Upgrading to Fixed Bed
Hi, Looking to upgrade to a fixed bed from a 2 berth.
So I've had a 2003 Elddis Advantage 482 for a year and now I'm looking to upgrade to a fixed bed, was just wondering if anyone has done it before? and what they've upgraded to?
Looking to spend around 8k and is it better buying from a dealer or private ?
Comments
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My advice is try and find a caravan with an island bed. our last two have been to one side and whilst big enough and comfortable, whoever sleeps wall side can be quite movement restricted sometimes and getting out first can also prove to be fun
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When the kids flew the nest we moved down to a two birth, it was great to start with but then we found that having had a late night with a few drinks you then had to make the beds.
We looked at fixed single beds and decided on the Clubman SB, it has fulfilled all our expectations, very pleased we made the move. Whatever type of fixed bed (s) you go for it will add about four foot to your caravan body length. Good luck
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There son many makes and layouts around suggest you do some research and find the one that suits you best.
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Over the years we've had all types of van layouts, some with fixed beds some not.
I think our favourite was the fixed single beds in the Lunar Lexon, the van felt roomy, the beds very easy to make make up, top lockers easy to reach and a nice cabinet between the beds gave us somewhere to put our books, specs and a cuppa
The worst and never to be repeated was a side bed, awful to make up as you have to crawl around the bed to fit the sheet, inside person gets pushed against the wall, if inside person needs to get up during the night they have to crawl over the other person
, top lockers can only be accessed by climbing on the bed (and I'm tall) Island bed is ok but there isn't much room at either side of the bed so its a bit of a squeeze. The side island bed is better for room either side but you do have only a little space to get round the bottom of the bed when its in full sleep mode at night time.
We have gone back to a smaller caravan and make the beds up at night. This doesn't bother us and takes all of 3 mins to do. It gives us a smaller van to manoeuvre around sites, cheaper for the ferry, more room on pitches, yet it gives us lots of space during the daytime.
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Switching to a fixed bed layout tipped the scales for us and caused us to give up caravanning and buy a motorhome. We had a Swift two berth and bought a new Bailey Valencia. At first we loved the convenience of not having to make up beds and having a memory foam topper, then came the downside.
Fixed beds are a massive compromise on size. They are invariably “small” doubles with a cut off section.
The memory foam topper added weight so the bed would not stay in the raised position for access underneath. Had to prop it up with a broom handle.
Making up the bed with one side against the caravan side was a real struggle.
The caravan was too big for touring around Europe. Barely a touring van at all.
To summarise, converting daytime seats to night sleeping is the best use of space. Too big a van limits touring capability.
Good luck!
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We like a fixed bed and with the width van we can store it means it has to be a "French bed" as we want a double. Access in the night is not much of a problem as if it occurs we each "go" rather than do the climbing over stunt.
Making it up was greatly improved when I twigged it has large side and head end windows, so now for major re-makes I go outside and Lady O works inside and in moments we sort it together.
The downside to fixed beds, with still long lounges is a long van, and a heavy one. If the lounge was compromised, ie too short, the fixed bed loved as it is would have to go.
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We like our Valencia. I guess any van is a bit of a compromise. I like the idea of an island bed, but I also like the washroom across the back of the caravan. The trouble with the pull out tye of double bed is that there ischardly enough room to get around to the rear washroom should you need to get to the loo at night. I'm not convinced that a Motorhome would really suit us at the moment. We like to set up on site and then go out for days.
We've taken the Valencia around Europe, but I've always made a point of booking large pitches in advance.
Carol always sleeps on the inside - she always goes to bed first and gets up after me and rarely gets up in the middle of the night. The biggest problem for us is that the bed is not quite big enough for three....... Carol, myself and... The dog!!
David
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We had a Swift Challenger with an island bed at the back with the washroom in the middle. They are producing something similar now. The design and function was good and we could close off the rear if needed. It was quite a long van but on a single axle. We really enjoyed the design and would have kept the van but had to change to a motorhome due to a bout of ill health and needing two drivers (I didn't want to tow.)
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We traded in our Explore 452 2 birth for an Affinity 550 and find the layout great for the 2 of us.
I rise early every morning and before I had to sit in the awning (even in winter) until it was time to put the bed away.
Now with the rear island bed we can both access the toilet in the night and I can sit at the front end in warm comfort.
I would recommend considering the Coachman Pastiche or VIP 545 as they have 2 doors seperating the front from the bedroom and cuts down light leaching from the front.
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Had all manner of fixed beds. Side,awkward to get in and out for person on inside. Island, no problems and enjoyed . Presently have a transverse. Again enjoying it. Appreciate actual size of caravan may also be a factor. As yet can still manage towing and handling. May have to consider downsizing in a few years, What a fixed bed actually is, a four berth for two. Luxury.
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It is not the fixed beds which add to the length of a 4 berth caravan but the large washrooms that all the manufacturers insist on fitting across the rear of the van. We have been using Lunar Lexons for the past 17 years, it is a side bed but has a small corner washroom/toilet much like those fitted in motorhomes. Our current van is the last with this layout so we are not likely to change it anytime soon. All the manufacturers made such vans for over 12 years, now none do. When we go abroad the van is simply a large bedroom as we spend little time in the van during the day and we still have use of the front lounge area if needed in an evening when the weather is colder.
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We've got a Swift Sprite Major FB and as I've mentioned elsewhere I sometimes wish we'd got a slightly different layout, as I'm the one who sleeps at the "back" wedged against the window and have to clamber over hubby if I need loo through the night! However, we manage okay. I don't have any problem making the bed up.
Actually this is a small price to pay in comparison to our old caravan, which involved turning the lounge into a bed every night and returning it to a lounge every morning: hubby goes to bed before me and rises before me so this was a nightmare! At least now I can stay in bed when he gets up at dawn...
Ours was an "entry level" caravan, so at the lower price end of the market and was only around £16,000 new: you can get pre owned ones which are only a few years old for your budget. It's also not as large as many fixed bed caravans, being only 6.93 metres in length.
Things I love:
Large front window (not divided into three sections like more expensive caravans tend to have) which allows brilliant views and is another reason we want to keep our van.
Plushness of upholstery (I've sat in loads of other caravans in dealerships and am satisfied that my seats are amongst the comfiest 😁).
We have considered upgrading to a Lunar Lexon 590, which has an island bed at the back and a bathroom across middle (with direct access from both sides of the bed). However, I'm sure that there would be a downside to this layout too, (for example losing the large front window I love) and can't really justify the cost currently.....maybe in a couple of years!
The fixed bed: there will always be compromises with whatever model and layout you choose but I love being able to walk 2 metres to my bed after a few glasses of wine and just get into it without having to build it first!
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Before swapping to the MH, we had a 2007 Abbey Vogue 470. French bed, corner bathroom and short lounge. 6.4m shipping length. We would not have swapped it for another caravan as it suited us. So long as the one with the dodgiest plumbing sleeps on the outside, there are no real problems. Relatively spacious living on a compact length.
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We nearly bought one of those when we first decided to buy a caravan, as I absolutely loved everything about that model. Alas the seller (private sale) put us off when he started to tell us that we may experience problems with the electrics,which he had added bits to himself and removed some functions which he didn't need! He would have provided us with his own written instructions but alarm bells had started to ring and we ended up going to a dealer......I was very disappointed as it still is one of my favourite models and was just within our budget.
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we are now on our second fixed bed. The first was the French type at the side, it works well but the main downside is that if the person near the wall needs to go to the toilet in the night they will disturb the person on the outside. The second is that with the side and head against walls making the bed is a bit more difficult. If you can live with this they do usually provide the shortest length and weight for the caravan.
We now have a transverse bed which is certainly easier to make but you do need bedding at the foot or it can raise itself during travel. Being across the caravan though it does restrict travel past the bed end when fully extended and for tall people it would be rather short. Again it depends on if you can live with it but certainly ours is exceptionally comfortable although different makes will give different comfort levels.
Forward facing ones are probably the easiest to live with but the caravan tends to be longer still and many are too short for taller people. You just need to know what you can tow in the way of weight and try the beds for comfort and length before you decide.
With a fixed bed the lounge can be compromised so make sure that is big enough for you.
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We traded our huge twin-axle fixed bed caravan last year for a smaller van without a fixed bed. Technically it is a three berth van as it has the two sofa beds at the front and a side-dinette which converts to a bed. The rear bathroom is huge with stacks of storage.
Our van is five years old and we're currently having some custom-fit changes made to it so it works better for us. We're extending the two single sofas out so we get full-size twin beds with only a small gap down the middle. I'm currently on a mission to source comfy light-weight mattresses to fit - we can then eliminate that side "lump" on the sofa mattress which causes discomfort when sleeping. We leave the beds made up and just cover with throws when travelling. We use the side-dinette for eating and convert to a bed at night for the dog!
We loved our old van and had it for about 10 years but we're happy with the new van layout and will be super comfy when the custom changes have been completed.
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My advice is to try out the new planned bed as much as you're able to BEFORE you buy.
I know everyone is different but we went to a fixed bed thinking it would solve all our 'problems' that we thought we had. In our experience it only created more issues and now we're happy to make up our bed again each night and enjoy a large bed that gives us a comfortable nights rest.
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Fixed bed is definately the way to go for comfortable caravanning. I lived in a bed-sit when in my 20s and don't ever want to go back to late night/early morning furniture convertions.
The transverse ones leave no space to go past the end when pulled out (more furniture convertions), and the island ones only offer similar squeeze space at all times. The side bed gives usable space down the side, two people can pass even, and as I don't trust the hydraulic damper things, it gets propped up anyway when going into "the cellar".
I don't follow this problem of "making the bed" every day. How difficult is it to straighten a downie and fluff some pillow? Jings, even I do it sometimes, especilly after impromptu afternoon naps I want to keep secret.
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Our problem with the side bed was that my wife moves a lot when sleeping and tends to pull the sheet out from the base. Leaning over and trying to tuck it in and get the sheet flat is difficult and getting round both sides is far easier.
With the transverse bed there are issues with getting round when the bed is extended but ours is managable. Some though do have a small cabinet at the foot which would make the situation worse. Basically you need to see the bed extended and decide if you can live with it. You also need to check the size with all fixed beds if you are tall as many are pretty short.
There is another alternative although it does not appeal to us but Hobby in particular, have a number of models where the fixed bed is across the front. It will have all the problems of a side bed, but will have far more length if you need that.
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Ah, Wildwood, your observation goes some way to explaining the confusion about some folk making up the bed easier than others. We don't have a top sheet to pull out/put back - all the covering warmth is in the downie which requires only a quick shake.
If it is my turn to make bed (i.e. last up) I lie on the side away from the wall and flap the other side of the downie into place, and fluff two pillows before I get out. Then only one side to sort once feet on floor.
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We started caravanning with 4 kids and with that came the dreaded getting the bedding out every night. Lately and when the kids had flown the nest,, apart from a short period where we had an island bed, we have had a side bed for 8 yrs or so - no more training sessions by hauling the bedding out every night! We are about to have an island bed again. I bet the OH can’t wait as it was her who slept against the wall! but then I’m disturbed if she needs the loo in the night. What a wonderful sight awaits returning from a long and tiring walk- a full sized bed- yummy!
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We have a side bed in our 2009 Bailey Pageant Sancerre Series 7 and simply wouldn't be without it.
Yes there are issues like tucking the bed in, inside person getting out at night occasionally, reaching over for the cupboards etc but we wouldn't be without it. That and the spacious end washroom has extended our caravanning life. I couldn't stand making up beds every night and certainly wouldn't entertain sleeping bags on side beds.
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It might depend on how old or how agile you are! Our last caravan, purchased nine years ago, had a side double bed with the bathroom behind. Access to the bed was reasonably easy. When we changed to the motorhome this also had a French Bed but because the toilet shower compartment is next to the bed access is more restricted. Our next motorhome will have two long single bunks or large double will give us the freedom and comfort that a French Bed no longer offers.
David
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