# Bunk Bed Mod-- Please Read The Post



## 1stTimeAround (Sep 22, 2004)

http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4631

Please read the post and then do the mod. I will post clear descriptions and pictures when I am done.

Jason


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

Hi Jason,
Sorry to hear about your daughter's fall out of the top bunk. Your story will get other parents to put up a rail.
I wouldn't have thought a 9yr girl would fall out....maybe a boy







But I guess all kids need protection.
She probably played hard all day and was sleeping soundly when she rolled out.








Thanks for sharing your experience. Hope she is feeling better.
Jan


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## 6pack (Apr 18, 2005)

This was a huge worry of ours when purchasing our Outback. We had borrowed my grandma's motorhome, and early in the morning our 3 year old son woke up. I wasn't ready to get up, so I setup his car-seat in the dinete booth, and setup the mini dvd player. He sat there and watched it, and my wife and I went back to bed. A short time later we woke up to the same 'thud' and crying. I jumped up and grabbed him, I turned him towards me and his face was covered in blood. By the time we got the lights on, both of my hands were covered in blood, and his shirt was drenched.

We quickly got the bleeding stopped only to find a tiny (1/2 cm) cut on his forehead. I couldn't believe how much blood came out of that thing! Anyway, apparently he fell asleep and fell out of his chair and hit his head on the corner of the fridge.

Luckly the Outback we decided on was the 28BHS. It has the 2 bunks at the back and the bathroom wall makes a barrier. The kids actually have to climb into bed and down a 'tunnel' to reach thier pillow. The likelyhood of them falling out of bed is slim. But I can see how (on other models) this is a potentially dangerous situation for kids that move around in thier sleep.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Jason,

Glad to know your boy is OK.

I have two (no, really three, but only two camp with us) grandkids. Ashlyn is 7, Garin, 4. They both like to sleep on the top bunk. One of the first mods, one of the very few mods I've actually done, was to put heavy duty velcro on the bottom rails of two white mesh and aluminum bedrails I picked up at Big Lots and velcroed them to the plywood under the mattress. I can pull on them pretty hard and they won't budge. And that's not even with someone lying on the mattress, which helps hold it down.

I think they're pretty safe. Plus the wardrobe helps keep them in, too.

Mark


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## Colorado Outbacker (Jun 6, 2005)

Hello

Very happy she is OK.

My 10 year old daughter did the same thing from the top bunk on our first trip. We have 4 children so we figured the oldest would be good on the top bunk. After that night we use a toddler rail that you can buy at Wal Mart for the top bunk. It has arms that just slide under the mattress to hold it in place. Easily folds and packs away if not needed. She hasn't fallen out since. Works great and cheap.

Take care and happy camping!


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## luv2rv (Jun 21, 2004)

Glad your DD is okay!

We used a pressure gate last year on the bottom bunk for our youngest. She turns 2 on the 28th and is a little bigger so we have switched to safety1st bed rails on both. The pressure gate worked great all last year until nearly our last trip.

She was moving around a fair bit and her increasing weight against the gate allowed the bottom of the gate to slip out and she fell through. Not very far but our worries immediately turned to strangulation risk.

We use bed rails on both bottom and top bunks now. They wedge in behind the wall to the bathroom in the 28 BHS and cannot slip out. Kids are totally safe!

Wayne


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Jason

I'm glad she is OK. After reading the forum we added the Safety 1st bed rails and I build ladders to help the little ones up and down from the top bunk. The Safety 1st bed rails are great.







They shrink & expand to fit almost any opening. They are the same rails we use for our kids at home.

Thor


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

We use the Safety 1st bed rails for the top bunks and they work well for our daughters aged 9 and 7. When my oldest daughter was 5 she was playing in a friends 5th Wheel and fell out of their top bunk. She cried for a while but it was bedtime so I gave her some Motrin and sent her to bed in our popup. I thought it was just a sprain. But the next day she tried to ride her bike and started crying when she hit a bump. Fortunately we were camping near where my sister lived so I called and found a good place to take her. After a couple of hours waiting, filling out forms, and x-rays the doc told us it was broken. She did okay for the rest of the trip but I felt bad about not taking her the night she got hurt.


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## Darj (Oct 10, 2004)

Glad your dd is doing okay!

We use the rails that have the arms that fit under the mattress like Colorado Outbacker mentioned. Our first trip out in ours last October, we woke up to the thud of our youngest dd falling out of the bottom bunk....no injuries since she was in the bottom one but they use rails now!


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## schrade (May 5, 2005)

I have a 5 yr old who so badly wants to be on the top bunk. I am looking forward to your post with your solution.


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## Morrowmd (Feb 22, 2005)

It happened on our 2nd trip- my youngest (then 3) fell out of the bottom bunk. My first mod was adding rails to all 4 of the bunks. I have since removed one rail on the bottom because it is a "play bed".

I removed the thin covering under the mattresses, located the aluminum studs, and drilled right into them with tapping screws that hold 6" angle brackets in place. 1 x 4 stained boards serve as the railings. Best mod I ever did- solid as a rock.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Jason I am so sorry to hear about this. Back when we bought our 28RSS I had the same concern, I know a few kids have fallen off the bunks of other Outback members.

There are lots of options, some very simple and others more complex. I did put the photos of my mod up on my site, if it helps great. Either way good luck in taking care of this issue.

Y-Guy's Bunkbed Mod


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## 1stTimeAround (Sep 22, 2004)

My plan is to buy a 1X12 Oak board (wife's preference), remove the trim board currently running along the side of the bunk and replace it with the 1X12 stained to match the original board. I will cut an opening at the entertainment center end to assist in getting on/off the bunk.

I have reviewed Y-Guys set up and think it is great!!! My only problem is unless his wife, or Y-guy himself can come and upholster the thing then that just isn't the option for me!! Plus my kids don't really need a ladder to get up onto the bunk so I figured, why build more than you need!

A buddy of mine is pretty handy with wood, and he offered to help me out. We intend on routing the edges and what not to make it as attractive as possible and look as though it is a stock item.

Thanks for all of your fond wishes and suggestions!!!

Jason


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## 1stTimeAround (Sep 22, 2004)

My plan is to buy a 1X12 Oak board (wife's preference), remove the trim board currently running along the side of the bunk and replace it with the 1X12 stained to match the original board. I will cut an opening at the entertainment center end to assist in getting on/off the bunk.

I have reviewed Y-Guys set up and think it is great!!! My only problem is unless his wife, or Y-guy himself can come and upholster the thing then that just isn't the option for me!! Plus my kids don't really need a ladder to get up onto the bunk so I figured, why build more than you need!

A buddy of mine is pretty handy with wood, and he offered to help me out. We intend on routing the edges and what not to make it as attractive as possible and look as though it is a stock item.

Thanks for all of your fond wishes and suggestions!!!

Jason


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Jason,

Sorry to hear about your daughters tumble!









You can add us to the list of those that have had a similar experience. On our second trip (PNW Outbackers Rally), our son (8) did the same. Fell from the top bunk at about 2:00AM, landed face first (luckily no blood), slightly sprained wrists, etc.









The next trip, our daughter (5) rolled out of a lower bunk. No injuries, but not a happy Outbacker!









Obviously, rails were in order. The pics below show the rails I am working on for the bunk room. They are 4/4 x 3 Red Oak and solid as a rock. Design allows rails to be removed and bunks restored to factory condition - should we ever decide to - in about 20 minutes time. The rails are not finished yet, still need final sanding, staining and varnish, but they did get a tryout on a three night trip last weekend and worked great!

























I will post more pictures soon...

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## rennerbee (Jul 25, 2004)

Nice looking rails Doug







. I know that we should be putting them up also. DD is the only one who sleeps in the bunks, but you never can be sure when they'll roll off. She tends to be a bit "whiny" while camping, I can't imagine how she'd be if she fell out of one


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Plan on doing something myself. Right now the daughters play on top and sleep on bottom. Sleeping on a bed half the width of the one at home is not easy. ( I go from a king waterbed to queen slide so I know!!)

John


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## QbcOutback (Feb 14, 2005)

Here's a simple solution that worked for us...after two of our kids fell from the upper bunks on the first trip!

The supports are painted metal brackets that I had assembled at a local welding shop.

Rail1
Rail2
Rail3

The weight on the horizontal plates is more than enough to keep the kids up there...at least while they are asleep!


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