Storage and insulation under the bed

Tips and tricks for cold weather use of your Avion
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KYAvion
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Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by KYAvion »

For awhile now I’ve wanted to increase the storage space under the rear bed, as well as better insulate that area. Our 30R was originally designed as two rear twins, so storage access from the outside was limited to the space under a single twin. We converted to a queen and have had an enormous amount of dead space in the middle and also in the area adjacent to the water heater toward the rear. I can now fit a telescoping multi-position ladder, leveling blocks, outdoor rug, spare tire, slalom water skis, and an assortment of other things in the storage compartment now. The spare tire and skis are the main additions. The spare tire is heavy, but is situated in the most forward position and is dead center. I’ve crammed everything else inside the rear storage compartment for awhile now, but access to anything was a nightmare. Now there’s room for stuff to be spread out, and no more having to remove everything just to access a single item. The area is sealed off with polyisocyanurate insulation and siliconed in place. Major improvement.
86A70383-66DD-451F-8AB8-E0302B07FE6C.jpeg
KYAvion
1984 Avion 30R
RISK
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by RISK »

I need to see you on slalom water skies. That’s my take away from your post. Please?

Ian
1978 26M
1964 SilverStreak Sabre
1977 Airstream Sovereign (in a million pieces)
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KYAvion
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by KYAvion »

I should have seen that one coming. Point being, it’s nice having all that space under there. I’ve always been a little jealous when a bus or motorhome parks, and then proceeds to casually open their storage bays and unload all their stuff. In the meantime, my wife and I are strategically untying and unloading all our things. This won’t totally solve that issue, but it will definitely help.
KYAvion
1984 Avion 30R
leighlandon
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by leighlandon »

Are those storm windows on your rear glass?

Thanks,

Landon
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KYAvion
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by KYAvion »

No, just the regular single pane windows.
KYAvion
1984 Avion 30R
gpd1755
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by gpd1755 »

I know this post is a year old but, I have a 1984 30R with the rear twin beds and I would like to modify and al least put in a queen size bed. I would like to know more about the process that you used to do it.
Thanks in advance.
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KYAvion
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by KYAvion »

I didn’t do anything particularly special to convert to a larger bed. I just cut a piece of 1/2 plywood slightly larger than the aisle between the twins, and then drilled pilot holes at the corners and fastened screws into the existing vertical supports underneath. The pilot screws are just to keep those vertical supports from splitting.

Now this probably wasn’t really necessary, but I did lay down two cut pieces of plywood instead of a single sheet. The piece you see in the pic is just slightly wider than the aisle (in my case 28 1/8”) and the length is 4 ft (the width of a sheet of plywood). I did this so the grain of the plywood is going across the aisle, versus in line with it. This was just to minimize flex since I used 1/2 plywood and not 3/4.
E692B3BE-3C45-41BA-81E8-8050EFA20BED.jpeg
KYAvion
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KYAvion
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by KYAvion »

Another pic showing a little storage under the former aisle way:
82A7D107-EE49-4495-81E6-6F8CCBA72B52.jpeg
The little shelf actually serves two purposes—1. To set your shoes on. 2. It serves as a raceway for running wiring underneath.
KYAvion
1984 Avion 30R
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by gpd1755 »

Thanks for the pics. What size mattress did you end up going with?
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Re: Storage and insulation under the bed

Post by KYAvion »

I actually just kept the two twins and put a foam topper on them. I used a strap similar to this to hold the mattresses together:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08L4JB4 ... p13NParams
KYAvion
1984 Avion 30R
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