Electric dropdown beds in the Chausson 510.
We have been looking at the Chausson 510 motorhome which has an electric dropdown bed. Just wondered what other owners experience has been of this type of bed. When it is dropped half way down to create a second bed underneath is it difficult to climb in
and out of the upper bed and also any danger of falling from a great height in the middle of the night? Is there enough headroom in the lower bed to accommodate adult guests? Some reviews of the 510 have described the build as being a bit flimsy. Has this
been anyones' experience, please.
Comments
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cant speak personally about this type of bed other than from several reviews.....which suggest that these beds sometimes have three (or variable) positions....
highest.....best for kids.....room to sit under and use the lounge to sit in...
middle....can accommodate adults in the bed and adults on a made up bed below...
lowest....easiest access to the bed for a couple, with no use of the lounge below....
will you be travelling with four adults or two plus two children?
id pop to your nearest dealer and get them to show you so that you can test it for yourself....
great little van, many similar vans about from Burstner, Pilote, Roller Team.....etc...
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Thanks Boleroboy. We are off to the NEC shortly so will try to get a demonstration of the dropdown bed in action. When dealers have vans on their forecourts they are not usually connected to a power supply so the show will be the best place to see them working.
We need a two person van with the ability to take four now and then. Several of the vans we have looked at have a second bed made up of numerous cushions, which look pretty uncomfortable.0 -
these electric beds will work from the battery and wont need a hookup cable.....folk do use these vans on non-ehu sites....
agree with you about cushion shuffling
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We have a Pilote with electric drop down bed. Really good and very comfortable. Watch the weight limit if you are on the heavy side. Bed lifts up made to the roof. When you get it down it can be a little on the cold side. Ours works on 12v without any problems
and we do Wildcamp so no hookup.0 -
We have a Chausson drop down but not electric. Been used quite a few times by adults with no problem at all. Extremely comfy and a large bed with mattress so no cushion shuffling, you do need to watch the weight limit though, think ours is around 23 stone
( but would need to clarify ). Equally the bed underneath is comfy though a little cushion juggling. If top bed down would need to be careful getting in and out but for sleeping no problem. If all beds used you would probably need an awning for more space.
Top bed is totally safe for children, sturdy ladder up to it then a mesh type side comes up so no chance of falling out. Enjoy your search, there are lots of models now with varying weights and layouts.0 -
Thanks everyone. I should have guessed that the electric bed mechanism would work off the battery! You have also put my mind at rest about the safety issues associated with the bed when it is half way down.
Looking forward to checking out small vans with dropdown beds at the NEC. Any more suggestions, please?
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as i said earlier, small 'one-box' coachbuilts from Chausson, Pilote, Rapido, Roller Team, Burstner.
Pilote also do an A-class version of its two small drop downs (600 and 650).
Hymer also does the B544, Rapido the 9048df and Burstner the 680...but price and size is rising a little....
externally accessed storage for larger otems is the one weak link with this type of van.....no beds to chuck stuff under....bikes will have to be on the back on a rack.....some of the A-class ones have storage between the double floors.
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We have a Chausson 510. The bed is great and we have never had any issues with it. You can have it as high or low as you like. There is a ladder which clips on the side if you have it in a high position, or you can lower the table to drop it right down.there are clip-on nets that will stop you falling out but we have never used these. Depends what you are thinking of doing
There is room for two people underneath for occasional use but, in our experience, you should see this van as a two berth with the facility for occasional guests. It is not, in my view, a true four berth. Bear in mind it is only 6m long. With that said it is a fantastic vehicle, well equipped and very comfortable. I suggest you go for the Ducato base rather than the Ford.
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I wouldn't touch a motorhome with an electrically operated bed unless there is also a manual backup. We had an Adria Vision 707i with an electrically operated bed. We were at the Club site at Folkestone for an overnight stop before catching our ferry to France and in the morning the bed would not lift up electrically. Of couse, we could not drive the van because the front seats are folded forward when the bed is down.
We tried to get a motorhome engineer out to look at it urgently but couldn't. In the end we called the AA under our membership. The AA guy was fantastic and identified the problem as a faulty relay unit. Similarly, Cheston Motorhomes where we bought the van were excellent as we phoned and they sent the one they had in stock out by overnight courier with instructions how to fix it.
We missed our ferry and sold the van as soon as we returned home.....making a note to replace it with one that DID NOT have an electrically operated bed.
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Just off to check whether the Chausson bed can be operated manually after reading about your experience, oldgirl! and just planning to use the bed for the usual things, blackdeath...
Must take your list of suggested vans to the NEC Boleroboy. We are going for two days so I will have to plan a route around the halls so we don't miss anything. There's never enough time
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....add in the Rapido 600FF, as well.....my pal has just bought one and loves it.
have a quick look at the manufacturer websites for some of those i listed, it might save you a bit of time if youve 'sorted' them into 'possibles' or 'definitely nots'....
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I wouldn't touch a motorhome with an electrically operated bed unless there is also a manual backup. We had an Adria Vision 707i with an electrically operated bed. We were at the Club site at Folkestone for an overnight stop before catching our ferry
to France and in the morning the bed would not lift up electrically. Of couse, we could not drive the van because the front seats are folded forward when the bed is down.We tried to get a motorhome engineer out to look at it urgently but couldn't. In the end we called the AA under our membership. The AA guy was fantastic and identified the problem as a faulty relay unit. Similarly, Cheston Motorhomes where we bought the
van were excellent as we phoned and they sent the one they had in stock out by overnight courier with instructions how to fix it.We missed our ferry and sold the van as soon as we returned home.....making a note to replace it with one that DID NOT have an electrically operated bed.
I can confirm the 510 has a manual override for the bed
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We love our Chausson 510, our very first motorhome! We enjoy the spacious lounge area one has when the bed is up. Would agree that it is best as a 2 berth. If we were to upgrade it would probably be to the Chausson 610, same layout but with a bigger bathroom
and a large garage, a bit longer, 6.6 ish but we have more confidence with driving now.0 -
we have a Dometic 'tec tower' which has an oven/grill above the fridge/freezer. it will be me that gets the hot food out as it is a bit high for OH....
whats annoying about the design is that there is a 10" deep drawer under the fridge so the who.e unit could have been lowered by this amount, to make things a bit easier...
having said that, the oven is at least the equal of the 'UK style' Thetford one we had in the previous van.
its ok to use, but just take a little care....
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