Fixed bed or not??
We have been caravanning for aprox 12 months now and currently have a Sterling moonstone which does not have a fixed bed. We love the caravan but we are undecided as to whether we should swap to a fixed bed, We tow with a mitsubishi l200 so weight is not
a problem. Any advice anyone???
Comments
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Only you can decide, Paul.
Some people swear by fixed beds while others swear at them. Personally, I prefer the extra space gained by not having a fixed bed. Kitchens and washrooms tend to suffer loss of space in fixed bed models.
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For us a large Bathroom is a waste would rather have the fixed bed the bed is made just like at home no time wasted and frustration who is going to make it .
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Fixed bed for us. There will only be two of us, by and large, so a 4 birth fixed bed is ideal. It gives us enough space, a seperate sleeping and living area, and a lovely large storeage area below the fixed double.
In the end, everyone will choose what is best for them, but at the moment, I can't see us going back to setting up beds each night.
David
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Fixed bed would mean bigger, longer, wider, heavier caravan. Don't want bigger, longer, wider, heavier caravan. Happy with 4.20 metres x 2 metres wide Eriba. It flies . And when I get home I can wheel it into the shed by hand.
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The last caravan we owned had a fixed bed and we found it very convenient to have a bed ready made up rather than constructing on every night. It takes a while to get used to not having as much surface storage space but then you realise you have more space elsewhere. We have sinced changed to a motorhome and that also has a fixed bed.
David
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I love our fixed bed. A decade ago we had a double dinette layout. We found that when we only took two children with us instead of three on most holidays we left the back bed made up so in the end we bought a foam mattress for it and took the cushions out. That was our intro to a fixed bed - the comfort and the ease of not having to make it up - and we have never gone back and wouldnt want to do so.
We had an RV and we did look at fifth wheelers when we came back to a caravan but the restrictions of the hitch in the load area made us decide not to go for it. They are lovely though :-)
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Quite like the idea of a fixed bed but as I am nearly six foot it would mean the caravan would need be quite large to have a bed that will accommodate me without my feet sticking out the end.
Hubby is 6ft 3 and loves ours now but ironically the one in the RV was cramped for him. It was a corner bed with the wall at one end and a wardrobe at the other so cutting a hole in the wardrobe wall for his feet was the only solution as they couldnt hang
over.0 -
we love the extra space the single dinette gives and the extra space in the kitchen but then you have the disadvantage of having to make the bed up each night and having to climb across both my wife and dog if i need to use the toilet.
That is not necessarily going to change, depending on the design. Our first van had a fixed double in the rear corner, with a chopped of end and fairly restricted access. Somebody had to climb over to get out. Now have single fixed beds, much easier, especially for anyone with restricted mobility.
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I'm in the no fixed bed camp. There's only the two of us but, more often than not these days I'm on my own. Whether I'm on my own or OH is with me, we make single beds which only takes a minute. Many of the fixed beds aren't full double size as some have corners cut off so someone only has three quarters of a bed.
I like the space in the end bathroom as it's private and closed off for washing, showering and dressing.
This layout, with the door near the back, also gives us a nice roomy lounge area.
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We also found that too. The longer we were away the more making the bed up at night became a problem. We love the caravan we have, apart from having to make the bed up at night and the difficulty of getting out of bed during the night. What we cant work
out is whether the benefits of a fixed bed out weigh the benefits of the extra space during the day. We dont want to change to a fixed bed and then regret it.0 -
good point above...
if only away for a weekend or a week, making up the bed might be ok, go away for four months and youd probably think differently....
it only took us a year to realise that, with longer breaks beckoning, the faff of sofa beds and storing bedding was never going to work....
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We do the same as Jill. Use it as two singles and it only means removing back cushions and unrolling a couple of sleeping bags. No trouble at all.
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We have a 2-berth and keep considering changing to a fixed bed. However, my husband is over 6 foot tall, and to be honest, yes it is a bit of hassle making the bed up, but I'd rather 5 minutes of hassle in order to have a huge bed and a decent night, as
opposed to having the convenience of a fixed bed but feel squashed and cramped all night, and then groggy in the morning. Whatever one opts for, there's always a compromise.0 -
We started out with a motorhome which we had to make up into a double bed every night. I didn't like the fact that one of us always had to scramble over the other to get in & out. When we changed to a caravan, we got a 2 berth and use the settees as two
singles. True, making them up & putting away is a chore, but only takes a couple of minutes once you get into a routine. We cut down the workload when I had a bad back last year by leaving a mattress protector & bottom sheet on, and putting on a throw during
the day. Recently we thought about upgrading our van, and convinced ouselves that fixed singles were for us but, after looking at a few, decided to stick with a newer 2 berth instead, at least until we're both retired.0 -
Comfortable, convenient and bags of space underneath but one heck of a compromise. If you like touring, especially abroad, just think of all that extra space/weight you are pulling around. Is it worth it? Only you can decide.
In the end after successive upgrades resulting in a 1600 kg 7.4m van it drove us to a compact motorhome with two parallel seats/beds and Duvalays. Back to touring as we used to with the freedom of the road and no worries about manoevering into a tight pitch
or around narrow Italian lakeside roads.If you are going up and down the motorway to a Club site for a couple of weeks weeks, great idea.
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Maybe our next van will have to have fixed single beds,as I'm getting fed up with scrambling over my wife at night (stop sniggering at the back boy !!) .
I would have happily gone for singles for this reason but OH refused. A fixed bed also has the advantage if someone goes to bed or gets up at a different time - for example I get up much earlier and just leave him asleep. Or if someone is ill - if I have a migraine I can go and go to sleep in the day time without it affecting OH too much.
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Wouldn't go back to making up the beds now, the seating cushions were not giving us a good nights sleep so now have the comfort of an 8" deep mattress, perfect zzzzzzzzzzz's
Yes the caravan is a little longer with reduced space but its a 4 berth used by two people so ideal for us.0 -
We would pack up caravanning if we had to give up our fixed island bed.
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We have a 2-berth and keep considering changing to a fixed bed. However, my husband is over 6 foot tall, and to be honest, yes it is a bit of hassle making the bed up, but I'd rather 5 minutes of hassle in order to have a huge bed and a decent night, as
opposed to having the convenience of a fixed bed but feel squashed and cramped all night, and then groggy in the morning. Whatever one opts for, there's always a compromise.trust you guys slept well in the garden last night....we had a lovely time, thanks....
KG, was checking out his rev counter on the way home....closet Hamilton
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When we were looking for a change of 'van in 2012 we had initially secided on a fixed double. However on further consideration, as we would have trouble, even with the motor mover, bringing the van in and out due to the narrowness of the road outside
we couldn't go much beyond a 7m shipping length. The lost length of the front seating was the main reason for a change of mind. We chose the side dinette option Clubman ES and are very happy with the choice, The front seating makes two singles easily with
little effort and are well sprung and comfortable. As we us sleeping bags it makes it easy. The width is such that I leave the back rest on on my side and have plenty of width and don't need to turn the bench seats over to make them comfortable. The side dinnete
also makes the 'van feel more spacious and is, for me, ideal for food prep. I have arthritis in my spine and find the table height suits me well for prep.0
