We got our campervan when our second kid was about a year old and still slept in a pack-n-play. We quickly figured out that pack-n-plays don’t fit in a Eurovan very well (it can be done, but there is no room to move) so I set out to make a bassinet that fit in the front seat. I based this design off of an idea for a front seat cot that I saw in a Samba post, and it worked out great so I want to share it! You make a frame for a pack-n-play bassinet insert that hangs from the Eurovan’s luggage rack. I’ll admit it’s not the cheapest, but it is the sturdiest and safest I could figure out, and totally worth it if you use it a lot. I hope you find this helpful – if not, there’s a ton of links at the end of the post for other options of front seat child beds!

How To Make A Front Seat Bassinet For A Eurovan Camper

Supplies

  1. One Bassinet Insert and Mattress from a pack-n-play – make sure it’s for one with strait sides (not arched) so the long clip pieces are straight; if you don’t already have one, you can buy it with the pack-n-play (like this one), find a cheap used one on Facebook Marketplace, or find just the insert on Ebay
  2. Two steel pipes ½ inch wide 48 inch (4 foot) long, both ends threaded – I got mine from Lowes, they came pre-cut this long in the hardware store: Mueller Proline 1/2-in x 4-ft 150-PSI Threaded Both Ends Black Iron Pipe. (Note: I chose steel pipe because PVC was too flimsy to support the weight of a toddler in a pack-n-play insert. There is a California Prop 65 warning for these meant to protect drinking water, so don’t use these to drink out of or I guess let your kids go teething on them. You could wrap them in tape just to be extra safe.)
  3. Three PVC pipes ½ inch wide, sched. 40 or 80, 25 ¾ in. long (or you can buy them precut at 2 foot long; This is the one I bought and cut (affiliate link)
  4. Four of the ½” PVC T-joints – this is the bag of them I bought (affiliate link)
  5. Two of the ¾” x ½” PVC T-joints – the straight piece is the ¾; I got mine at Lowes
  6. Two pieces of ¾” flat nylon webbing, cut 120 in. long – this is the one I bought (affiliate link), burn the edges when you cut it so it doesn’t unravel
  7. Four garage hooks- this is the one I got, if it’s unavailable, this or this or this would do (affiliate links)
  8. Furniture footpads or thick felt
  9. Duct tape & Masking Tape
  10. Towel scraps
  11. String, yarn, or thin rope

 

(Click to enlarge).

Blueprint notes:

  • The front and back straps of the frame will not measure the same length because the back of the cab and luggage rack are wider than the front.
  • “Window side” = the side of the frame by the front windows of the Eurovan; it will measure 97 ½ inches from the top of the knot on the hooks, and 23 inches from the top of the knot to the T-joint on each side
  • “Seat side” = the side of the frame by the seats or interior of the Eurovan; it will measure 99 ½ inches from the top of the knot on the hooks, and 24 inches from the top of the knot to the T-joint on each side

Final note:

  • I used a special knot to attach the webbing strap to the hooks. If that looks too complicated for you (in step #6 below), an alternative would be to use 3/4″ Ladder Slider Lock Buckles for the straps instead. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about exact measurements for the straps or how to tie the knot, because you could just loop the strap through the hooks and use the buckles to adjust the length as needed once it’s set up. If you do this, I’d cut the straps longer than I have listed and cut off excess later. Let me know if you do this and how it turns out!

Directions

First, make sure you have your helpers!

(But seriously, step #4 will be a lot easier if you have someone – an adult – to help you.)

1) Cut the PVC pipe.

  • Ultimately, you need three PVC pipes ½ inch wide, 25 ¾ in. long.
  • If you bought long PVC pipes like I did, you will need to cut them down to 3 pieces, each that 25 3/4 in. long. This can be done with a little hand saw.
  • Alternately, they can be bought pre-cut to 2 feet from the hardware store, which I think would probably also work.

2) Cut the nylon webbing strap.

  • Cut the strap into 2 pieces each 120 inches long.
  • To keep it from unravelling, burn the ends. I wrap masking tape above and below where I want to cut, then cut it, burn it, and take the tape off – see the pictures below.

3) Pull the webbing strap through the iron pipes.

  • First take the orange ends off the iron pipes – they just screw off, and then wipe off the debris.
  • Figure out how to get the strap through. This was by far the hardest part of the whole process, because it’s too long to just push the strap through, you have to pull it through with string or something. Be creative and maybe have someone help you.
  • I ended up sewing thick thread to the end of the strap, sending the thread through the pipe first with a weight, then pulling the string and strap through the pipe until it wouldn’t come anymore, at which point I was able to stretch and pull the string with one hand and push the strap in with the other (as pictured). This is when it would have been helpful to have someone with me!
  • Do this for each strap and iron pipe, so you’ll have two sets.

4) Put the PVC T-joints on.

  • First run the big PVC T-joint (the ¾” x ½” in. one) through the strap and onto the iron pipe for each set. It will not stay in place and that’s ok.
  • Next thread the smaller PVC T-joints (the 1/2″ x 1/2″ in. ones) on each end of the iron pipes, making sure they’re facing the same direction.

5) Pad the T-joint ends.

  • You can do this earlier but I think it’s easier doing it at this time.
  • The point of this padding is to soften the edges so it doesn’t scratch your van’s interior.
  • You can do this however you want, but I used furniture footpads and duct tape, as shown below, because that’s what I had available.
  • Directions (following the pictures left to right):
    • 1) First choose a round footpad a little bigger than the T-joint’s opening. Cut it as shown in the first picture, using one cut to get to the center of the circle, and the rest of the cuts going from the center halfway to the edge.
    • 2) Stick the pad on the pipe as in the second pic. Mine didn’t completely cover the whole end so I left the gap at the top and then doubled/overlapped the duct tape at the gap to kind of make up for it.
    • 3) Tuck the outside and inside of the pad around the pipe opening.
    • 4) Wrap a piece of duct tape around it, so half is on the joint/pad and half is sticking off. I try not to let the overlapping parts that stick off the T-joint touch each other yet (as in the pic) so they can be used separately for step 6 but it’s ok to stick them together too.
    • 5) Cut slits in the duct tape up to the pad.
    • 6) Fold the duct tape in to the hole, one at a time so they overlap, covering the pad.
    • 7) Lastly I took a piece of duct tape, cut it in half so it’s not so wide, and wrapped it around the duct tape on the joint piece just so it’s extra secure and looks smooth.
    • Do this to all 4 T-joints!

6) Attach the hooks to the straps.

  • First, lay out your poles so the T-joints are facing each other, as in the blueprint picture at the beginning – you don’t need to put in the PVC pipes yet.
  • Label them somehow so you know which one goes toward the front of the van and which one toward the back. I marked mine with masking tape and the length of the strap (97 toward the front, 99 toward the back).
  • Then, make sure the straps are laid out flat and not twisted inside the poles, and have about the same length coming out of both ends of the pipe.

  • Next mark on the straps where you will put the hooks. For the pipe toward the front/window of the van, measure 23 inches from the padded T-joint and put a mark with sharpie; then repeat on the other end. Double check that the distance between both marks is 97 1/4 or 1/2 inches total. For the pipe toward the back/interior, do the same but measure 24 inches from the T-joint and 99 inches total. Adjust as needed. (See the blueprint above for a visual of these measurements).
  • Attach the hooks so they are curving up toward you, and the sharpie mark is at the top of the flat piece between the hooks, as pictured below. I used a fancy knot method I made up and don’t even know how to explain, so I’m sorry you’ll just have to look at the pictures and figure it out!
  • Note: If this looks too complicated I’m sure you can figure out something else that works, but you’ll have to adjust the measurements. One alternative, as I mentioned earlier, is to use 3/4″ Ladder Slider Lock Buckles for the straps instead.

(Click to enlarge)

This is the final product:

7) Pad the hooks.

  • Note: First you may want to follow the following step (#8) and set up the frame in the van to check the bassinet hangs flat, so you can make any needed adjustments to the strap length before putting the padding on.
  • Cut scraps of an old towel.
  • Wrap them around the knot and possibly sharp hook edges.
  • Wrap duct tape around the towel to keep it in place.

8) Set it up and adjust as needed!

  • Now put it all together in the van and adjust as needed!
  • This is your current final product (PVC pipes and bassinet not shown):

  • Hang it from the roof rack, making sure the longer strap is at the back/interior side of the van, and the shorter strap is at the front. You will want to lean both seat backs back a ways to give enough room:

  • Add the PVC pipes (there is one not pictured to the left):

  • Put in the bassinet attachment:

  • Put in the bassinet mattress:

  • Adjust the bassinet so it’s laying flat/level. This is usually an issue of where the straps enter the pipe and you just need to push the pipe on the strap one way or the other. If that doesn’t fix it, you may need to adjust where the hooks are on the roof rack, or adjust how long the straps are by redoing the knot attaching it to the hook.
  • Use string/yarn/rope to tie the front corners to the handles and the back corners to the seatbelt things so that the frame doesn’t wobble:

  • Lastly, adjust the seatbacks up enough so that they keep the bassinet mattress from wobbling.
  • Sometimes I add a little towel against the steering wheel if the bassinet is up against it, to protect it.

10) Put the baby in!

  • This is your final product! We have also hung a trash bag from where the roof pops up and tucked it between the cot and seat (safely) to black out all the light. The lack of being able to see usually takes care of the problem of the baby trying to play with everything he can reach.

Storage

The pipes fit in the van easily, although annoyingly in front of the fridge (with our rug). Sometimes I tie the rope strings around:

For the insert, take it apart and gather the poles together with the material on top like a bouquet…:

…then put it on the mattress with the PVC pipes, fold it all up, and store it in the back!

Van Cot Resources

Links that inspired my creation:

Other options for front seat beds:

Hope that’s helpful!