Bunkbed Conversion!

This is from Chad's perspective with editorial flourishes by Ann...

I work full-time while on the road, so I needed a great place to work. The Newmar 4065 floor plan offers that possibility with a bit of work. Well, more than a bit of work, but we were up for the challenge.

(Shoutout to Chad's dad, Joe, and Grandpa Don for teaching him electrical, plumbing, construction, woodworking, and instilling the spirit of "I can do that". It is how 99% of our projects have been envisioned and brought to fruition over the years.)

Newmar 4065 layout

As you can see from the floor plan, it comes stock with bunkbeds just across from the mid bathroom. This 72x30 inch space seemed to be perfect for the conversion to a desk area. We had this idea from the very start and while it took a number of trips to the home improvement store, we managed to get it done.

The mattresses were donated back to the dealer, since we knew we didn't need them.

The TOP bunk was the drop zone for  all the items that came from the desk in our RiverStone.

The first step in my mind was to remove the BOTTOM bunk and find out what was behind the "vent/heater" in the lower right portion of the bunk. I used the saws-all to cut the framing and remove the platform.

After removing (and saving) the platform from the bottom bunk, we realized the vent/heater had to stay in the lower right hand location, so the idea to put drawers above that area came to life.

Progress!

There were two drawers built-in below the bottom bunk, so we recycled those two and built a third!

We removed all the unnecessary bits and bobs from the bunk area: two DVD/TV players, a misc cargo net, a wall light in the lower bunk area, and the bottom window valance. For privacy purposes, we kept the shades on both the upper and lower windows.

The shell for the drawers is complete and desktop installed.

The bunk was built out of steel tubing, so I re-used that to build the "base" for the desktop.The platform that was removed was repurposed as the "sides" for the base. (Ann's Mother Earth heart is fluttering right now.)

The desktop itself is a dark pre-stained butcher block countertop from Home Depot. It's 72" length only had to be trimmed slightly and we used a jigsaw to cut it to the correct depth. I luckily downsized my sticks and bricks wood shop into the portable Milwaukee Pack Out system. So far, the things I kept have been put to good use.

Drawers installed that are ready to be filled.

We had to be strategic in our project plan, because it's a tight space where we didn't want to move piles of stuff every day.

Now that the drawers were in place, we could unload the top bunk into the drawers and continue the deconstruction of the top bunk.

Our trusty saws-all was used to cut out the frame/bedrail and with a little sanding, it really feels like a desk was meant to be in this space.

Upper cabinet and new drawer front built and installed.

The metal tubing and platform were again repurposed into the upper cabinet that sits on the desk.

We originally were going to paint the desk area a different color, so we didn't need to worry about matching the rest of the coach. In the end, we did opt for color matching the trim and got a quart of paint at Lowe's. We painted the frame around the desk, the new drawer front and cabinet door and crossed our fingers. It blended pretty nicely. As we have said over the years, "It's good enough for this house!"

The view from the kitchen into the office.

The cabinet atop the desk will be used for coat storage and free up the cupboard to the right of it for more pantry items.

When it came to hardware, again, we were met with the challenge of trying to match vs. picking out something different. We decided on black handles that are of a similar style to the handles in the rest of the rig. It sets the space apart, yet coordinates well, I think.

The final result!

We finished the floor under the desk with some Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring from Lowe's, got an office chair from Costco, and voila...we have a workspace.

There is also a pocket door on each side of the desk area which can close off  the bedroom and the kitchen/living area, if need be. When I'm not on Microsoft Teams' meetings, we close the door to the left for Ann's recording space in the bedroom. It is working out great.