crib to toddler bed- do I just remove the drop side? or how?

[Anonymous]

our crib is a hand me down (a very nice one), so I don't have the instructions nor can I find them online. can I make a toddler bed/day bed by just removing the drop side of the crib and leaving the other 3 sides intact? or is there more to it than that? will the bed be sturdy enough? I'll be putting pillows on the floor and trying to rig some kind of bed rail in case he rolls out, but just wondering about the sturdiness of bed itself.

thanks!

[Anonymous]

Hard to say without knowing the model you've got. Mine came with a separate attachment. I remove the front portion of the crib and attach a piece that looks like a half-length safety rail. Perhaps your crib is missing this piece and that's why it's not readily apparent?

[Anonymous]

Do you know who the manufacturer is? Removing a side may open up the corners and cause the crib to be instabilty if the crib was not meant to be a toddler bed. There are usually two small side walls that go up in place of the front of the crib that replace the support that the wall takes out as well as provides a little barrier for the toddler. Could you ask the person who gave you the crib?

[Anonymous]

it's a Ragazzi crib. the drop side isn't as supportive as the fixed side since it goes up/down etc, but just wanted to see if anyone else has done this for a regular crib.

[Anonymous]

Hey OP, I googled Ragazzi Toddler Bed and this popped up. Hope it helps. There were a ton of other hits, you may want to check them out since I'm not sure which crib you actually have.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_convert_a_ragazzi_crib_to_a_toddler_bed

[Anonymous]

Hi there, Were you able to do this? I am thinking of attempting with my crib but wanted to check and see if it was feasible first. My crib is not made to comvert into a toddler bed but wanted to know if I could just removed the dropside and put a bed rail up. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We had a drop side crib that did not "convert" to a toddler bed. It didn't list as converting b/c the company did not make a matching bedrail for it (it was a sorelle crib). Anyway at Buy Buy Baby (when looking for a toddler bed) I was told that as long as the crib has a drawer underneath that it has the support bar for a toddler bed. All I had to do was remove the drop side and buy a toddler bedrail (I got it at BBB for $50 I believe). Walla, a toddler bed.

[Anonymous]

I also have a drop side crib that was not "covertable" to a toddler bed. My hubby just took off the stationary side and we bought a convertible universal bed rail. So far so good!

[Anonymous]

We had a drop side that did not convert. It did not convert b/c the manufacturer did not make a matching bedrail. I went to Buy Buy Baby and found out that as long as your crib has a drawer underneath with a stabilizing bar (if you have a drawer you have the stabilizing bar--a piece of wood) then you just remove the drip side and it can be a toddler bed. You can buy a toddler bedrail at a baby store. We got one at Buy Buy Baby for $50 (it's a smaller wooden version of a bedrail for a twin bed). We used our crib as a toddler bed for DD for 6 months. It worked out great.