With Father’s Day right around the corner it’s only fair to recognize one of the most awesome dads out there! This dad created a Volkswagen bus bed for his daughter from scratch, resulting in one happy little lady.
When DIY Dad discovered that his 2 year old daughter’s crib had turned from a safe place to sleep into a jungle gym overnight, he knew it was time for an upgrade. If only it was that easy though. After a high-and-low search for the perfect toddler bed, he quickly realized that although there were many cool options, most were too expensive. That’s when DIY Dad became DIY Determined Dad and took matters into his own hands. “If you can’t find it, build it”, right? Well, that is exactly what he did!
With a joint effort from the Craigslist “free” section, and a neighborhood teenager who was giving away some spare Volkswagen parts, DIY Dad was able to retrieve a VW Beetle bumper, hubcaps, and some interior door pieces.
The project was now ready to get rolling…
But first one more visit to trustworthy Craigslist, this time for a $30.00 metal twin bunkbed frame. Underestimating his amazing skills, DIY Dad hoped beginning here would simplify the build.
However, the frame wound up being too short. Not to fret! In true DIY fashion, DIY Dad added 4X4 wooden posts to each leg for height, and crossbeams for support. A little bit of tweaking and the legs were perfect and stable.
Even the cutest little General Contractor agreed!
Now it was time to really get started. That’s when he let his project manager pretend to drive so he could figure out where all the pieces would go.
Starting with the exterior, he constructed the frame from 2X3 plywood panels.
So far so good! With thin plywood, and a whole lotta screws, the bumper was secured.
Next up the sides and doors were added.
Cut out some windows and… Voila! You have what is almost a VW bus bed.
Time for a test drive, but not without some wheels! The tires, which were crafted from the leftover plywood and painted black, were complete once the polished VW hubcaps were installed.
Vroom! Vroom!
Getting so close to the final project! The bus frame was then taped and painted in the typical VW style. The orange color choice was perfect for a VW as well!
Now as if the bus bed wasn’t awesome enough DIY Dad went ahead and added – the works! Starting with just a toy car…
He pulled out all the wires and placed them behind the dashboard, adding all the sounds needed to bring the bus to life. Well, almost..
Check out the working dashboard with your own eyes on YouTube!
He gave it some bright headlights and now it’s alive! At least on the outside.
Time for the finishing touches! DIY Dad and Mom dressed up the lower level of the bus with the most colorful fabric squares.
And a hammock!
And I thought I loved hammocks! Check out how much his daughter loves hers on YouTube.
Finally, the Volkswagen bus bed is complete! And I would say it’s pretty awesome – both inside & out.
Kiddie approved! The bed was the life of the party at his daughter’s 3rd birthday celebration.
And now has a permanent parking spot in her bedroom.
You can see the entire build complete with tons of additional pictures on DIY Dads web-site, The Treehouser. Just don’t expect to find any build plans or sketches because he made this up as he went along. And that is exactly why we think he is awesome!
Happy Father’s Day, DIY Dad!
(via The Treehouser)
