Give New Meaning to Truck Beds

DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- Every farmer knows the fastest way to lull a child to sleep is in the cab. Combine, tractor, truck ... it doesn't matter. After the excitement of being along for the ride, the repetitive sounds and movements join with the warmth of the cab and whatever snack was consumed from the cooler to make for a super snooze.

BUT ... what if you could interject a bit of that scenario into the nighttime ritual? What kids wouldn't clamor to climb between the sheets if the bed looked like a tractor or bulldozer or a skid loader or whatever machine they love most?

Enter Brian Bauer, a Missouri artist who makes dreams come true for anyone with a love for equipment. His specialty furniture replicates favorite vehicles down to the tires and taillights (yes, they light up).

It all started as a one-off project about 17 years ago when a friend asked if he could cut up a vintage truck to make a bed. Word rolled out about the project and Bauer started getting additional requests. The problem was his love of old vehicles made cutting them up seem wrong. And the requests for child-like furniture begged the question of safety around metal edges.

SAFE LOOK ALIKES

So, Bauer figured out a way to painstakingly replicate precious vintage vehicles from fiberglass and wood. He makes a mold from the prototype to make subsequent items.

"One person would see something I'd made and want a version made from a 1966 Chevy or a twin-size bed of a certain brand of tractor. It literally all started with one person after another asking if we can do something else," Bauer told DTN.

Today, the company, Bauer Designs, is a full-blown fabrication shop with 10 employees (including two of his own children) with about 125 furniture pieces in their Car Crazy Furniture portfolio. And, they are always adding new items as people ask for custom projects.

"Our company motto is your imagination is our only limitation," Bauer said. "We feel like we can build anything you want."

TRUCKS WITH PURPOSE

The company also fashions desks that look like the front-end of name-your-model truck. There are benches, chairs, sofas and other items for gear heads of all ages. They even just built a baby crib on a replica truck bed and for those who know, the rails totally resemble stock racks.

Bauer estimates the firm builds about 700 pieces of furniture per year. Today, every component is made in-house. Prices reflect the unique nature of the item and cost from $1,500 and up, plus shipping.

FOCUS ON SAFE AND STURDY

Being safe and sturdy are a major focus, especially with children's furniture, Bauer said. "Kids can climb and jump all over these pieces. Because we are creating everything ourselves, we make sure every edge is clean and smooth. Every bumper we make is just like doing body work."

A twin-size tractor or truck bed weighs about 170 lb. For ease in shipping, a bed, for example, comes in eight main pieces with four of those being tires. Holes are all pre-drilled with thread inserts. The frame is one piece.

Orders generally require a three- to four-week wait. "Our game plan is to have some stock, but we can't seem to keep up," Bauer said.

FARM COMMUNITY INFLUENCE

While not a farmer himself, Bauer lives in a farming community near Kansas, City, Missouri. "There are more tractors on the roads than cars here," he said. The furniture factory is housed in rehabbed barns linked together with walkways.

This farm familiarity puts him on firm ground when addressing brand loyalty questions. If you have dueling personalities when it comes to implement color, just order bunk beds and paint them accordingly.

"We sell to a lot of grandmothers," Bauer said. "A kid just isn't going to be any cooler than if they have one of these in their bedroom."

Find more information about Bauer Designs at www.carcrazyfurniture.com, as well as see current photos on Facebook (Car Crazy Furniture) and Etsy.

BEYOND COUNTING SHEEP

If bedding down in one of these creations proves too exciting, it might be necessary to implement a back-up plan. Grab a children's books such as "Goodnight Tractor" by Michelle Robinson. The book encourages kids to say "night night" to everything from the tractor, plow and combine, to the pigs in the pen.

The combination of all these things may be just enough to encourage youngsters to hit the hay, throttle down and doze off.

Find more suggestions for children's books with farming themes here: https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Want to throw it in reverse and rev up the kids? Find a DTN story about realistic rugs for farm kids here: https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Pamela Smith can reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @PamSmithDTN

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