The Jeep bed in its final form.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED

Kids are falling asleep behind the wheel now that a Penticton carpenter is rolling specialty bed frames out of his improvised workspaces. 

Chad Evasiuk, a Red Seal carpenter, is working away on his second bed frame project. The first one – a big, rugged Jeep – was recently completed for Evasiuk’s friend who wanted her son to have a cool bed. The one under construction – a frame in the shape of a transport truck – will be getting parked in the bedroom of his neighbour Jocelyn Fisher.

While the new bed is for and her five-year-old son Hudson, it will make life a little more comfortable for Jocelyn. The single mother had to move back in with her parents while she undergoes treatment for cancer, and has been sleeping in the same bed with both of her sons.

“So she was hoping to make the room she shares with her kids a little more spacious,” Evasiuk said, adding that the bed will be sold at the family rate.

“And I’m happy to build one of these truck beds for her son so he can make his own little place.”

Chad Evasiuk had help designing the blueprints for this transport-truck bed from 5-year-old Hudson, who the bed is being built for.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED

Hudson, who lives in the same apartment building as Evasiuk, helped to build the Jeep bed, and he also contributed towards the design of his transport truck bed, as pictured above. The young boy, who wants his bed to be accessible from two directions, will be able to climb onto his mattress through the driver's-side door or the rear entrance of the big rig. 

"Chad and Hudson spent some time going over exactly what he wants,” Jocelyn said.

“I’m super excited. It’s way better and less boring than just going and buying something from the store, especially when you know the guy who’s building it for you – and he has Hudson helping too."

Once Hudson's new bed is finished he will be sleeping on his own the first time in a while, but Jocelyn thinks he'll be excited to make the change. 

"The transition will be easy as he will be obsessed and in love with his big rig bed... and because of his involvement also," she said.

Since child-sized beds are usually outgrown within five years, Evasiuk has noticed the frames are not built to last very long.

“Based on blueprints from some designs I found online, I recognized that if you built it to the specifications on there, you probably wouldn’t be able to dismantle it more than once,” he said.

So while he embraced the best ideas from online concepts, Evasiuk applied a higher level of quality to ensure his beds can be handed down to another child in several years, and he also added a few custom features.

“The project started to develop a mind of its own,” he said.

“I built it so that when the parent’s leaning over their child while tucking them into bed, they can really feel close to the wood, which is really special if they have that connection to it like I do.”

And like the cars from Fast and the Furious, these bed frames have blue and green lights underneath.

Evasiuk likes to be thrifty and collects any leftover lumber that would otherwise be wasted.

“I’m a repurposing type of person,” he said. 

“A lot of material I was able to scavenge after stockpiling from all my different jobs – and it’s high-quality wood going into the beds.”

On the Jeep bed, it took Evasiuk months to find wheels that suit an SUV. Initially he had a set of small wheels but they looked too small for a Jeep. After reaching out to a local Facebook page for help, eventually he found the perfect set at Vantage Powersport and Marine, and the local business donated the set of four.

On the left is the Jeep bed with wheels that didn't quite suit it. On the right, the Jeep bed has been equipped with much hardier tires thanks to a donation from Vantage Powersport & Marine in Penticton.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED

On the transport truck bed, there is only enough space in the room for a side profile of the vehicle so it just needs two wheels. 

And in this economy, Evasiuk’s workshop – where he generates quite a bit of sawdust – are in the back of his van and his living room. He’s looking for more suitable shop, but in the meantime he is still accepting new orders for custom beds.

In addition to his living room, carpenter Chad Evasiuk also uses his cube van as a workshop.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED

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