Fixed bed or 2 berth
After almost 40 years of a 2 berth we decided on grounds of age to buy a fixed transverse bed van. After 6 weeks in France we dislike everything about it. The cramped toilet/shower, the very uncomfortable bed and worst of the length of it for towing. Next
week when home we are going to see about part x for a 2 berth and go back to normal. I wonder if we are not alone in this.
Comments
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No you are not,we had a "fixed" bed and found it restrictive for the space it "wasted" ,and have reverted to the time served front lounge/bed ,mid kitchen, end bathroom/wardrobe layout, the front settees are long enough to be used as two singles, or easy
to make up double(if not so sleepy
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I'm sure you are not alone but I'm not one to join you
. Two of us only, and we changed from a 2 berth to a 4 berth fixed, front lounge/beds , mid kitchen and end bathroom. We changed because of not getting a decent nights sleep and now would not go back, the fixed matress 8" deep is just what we wanted. The additional length of the caravan admittedly is longer but I haven't a problem with that. But all things are not all right for all people, so if it makes you happy then its got to be good.0 -
January 2012 we decided we wanted a fixed double. In April we decided against and baught a Lunar ES. We use the front seats as two singles and they are very comfortable. I take back cushions off OH's side and end cushions. On my side I leave the back cushions
on as there is still ample width. Seats are 6'4'' long. Also we decided, gladly, that the side diner would be more useful. It is. We eat at the diner and also useful for me for food prep.0 -
A memory foam topper should solve the comfort problem but we ultimately gave up Caravanning and switched to a motorhome because the van just became to big for our continental trips. We now have a compact, parallel bench seat arrangement but the only reason
this works for us is that we use the beds as singles with Duvalays. Had we discovered these earlier we might have gone back to a compact two berth because the chore of making up a double bed from bench seats became too irritating. Also getting out at night
was a problem!0 -
It is a shame you had to find out the hard way, Q. I must say the reasons you've stated are exactly those that stopped us moving away from the 2 berth configuration. Better luck next time.
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Both my last two 'vans have been fixed longitudinal bed to suit the way we use it. The L-shaped lounge at the front stays as a lounge overnight and the bed stays as a proper bed during the day. No faffing about going to bed, or getting up either, and no need for us to synchronise our sleeping patterns between us. There can even be a short nap duing the day, or if either is sleepless in the night a sit up with a hot chocolate and a CD.
The huge space under the double bed is so handy for all sorts of storage. I'm not sure these transverse beds are as good though, as they seem all to be short, and loose space with rounded corners.
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We are all different I guess. We bought our first van about 4 years ago, a standard 2 berth, and quickly got fed up with making/unmaking the front beds. As we are both still working, it means most of our carvanning is quick short weekend breaks, and it
felt too much hassle. I guess if we had been weeks away in a warmer climate (thus using the awning for relaxing/eating), it wouldn't have seemed such an effort. We swapped to a transverse fixed bed and love it. The bathroom size doesn't bother us as we use
site facilities for 90% of the time. Each to our own. Variety is the spice.....0 -
Absolutely, Ian. Each to their own but I can honestly say that bed making is no trouble. Removing back cushions and unrolling a couple of sleeping bags takes less than 5 mins.
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We've had all kinds of bed configurations, I did like the twin single beds in our last van but at 7.4m it was just too big for touring europe, so we like the OP have gone back to a 2 berth make up twin settees, it take but minutes to do and they are very
comfy and roomy, 6'1" × 2'6" gives us much more space in 6.6m van. Its a shame it hasn't worked for you, transverse beds and side beds are always avoided when we look at vans, to much climbing around to make them and not easy access to overhead locks are a
pain. Hope you get a good part x.0 -
Absolutely, Ian. Each to their own but I can honestly say that bed making is no trouble. Removing back cushions and unrolling a couple of sleeping bags takes less than 5 mins.
Totally agree, we don't use sleeping bags but it still just takes mins. to make up. I made removeable covers for our 1" thick memory foam toppers, a bit like duvet covers, we just roll them out on the cushions, pop on the pillow and duvet, jobs done about
3 mins. We stopped using fitted sheets years ago, they never fit right and all that crawling around just not needed0 -
Having praised the Duvalay concept the actual quality is poor - finish, zips, duvet and bags are cheap and nasty. We bought two 4cm Duvalays and two spare covers but ended up selling them and the bags and using the spare covers for a decent quality quilt
(standard single fits fine) and 5cm mattress toppers (they have a better cover). They roll up with just some elastic to secure and fit under one of the bench seats. About 1 minute to prepare the beds.0 -
After almost 40 years of a 2 berth we decided on grounds of age to buy a fixed transverse bed van. After 6 weeks in France we dislike everything about it. The cramped toilet/shower, the very uncomfortable bed and worst of the length of it for towing. Next
week when home we are going to see about part x for a 2 berth and go back to normal. I wonder if we are not alone in this.Nope we had a fixed bed for about six months and it turned out to be a total waste of money.It took up far too much floor space.Give us the two berth/middle dinette/end bathroom any time.
v9
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We are on our 3rd fixed bed caravan now, and for us, at present, it is the best layout. We like the big storeage area underneath the fixed bed and we find the bed more comfortable than sleeping on the 'slatted' double in our older vans. We
did conside the fixed singles but went against it because of the large storeage space issue. We like to keep the floor of the caravan completely free and wouldn't have been able to do this with the fixed singles - our chairs wouldn't have fit under.David
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We are on our 3rd fixed bed caravan now, and for us, at present, it is the best layout. We like the big storeage area underneath the fixed bed and we find the bed more comfortable than sleeping on the 'slatted' double in our older vans. We
did conside the fixed singles but went against it because of the large storeage space issue. We like to keep the floor of the caravan completely free and wouldn't have been able to do this with the fixed singles - our chairs wouldn't have fit under.David
Yep I would not fancy making up a slatte double again. Two long front bunks is far more comfortable
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We are on our 3rd fixed bed caravan now, and for us, at present, it is the best layout. We like the big storeage area underneath the fixed bed and we find the bed more comfortable than sleeping on the 'slatted' double in our older vans. We
did conside the fixed singles but went against it because of the large storeage space issue. We like to keep the floor of the caravan completely free and wouldn't have been able to do this with the fixed singles - our chairs wouldn't have fit under.David
Yep I would not fancy making up a slatte double again. Two long front bunks is far more comfortable
...I agree but then a double can "help" at times and the slats need using ,so that as said "use it or lose it"
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We would not even consider a caravan that did not have a fixed bed. I wonder if the OP tried a memory foam mattress topper on top of the fixed bed.
Made up bunk beds have to be the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangement ever designed or thought of as they have to be made up every night and then taken down again in the morning. Right pain in the rear!
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.....the other thing about singles (whether they are dedicated fixed singles or using the front seats as singles) is that we actually don't find them that generous with the width! This could be because neither of us are 'thin'!! We could probably manage
but prefer not to because of the other reasons mentioned above.David
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.....the other thing about singles (whether they are dedicated fixed singles or using the front seats as singles) is that we actually don't find them that generous with the width! This could be because neither of us are 'thin'!! We could probably manage but prefer not to because of the other reasons mentioned above.
David
Could that be the reason your chairs wouldn't fit under the fixed singles David, they are chairs of a 'generous' width
our Quest Elites fit OK 0 -
We have two single duverlay mattress toppers each with their own zipped up fittedmattress cover and cotton sheets. Bought years ago, long before they made it onto Dragons Den
. The quality is and has been great. We too prefer to make up our bed each evening, we have an overcab bed but don't like height from the floor
or roof level
but it makes great storage! We had two single mattresses as recommended by Duverlay for easier storage they don;t
pull apart either. We don't find bed making an issue mattress toppers, pillows and duvet - we have a routine it take minutes.
Definitely whatever suit you.0 -
Each to their own of course but wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the making up beds routine - we've a 4 berth van for the two of us, fixed double, end washroom etc. Comfortable with domestic duvet etc. Only down side - not transverse and it does involve
my wife clambering about to get out!0 -
Each to their own of course but wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the making up beds routine - we've a 4 berth van for the two of us, fixed double, end washroom etc. Comfortable with domestic duvet etc. Only down side - not transverse and it does involve
my wife clambering about to get out!Likewise, Paul
David
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.....the other thing about singles (whether they are dedicated fixed singles or using the front seats as singles) is that we actually don't find them that generous with the width! This could be because neither of us are 'thin'!! We could probably manage
but prefer not to because of the other reasons mentioned above.David
Could that be the reason your chairs wouldn't fit under the fixed singles David, they are chairs of a 'generous' width
our Quest Elites fit OKOur chairs are fairly standard (Isabella ODIN), but quite often there are other things under the bed, like the motor mover control box etc. Mind you, the other
thing we like is outside access, which I don't think was available in the alternative model we were looking at.David
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.....the other thing about singles (whether they are dedicated fixed singles or using the front seats as singles) is that we actually don't find them that . . .
. . . romantic!
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Like a lot of others, we're sticking to our fixed bed. We prefer to sleep together in a proper bed, not something made up of ill-matched cushions slotted together. Sleeping in two singles wouldn't appeal at all, nor would sleeping bags or rolled up 'mats'
on a double bed. We like real bedding, and a normal duvet, just like we have at home.0
what's that mean?
