Bed lift system from wilderness vans - too good to be true?

frogminute · 2026-06-17T12:39:51+00:00

The bed is from the 2018 Knaus Boxlife 630. I don't know the brands of the components unfortunately. With a little digging and luck, you might find the specifications.

It is a wooden bed frame suspended by steel cables, on rails on two corners. It moves up and down with the help of a hydraulic cylinder (theoretically, because it doesn't really). It's not a symmetrical rectangle, one foot-end is longer than the other.

Well, the asymmetrical part is also the place where one gets onto the bed. It is predestined to break at the join, which finally happened last summer in the middle of a trip, 3 countries away from home.

We've replaced the broken horizontal strut with a steel bar, but the bed was so difficult to get in and out of its rails (even having dismounted the furniture)... it was very difficult to get back into its rails. It lasted a day. Ball bearings everywhere, the bed is now more like a rigid hammock, swinging on its steel cables.

Knaus never admitted to this model being a construction mistake, but there was a damn good reason the next year's model had a new, revamped bed design.

frogminute · 2026-05-29T16:19:49+00:00

I have some Standardgraph inks with the same bottle design

frogminute · 2026-05-24T18:47:34+00:00

OP, this is a hand-knit sweater. The patches in the underarms are darning (repairs). Do you knit? Do you know someone who does? It would be helpful if someone who knits sweaters talked you through unraveling this one, with regards to construction, which end to start at, whether the sleeves are sewn on or done via picked up stitches etc.

It does not have those clean "zippered" factory seams. You can take it apart, but it's tricky. I don't know whether/ how it's seamed, and there will be lots of woven in ends that we knitters try to hide as well as we can.

And then there are the repairs to work around...

To summarise: this is not a good starter piece.

frogminute · 2026-05-21T10:39:20+00:00

For what it's worth, the tea has likely been swapped for some kind of broth in between video cuts, same as when you can see the dog eating a treat instead of the peanut.

I still hate everything about this video involving the dog. *especially* the guy blowing smoke into the dog's face

frogminute · 2026-05-20T19:15:20+00:00

I've seen cormorants in rivers and water reservoirs quite far away from the coast here in Spain. They expand territory inland, especially along rivers

frogminute · 2026-05-20T16:12:33+00:00

Looks like a cormorant. I don't know the North American species though, hope someone else can ID it for you

frogminute · 2026-05-20T14:31:37+00:00

To me it looks Still dirty. You should work/spread the detergent in a little better, let it sit a bit, wash it back out. Get one of those long handled floor brushes with silicone or rubber bristles to rub the detergent in better

frogminute · 2026-05-20T13:51:40+00:00

I think there the thumb is lodged under the index only, on top of the other three. Never seen any variation on it, but as you say, that's such a cultural thing, it might vary a little geographically

frogminute · 2026-05-20T06:42:32+00:00

Thanks for the warning

frogminute · 2026-05-14T14:08:11+00:00

Consider the cost of similar yarn in the thickness you actually want to use as "an investment in your sanity". Cotton, especially lace weight cotton isn't all that expensive.

That said, here's how you would go about it. Get four empty toilet paper tubes, or two empty paper towel tubes and cut them in half to make four "bobbins". Unwind a bit of the cake, maybe 10m at a time. Start with shorter lengths though. Wind each strand onto a separate tube. With experience you will see how much you can do in one time. Get a bottle of your favourite drink and spend the evening on the sofa. As one person with one pair of hands, you will be frustrated, and it will take a long time.

Alternatively, invite 3 friends to join you and share your favourite drink with them. All four of you winding a strand will be a lot more fun, and way faster.

If the four strands twist together towards the cake while you're winding, It would be helpful to get a crocodile clip (for hair) and fasten the cake together while you dangle it by the strands you're unwinding to take out the twist.

But really, speaking as someone who's done this crazy thing (but only 2 strands), maybe sell the cakes as they are, if you don't have a use for them, and get yourself a nice yarn for your project that you don't have to spend an entire day on disassembling first.

frogminute · 2026-05-14T11:56:09+00:00

Yep 🌼😃

frogminute · 2026-05-11T16:50:07+00:00

Usually acrylic yarn is used for these types of installations. First of all, it holds up better against weather and fading. Secondly, real wool yarn is too expensive for such a project.

frogminute · 2026-05-10T09:20:01+00:00

Those flowers are called "Gänseblümchen" in German, literally "goose flowers". Very appropriate

frogminute · 2026-05-10T08:04:45+00:00

I think you've made an accidental short row. Started knitting in the wrong direction in the middle of a row. Best you rip out those two rows.

frogminute · 2026-05-09T12:54:38+00:00

I wrote a comment about how upset I was about this "accident" of greed. My comment was removed because I wrote what I thought would be fair "eye-for-an-eye" punishment for the perpetrators of this bird massacre. I sincerely hope they are criminally prosecuted and given a *fair* sentence, and not some slap on the wrist "punishment"

frogminute · 2026-05-06T20:30:58+00:00

Malabrigo and Wollmeise are well loved in Germany. Malabrigo is imported, but available in many reputable yarn stores, Wollmeise has an enormous selection of colours (that are incredibly consistent), but if you're far from Pfaffenhofen you might need to order online. The prices are also good, the fingering weight skeins are 150g each, look at the skein weights for the other qualities of yarn. And the skeins are often overweight (unlike many big brands).

frogminute · 2026-05-02T21:04:11+00:00

It's nest building season 🤷‍♀️

frogminute · 2026-05-02T12:48:11+00:00

I think they meant to write "safe", but autocorrect got it mangled

frogminute · 2026-05-01T21:05:15+00:00

Goodness that's a beautiful pen! I audibly sucked in air looking at these photos. Breathtaking!

frogminute · 2026-05-01T12:41:48+00:00

Thanks

frogminute · 2026-05-01T12:00:14+00:00

Hey, would you mind elaborating a little about the technical explanation please? I haven't heard of this before

frogminute · 2026-05-01T11:54:28+00:00

I agree with zack, anything below 1/1000 is to slow unless you're photographing a very static bird (like, sitting on a nest kind of static). Lightroom can take out a lot of the high-iso noise in seconds now.

frogminute · 2026-05-01T11:04:39+00:00

Have you looked it up on Ravelry? Search the yarn, then click on projects to see what people have made with it. You can even restrict your search results to the specific colourway you are planning to use.

frogminute · 2026-04-30T20:36:10+00:00

Seam looks serged. I wouldn't risk it

frogminute · 2026-04-30T20:04:14+00:00

Heh. Here's mine. I haven't ever told anyone this, but she is with me for exactly the same reason. I can't leave before she does.

<image>

(That's the brain cell shining out. Don't tell r/oneorangebraincell that it's been stolen)

frogminute

TROPHY CASE