How do you convert a ragazzi crib to a toddler bed?

I just did it 10 minutes ago. I couldn't find any instructions from the manufacturer literature or on the Ragazzi website, so I was guessing.

First I unbolted the four arms that hold the metal bed support up and pushed it down as flat as I could. I had to do it a couple of times and go kind of slow, to get the loose arms tucked away as best I could. They still stick up a little above the rest of the frame.

After much Wrestling with the wooden front panel (gate) of the crib (the one I need to remove), here is what I did.

1. Find the wooden piece that crosses the bed just behind the gate. This is an approximately 1.5-inch by 3/4-inch piece. On ours, it's just above and in front of the drawer under the crib.

2. Find the metal screw at one end of this cross piece. You will see that it is on the outside of the bed, on the short end of the bed, in line with the cross piece.

3. Unscrew it. Note that this screw actually threads into a threaded piece inserted into the cross piece in a little hole on the back side of the cross piece, about 3/4 inch from the end. If this little silver metal piece falls out, you will need to find it and put it back in the hole with the threads facing the screw hole. The piece is the size of a pea.

4. Anyway, use an Allen wrench to remove the screw, without losing that little inserted thingy.

5. I'm not saying this is textbook, but I then forced the end of the crib away from the rest of the crib while moving the gate up and down and pulling gently toward me (to pull the gate from its track). You have to move the end of the crib to create about a 1/2-inch gap before the gate will pop free.

6. The gate has two pins on each side, so when you get it freed on the site that you removed the screw on, the other side will come off without removing the second screw on that side.

7. I then got the drawer back on its tracks properly (it jumped the tracks a bit in the process), pushed everything back together the way it was, and screwed the screw back in. (if the screw wont thread, either you lost the aforementioned little silver piece, or that little silver piece is turned in the hold the wrong way)

8. With the gate removed, the crib (now toddler bed I guess) has four little tabs where the gate was once attached. Two I had to unscrew, and the other two I grabbed with a pliers and pulled out.

It wasn't elegant, but I certainly have an intact toddler bed now. (Unlike you ;)

Good luck!