Slope of pull-down bed

[shari253]

Hi All,

We have a 17' Hi-Lo, which we are enjoying very much. Today for the first time we pulled down the upper bunk bed to take a look at it, and we were very suprised by the slope. With the stablilzer legs in place the bed is not level at all. It is quite slanted, as if to keep a person from falling out of bed. Is this normal? It seems like it would be uncomfortable for anyone but a little kid to sleep in. What are your experiences? Has anyone taken steps to modify this? I am thinking a thin wedge-shaped foam mattress under the existing one could help level the bed, but that sounds hard to make. Another idea might be to drill new holes a little further out for the stabilizer legs to poke down into. Any ideas are welcome.

Shari

 

[dirtfan]

When I pull down the bunk in my Hi-Lo it is level, sounds like something is misaligned on yours

 

[RichR]

Did you let the rear support arms swivel down? I sounds like you only lowered the front of the bunk and set the arms into the side rails.

You may want to watch the video:

 

[shari253]

Thank you for the replies. We did not lower like the guy in the video, so I'm suspecting we did something wrong. We will go out tomorrow and try again.

 

[shari253]

Yesterday we went out and carefully raised the bunk and re-lowered it exactly as shown in the video. It is still uneven.

When the bed was hanging from the wires, it was level, but when we put the support posts in place, the front edge of the bed (along the opening) was raised by a few inches, creating the slope I mentioned.

We examined all the brackets, posts, etc, and it does not look like anyone has made any modifications.

I was thinking maybe we could drill new holes for the support posts a few inches out from the existing ones. That would take care of it. But my husband (an engineer) is concerned that the support posts would be too splayed out, and the angle would not support the weight as designed.

He is willing to live with the slant, but I would like to fix it. It just bugs me, and I'm wondering why only ours is like that and no one else's. There must be an explanation.

 

[Thankful]

Hi All,

We have a 17' Hi-Lo, which we are enjoying very much. Today for the first time we pulled down the upper bunk bed to take a look at it, and we were very suprised by the slope. With the stablilzer legs in place the bed is not level at all. It is quite slanted, as if to keep a person from falling out of bed. Is this normal? It seems like it would be uncomfortable for anyone but a little kid to sleep in. What are your experiences? Has anyone taken steps to modify this? I am thinking a thin wedge-shaped foam mattress under the existing one could help level the bed, but that sounds hard to make. Another idea might be to drill new holes a little further out for the stabilizer legs to poke down into. Any ideas are welcome.

Shari

My bunk also slopes. It is not noticable when sleeping. Make sure your lifting cables are adjusted correctly.

 

[RichR]

Yesterday we went out and carefully raised the bunk and re-lowered it exactly as shown in the video. It is still uneven.

When the bed was hanging from the wires, it was level, but when we put the support posts in place, the front edge of the bed (along the opening) was raised by a few inches, creating the slope I mentioned.

We examined all the brackets, posts, etc, and it does not look like anyone has made any modifications.

I was thinking maybe we could drill new holes for the support posts a few inches out from the existing ones. That would take care of it. But my husband (an engineer) is concerned that the support posts would be too splayed out, and the angle would not support the weight as designed.

He is willing to live with the slant, but I would like to fix it. It just bugs me, and I'm wondering why only ours is like that and no one else's. There must be an explanation.

Is the bunk level/parallel with the ceiling when in the stowed position? When you watched the video did you notice mounting the position of the mounts on the wall. And when the arms are swiveled down is the bevel on their ends parallel to the top of the wood rail? If you need to reposition the holes on the rail, prop the bed to make it level and swing the arms down and mark the hole positions (it's better to swing the arms down past the correct position before propping the bunk). Hopefully just the hole positions were just placed wrong. The arms should be roughly 30 degrees off of vertical when set in position (from memory only).

 

[bugman-HILO]

I had the same problem with my bunk bed. It was uncomfortable to sleep in. After talking to J&R,I cut the top of the support arms (about an inch and a half) off and drilled a new hole for the bolt. The bed is now level and sleeps great. It is an easy and safe fix for this problem. The guy at J&R said it was probably a mistake made at the factory.

 

[RichR]

I had the same problem with my bunk bed. It was uncomfortable to sleep in. After talking to J&R,I cut the top of the support arms (about an inch and a half) off and drilled a new hole for the bolt. The bed is now level and sleeps great. It is an easy and safe fix for this problem. The guy at J&R said it was probably a mistake made at the factory.

Disregard what I said and go with this. The J&R boys know what is best, they probably have seen almost everything over the years they have been in business.

 

[Thankful]

Before I make any modifications to the bunk bed, I would make sure the trailer top lifting cables are adjusted correctly. The hinged hardware of the bed is attached to the trailer top and the support legs rest on the trailer bottom. Therefore, if the trailer top is out of alignment the bed slope will be changed.

 

[bob nye]

I have a1978 Hi-Lo and had the same problem. The top was not going all the way up in the front. Had to adjust the lift cables to level up the top then the bunk was level

 

[shari253]

Thanks everyone. Good ideas, especially making sure the trailer top is fully extended. I didn't think about how that could cause the slope, but it obviously could.

If that is not the problem, then I like the idea of shortening the support legs.

I slept in the bunk for the first time last night. It is "acceptable," but not great. I did end up gradually sliding away from the edge, toward the back wall (which is actually the front wall of the trailer).

I don't think we will use the bunk much. We are a retired couple and no grandkids yet. It is a bit of a hassle to climb in and out of, and I noticed there is no "nightstand" type place to conveniently set things you might want next to your bed.

The only reason I was looking into all this is that we are seeking alternatives to having to either make up the dinette/bed twice a day, or leave the king bed set up around the clock. (We call that the playpen configuration.) We thought maybe one of us could sleep in the bunk, then have the dinette set up as one seating bench and one bed. Then we would have sitting and sleeping surfaces around the clock.

Thanks again,

Shari

 

[shari253]

I checked the lift and it is not level. The front of the trailer (where the bunk is attached to the top) does not lift to full extension. It is a couple inches lower than the back. Knowing this I won't cut the support legs. When we get the time we will look into adjusting the lift cables. Thanks again for all the great troubleshooting ideas!

Shari

 

[sam-HILO]

Bunk bed

Some have used the bunk for storage,possibly blankets,pillows ect. I think the bunk bed has a weight restriction of 200lb. If any mattress is uncomfortable then beef it up with an air mattress or foam topper. Some have purchased from Sams club,Walmart,Cotsco,or Big Lots ect. Can;t wait for the warmer weather to do a few upgrades on our HiLo!!

 

[Thankful]

Some have used the bunk for storage,possibly blankets,pillows ect. I think the bunk bed has a weight restriction of 200lb. If any mattress is uncomfortable then beef it up with an air mattress or foam topper. Some have purchased from Sams club,Walmart,Cotsco,or Big Lots ect. Can;t wait for the warmer weather to do a few upgrades on our HiLo!!

When I purchased my Towlite I called Hi-Lo and they told me the bunk bed was rated at 300 lbs.

 

[RichR]

When I purchased my Towlite I called Hi-Lo and they told me the bunk bed was rated at 300 lbs.

Actually is is good for 350 pounds.

That is Larry Mills that worked for HiLo a few years ago.

 

[marininn]

I WAS BROWSING THE forum for the answer as mine also slopes. While reading I realized that my (and OP) top must not be fully raised. One side of the bunk rest on the lower clam shell, while the other hangs from the top clam shell. The bed slopes down towards the anchor point attached to the top clam shell. Therefore the top clam shell is not fully raised.
Do not cut anything. Do not drill new holes! There is no adjustments to the bed, and there is no way to deploy the bed such that it will be un-level by mistake. It is only a top clam shell issue. (you'd have to be really drunk to let it hang by the cables only and wonder why it is sloping).
I do not know how to adjust the cables yet as I am new to all this….