Installing a Joey Bed in Footloose
We quickly discovered that all of that storage space in our one
open bay was a PIA because we were constantly unloading the stuff in front so
we could get to the stuff in back. Some type of rolling drawer storage was an
absolute requirement and I chose to deal with the Joey Bed folks simply because
they had the best reputation. I have since discovered that there are other manufacturers
that are just as good and not quite so independent.
I was lucky in that my first dealings with them were with an older gentleman
who was relatively new and he went out of his way to provide me with documentation
and sold me a custom tray for a reasonable additional charge.
The MCI-8 coach , and probably other models, has a useable side-to-side bay
width of 87 inches and I wanted to cover as much of the floor space with the
bed as possible. The standard widths are 82 and 90 inches which is why I had
a custom tray.
Above is our Joey Bed 2-way slider which will extend up to 70% on each side
of the coach. This tray came disassemble and we had to supply the plywood flooring
surface. Because of the door arms and latches, I used the 48" width of
a standard sheet of plywood which worked out quite well. Note that I have a
collapsible ladder stashed in the right side adjacent to the drawer. There is
also a folding step ladder laying in the left side adjacent to the bed. Since
it sits up off of the floor, I also have quite a bit of storage space beneath
it for narrow flat items.
This is the bed extended full length on passenger side of coach. The plastic
bin in back with garden hose visible is actually on the other end of the bed.
It is a little messy here since we just returned from a rally where we took
a lot of portable tables & stuff we don't normally carry. The large plastic
bin up front is ideal for this situation since the lid is hinged. There is another
one of these on the side facing front of coach.
This is not related to the Joey Bed but is in the bay immediately behind it.
There was an area about 18 inches deep on this side of the bay that was left
after the water & sewage tanks were installed. I found this Craftsman tool
box that fits it pretty well and holds a bunch of my essential tools. Now I
need to figure out what to do with the small space on left side of it?