2306BHS Bottom Bunk Service Panel Mod

[Anthropod]

My eight-year-old son and I are the proud owners of the bunks in the 2306BHS. Our 15-month-old daughter gets the dinette conversion with the pack-and-play on top. My wife gets the full-size murphy bed.

The bunk mattresses for the 2306BHS are not particularly impressive. My son thinks they are great, but he weighs less than 50lbs. To make mine awesome, I have used a memory foam mattress topper that I cut out from a twin sized one using an electric knife.

After getting it all fixed up, I decided to try it out. Oh...so much better! I laid there admiring my new slumber chamber when I felt and heard a "clunk." Fearing that some structural element had given way I went and took a look.

Lifting up the hinged bunk, I observed that nothing significant had broken. What had happened was a design flaw or assembly error. The latch that is used to hold up the hinged bunk was resting on the support bar of the service panel where the utilities come in and where the outdoor shower is. The damage was not structural, it was still functional, it was mainly cosmetic. It was also in a place where it would rarely be seen. But, I knew it was there.

I decided to fix it. Because there were some valves located behind the panel I decided to make it easy to get in and out of it instead of having to unscrew things. Using 3/4" plywood, a couple of hinges and a flush ring pull I have now created a service hatch.

I first created a shelf that the service hatch could rest on for the wall side. I then crafted the hinged door using my table saw, a router (to round over the edges), drill press (To pre-drill and countersink some holes), my CO2 laser to engrave and make the hinge and flush ring recesses, and my scroll saw to cut out the hole for my flush ring pull. I finished it with some white paint and clear coat, and color filled in my lettering.