Vehicle with bed raising and lowering system

Abstract

A vehicle such as a truck with a sleeping compartment includes a bed positioned within the sleeping compartment and most preferably at an upper berth position. A bed shifter is provided for shifting the bed between bed sleeping and bed storage positions. More specifically, the upper bed sleeping surface of the bed is raised toward the ceiling of the vehicle when the bed is shifted between the sleeping and storage positions, with the side portions of the bed similarly being raised as this shifting occurs. The bed shifter may be designed to tilt the bed as shifting occurs so that, when in the bed storage position, the upper bed surface more closely follows the contour of a vehicle with a downwardly sloped or otherwise configured ceiling. Bed shifting elements of variable length may be provided to shift the bed by varying the length of these elements. In one form, the elements comprise elongated straps which are wound and unwound from a rotatable shaft to raise and lower the bed between bed sleeping and bed storage positions. Guide tracks may be provided to guide the motion of the bed as it is shifted between such positions. Manual as well as motor powered bed shifting systems may be used.