How horribly annoying (BRU crib)

monstah

New member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #1

After our first crib was recalled, I replaced it with a Koala Home Taylor Lifetime Crib from BRU. It was brand spakin' new to the store. They didn't have the display assembled yet and had no information on the conversion kits. I saw it on a sign and bought it. In my defense, I didn't like most of them or they weren't in our budget and DD1 had been sleeping in a PnP for almost 2 months.
FWIW, I this crib.
I called BRU today and if I want to convert this into anything else, it's going to cost me about $200. Not to mention, it takes 3 months for the kit to arrive. That's just annoying.

 

H

HEVY

New member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #2

I don't understand. Are you talking about converting it to a toddler bed, then and adult bed? Isn't the crib supposed to come with all that included.

 

littleangelfire

Well-known member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #3

That sounds rather suspicious. I'd call the crib company instead. Tis fairly common for employees of any place to not know what the heck we customers are talking about b/c they're not trained to answer all those questions and can't possibly know every product the store carries intimately.

 

Starlight

Senior Community Member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #4

You know that the $200 only buys you slats and two matching rails, right? Why not just buy metal bed rails and a nice bed skirt? We attached a standard full size metal bed frame (that we bought on CL for $15) to the lifetime headboard that came with our crib. Once we put the skirt on, you couldn't tell at all.

(ETA, we didn't opt to use the front rail as a footboard - it was too tall and cut our room off too much, but using a standard bed frame, we didn't need it.)

 

monstah

New member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #5

Starlight said:

You know that the $200 only buys you slats and two matching rails, right? Why not just buy metal bed rails and a nice bed skirt? We attached a standard full size metal bed frame (that we bought on CL for $15) to the lifetime headboard that came with our crib. Once we put the skirt on, you couldn't tell at all.

(ETA, we didn't opt to use the front rail as a footboard - it was too tall and cut our room off too much, but using a standard bed frame, we didn't need it.)

Click to expand...

That's what I thought and why I was :scratcheshead: at the price. I think it's $60 for the slats and $150 for the rails, IIRC.

You don't happen to have a picture of what you did, would you? I'm in no rush, DD is only 13 months old. I just called out of curiosity.

ETA: The "daybed" option. Could we just take the front rail off? I can't find any pictures of the daybed / toddler bed / full sized bed options. I think I need to head into BRU.

 

Starlight

Senior Community Member

• Jul 30, 2010

• #6

You can take the front rail off if there is another smaller rail (like no taller than 3 inches, ours is essentially a 1x3) behind that will hold the side walls together. My crib (a Munire) has one, and it's a pita - always in my way while I'm trying to put the skirt on.

I don't have any pictures of what we did, but I can tell you that we pretty much disassembled the crib, set up the full sized metal frame and then attached it to the headboard (we had to screw new holes in in the headboard, but when we set it back up as crib, you can't tell at all, because it's on the wall side), and then we slid the remaining crib pieces under the bed, and tossed a boxspring and a skirt on top, and were done. It took 10-15 minutes total, and that included time for dh to drill the holes and fuss around the garage looking for suitable screws. lol

 

my2kidsSafe

New member

• Aug 1, 2010

• #7

same thing happened with ours when we bought it for dd. I bought one that converts to a day bed and then a full bed. Well when dd was ready to get out of the crib, we noticed that it didn't have the rest of the pieces. I was told that it was seperate. Unfortunately the company has moved to china or japan and i would have to contact them myself to order the pieces. It was over $100 in just shipping for the $250 piece.

 

ZanesMom

Member

• Aug 1, 2010

• #8

Same thing happened here. We brought a crib from Baby Depot since it was a 4-in-1, and match DS's dresser. Silly us thought that meant it came with all the pieces to make it a 4-in-1 esp for the price. Nope. No rail for the full bed or toddler side. We can make it into a crib or daybed. When I asked the staff there, I was told that none of the '4-in-1' cribs come with those pieces. I didn't buy the toddler piece as we found a used toddler boat bed for cheaper. I did buy the rail to convert into a full bed for $100 at Christmas time because they were discontuning the set.

 

littleangelfire

Well-known member

• Aug 1, 2010

• #9

Well, this thread has been very informational! I would've thought it standard to come with these pieces. Anyone still have the box theirs came in to be able to read it. Is there fine print that says it doesn't include these pieces?

 

Starlight

Senior Community Member

• Aug 1, 2010

• #10

all the bru informational labels for the convertible cribs say that the pieces can be special ordered or similar wording.

I've always thought it sort of silly to convert a crib into a toddler bed - those rails are often $60 or more, when you can get a whole toddler bed for a similar price.

 

monstah

New member

• Aug 1, 2010

• #11

Oh, I knew I had to buy separate pieces. I had no idea those pieces would cost $200!

 

J

jasminegrl

New member

• Aug 1, 2010

• #12

this is why i got the crib I did, its a crib and a toddler bed all pieces included for $130 and then we will put her in a twin and worry about the furniture then we might just get her the same type of finish since it is ikea so it will match her dresser

 

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njmommy

New member

• Aug 1, 2010

• #13

that is so annoying. our first crib was recalled & it was so much hassle!

our crib came with the bed rail to convert to a toddler bed, but not the kit to turn it into a full size. theres no way Im paying $150 for the pieces. cribs are not high quality anyway, so we'll order 'real' big kid furniture instead.

 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter

• Aug 1, 2010

• #14

If you want the pieces, order soon. When it is discontinued, that is the end.

 

mom2juliarose

New member

• Aug 1, 2010

• #15

Judi said:

If you want the pieces, order soon. When it is discontinued, that is the end.

Click to expand...

That happened to my little bro and SIL. By the time they wanted the pieces to make my niece's bed into a twin or full or whatever it was supposed to become, the model was discontinued and the company no longer had any! Since then, I've advised anyone I know who is getting a lifetime crib to order ALL the parts to make it through the "lifetime" from the get-go so that doesn't happen to them!

 

A

Athena

Well-known member

• Aug 3, 2010

• #16

littleangelfire said:

Well, this thread has been very informational! I would've thought it standard to come with these pieces. Anyone still have the box theirs came in to be able to read it. Is there fine print that says it doesn't include these pieces?

Click to expand...

I understand it does sound a bit deceiving. However, when we were shopping, it was quite clear they did not come with the extra pieces to turn it into a full sized bed. On the other hand, I am confused by the problem people are having converting them into toddler type beds. With ours, we just remove the front and it becomes a toddler/mini-day bed. It does not have a rail, but it is so close to the floor, we just put some blankets on the floor in front of it until we felt confident she would not fall out.

 

canadiangie

New member

• Aug 3, 2010

• #17

I work in a baby boutique a few times a month. Let me just say that the whole converting your crib to xyz is a HUGE subsection of the crib industry. Most of the higher end cribs have optional "kits" that range in price from just under $100 all the way up to $300+. There are just a few cribs that allow you to take the front panel off to convert to a daybed. Most require some sort of reinforcement something-or-other. The rails to convert to a double bed are also an entire other kit. Some cribs have multiple kits, and *many* parents buy every accessory (kit) available to them. It is best to buy any and all kits you might want at the same time as the crib purchase. Things get discontinued fast, and colour swatches change. I've lost count of how many parents call to order their kit and find they are up the creek because their particular model and/or colour is discontinued.

 

spokaneCPST

CPST Instructor

• Aug 3, 2010

• #18

Ours was from JC Penney several years ago. It came with a small rail to convert the crib to a toddler bed or the one side could be completely removed for a daybed. DD2 never would use it as a toddler bed (not mmuch as a crib either). We took it apart and used the headboard on DD1's full size bed. We already had the metal bed frame, so it worked fine with that.