Sharan camper tip: Free, durable, upholstered bed platform you already have

Here is a tip that might not be as obvious at a first glance. Or the second or third in my case – I went through three iterations of my Sharan camper conversion until I realised this is possible: you can use your Sharan’s boot floor – a part that costs around 50-300* USD – as your camping bed platform. It is very light but very durable and bends in two places – no hinges needed. Here’s how to do it. This works in the VW Touran too.

*depends where you look, new or used

What are the benefits of using the boot floor instead of the usual plywood?

• you don’t have to pay for it – it’s already in your car – all you need to do is take it out
• it’s already made to perfectly fit your car’s shape
• it’s already foldable – without any hinges, and therefore folds completely flat, creating a solid, gap-free 100% flat surface without any bumps
• it folds in two places – giving you better access to anything underneath it
• it’s already upholstered – and matches the rest of your Sharan’s interior
• it’s much lighter than plywood + it’s part of the car already, so no added weight
• by removing it, you’ll gain much more storage room – especially in the hidden compartment at the back of the boot
• it already has a handle that folds flat too – doesn’t get in the way
• it’s solid enough for screws, so you can fit other things to it if you need to

ⓘ It’s also available as a spare part – just search for part number: 7N0863463A – but of course, you don’t need to as it’s already in your car. Here’s what I’m talking about – the perfect bed platform, ready, just waiting to be used for your camping conversion.

How to remove Sharan’s (or Touran’s) boot floor

It is held in place only by two screws roughly in the middle of the floor. Be careful not to lift and pull it too much, because they tend to snap off (that’s how I learned where they are…). Unscrew those and you can just lift the entire platform up and remove it. Don’t worry about not having the exact tool for the screws – just find a screwdriver that will just about fit the hole and you can unscrew them easily.

Now you’re ready to build a frame that will hold the boot floor as your new bed platform – here are some pics of how I did it.

And Max likes it too! 😃