Bed Modification


The bed in our Casita is a double size and is oriented across the width of the Casita. It is perfectly comfortable and suitable for solo camping but when we both go out, the person sleeping next to the wall has to crawl over the other person to get out of bed. That is very inconvenient! Rich is 6'4" tall and could not stretch out without pushing against the walls with his head and feet. This made for some frustrating nights and sore joints in the mornings.

Modification of the sleeping space is probably one of the most popular mod. We had looked at many photos online of the mods made by other Casita owners and decided to construct something that would work for us. It needed to make the bed long enough to accommodate Rich's height, wide enough to be comfortable for both of us, and the individual components had to be easy to stow away during the day.

We have never used the main dining table. Instead, we left the bed made up and made use of the small center dinette in the kitchen. Because the seat cushions are not very comfortable to sleep on we bought an 8" memory foam mattress from Wal-Mart. Getting it into the Casita was hard work! We did not cut the corners to round them against the back wall. Instead, we wedged the mattress in. It conforms very nicely, and the true benefit is that the bottom sheet stays put.

During the day, we arrange pillows, duvets, and the mattress extender section on the bed and cover everything with a bed spread. It's not Home and Garden gorgeous but it works for us and the dogs love their huge day bed.


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The first thing we did was to remove the divider partition between the dinette and the sleeping area. It is not a structurally required component and can be taken out. What you do lose is the back rest when you sit at the small dinette table.

Then we cut a 3/4" piece of plywood to take the place of the table top and act as base for the mattress. Not visible in this photo is the section of 2 x 4 which is wedged upright in the front center of the plywood to support the weight when someone sits on the edge of the bed.

The cave-like area under the plywood is our clothing bin storage with enough space left for a couple pairs of shoes.
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Next, we cut cleats using 1 x 1 pieces of wood. These are screwed to the kitchen cabinet doors and act as one ledge for the bed extension board.
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This is the extension made of particle board. Anti-skid strips were glued to them to hold the mattress piece in place and keep it from sliding.
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On back of the extension board we attached a long cleat and a short cleat. The board itself rests on the lip of the dinette bench seat and the long brace pushes against the bench. The short cleat fits precisely into the space between the two pieces of wood on the cabinet doors. The extension is essentially locked into place.
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This is how it looks when the extension is set in place.
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When we go to bed we move the 2 x 4 section forward and under the extension board to support the weight of someone sitting there.
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Positioning of the short brace between the two cleats on the cabinet doors.
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At an upholstery shop we found a remnant of firm 4" foam. This is the mattress extension and covers the board and the bench seat.
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A fitted crib mattress is the perfect size for the foam extension.

Here we have the completed bed. The full size mattress is laid down the width of the bed and remains there. During the day, the extension board and mattress are stored on the left side of the bed, the area next to the stove. Pillows and comforter are placed under the windows and all of it is them covered with a bed spread, turning the sleeping area into a day bed.

The small foam mattress is placed on top of the bench seat cushions. They stay in place very nicely thanks to the anti-skid strips. We don't notice the 'seam' where the two mattresses meet because most of our bodies are on the main mattress part.

We take down the small dinette table to give us even more space.

I can't remember the dimensions of this new bed layout but it feels like an acre compared to sleeping sideways. No more crawl-overs!