anyone else have any experience doing this - swapping out beds, removing nightstands, etc? Any help you could give would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!

[SeaDog]

Welcome to the forum its a good place to get your questions answered. Even the items that appear flimsy add to the overall integrity of most RVs. As for the bed I got rid of my RV mattress and went with an air bed, it will conform somewhat to what ever space it in in. Mine is a queen with a 13" thickness and is very comfortable

[Herk7769]

Most likely they are thinking the nightstands help maintain the "squareness" and rigidity of the slide-out during extension and retraction.

If this is the only consideration, (and it may not be - wiring and such), you could have a steel or heavy aluminum 90 degree brace fabricated to do that job that could live below the line of sight of the mattress top.


Since it is out of warranty, you could also assume the risk of the walls becoming loose to the flooring with use over time. It may not be as big a risk as you might think on a seasonal camper since the slideouts only move twice a season (opening and closing the seasonal).