Fixed Bed

[Leonard_374381817]

We are about to purchase our first caravan and are becoming confused as to what layout of caravan to get. As we have not any personal experience to base our buying decision on we would welcome opinions of all you experienced caravaners. Salient information:-

My wife and I have just retired. Only two of us using the caravan.

To be used mainly touring abroad, going away for 6-8 weeks at a time twice a year.

Towing vehicle Freelander 2 diesel auto.

Would prefer not to buy a very large caravan. Max internal length approx 6 metres.

My thoughts are that fixed beds are relatively small. I am 6' 2" and my wife is 5' 8", and occupy a relatively large proportion of the caravan.

Require a decent sixed bathroom.

I have been told that making/unmaking the bed in a caravan that has convertible seats is a right hassle morning and evening.

We would be very grateful for your thoughts/observations.

An aquantance

 

[Leonard_374381817]

Whoops

Please ignore "An aquaintance"

 

[Chrisbee]

Like most things in life you have to compromise. If you want a bed over 6'2' and a decent bathroom in a van under 6mtr length then you are going to have to make the bed up at night. I found it to be a pain. This year I have changed to a fixed bed model but the convienience of a large end bathroom has had to be sacrificed.

 

[trevor123]

We been looking into this as well it look lovely getting out of your fix bed in the morning and we love our end washroom too much. Trevor

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi Leonard

Welcome to the hobby of caravanning and one I hope you really enjoy. Getting the right layout is a bit of a nightmare especially if you have not had one before, as you tend to find out your preferences through experience. However, since the introduction of fixed beds, the main choice for many is the toss-up between fixed bed or lovely end bathroom.

I personally do not enjoy HAVING to share facilities especially first thing in the morning and so for us the end bathroom was the priority. Getting out of bed into your own shower with wardrobe handy for dressing is brilliant. The other half can then get the rest of the van tidy whilst one is in the bathroom, so perhaps your question is how much do you like your bathroom at home!

With this priority however, we do have to make the beds every night. We now use them as singles and we use a 4.5 tog duvet for the bottom and a 9 tog for the top, or visa-versa depending on the season. We keep the pillows in the overhead lockers and then just straighten out both duvets, fold them in half lengthways then roll them up together and stick them under the bed. It really couldn't be easier, and takes a couple of minutes, so having to do this so easily means we can have the end bathroom. Cold trips to the shower, wet floors, soggy trouser legs do not appeal anymore, especially if you might use the van in the winter.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[Guest]

We've used large twin axle caravans for many years and still prefer traditional put away beds. Hassle, what hassle? It's just as easy to sort the bed out as it some of the fixed beds.

If you intend to use the caravan a lot unless you are going to lay in bed all day fixed beds waste a lot of room as do large end bathrooms.

We have two grandaughters who caravan with us and their baby sister will join come with us next year. A fixed bed severely restricts the room available to you even with the largest of caravans.

Take care before you buy as what works for others may not work for you. Cramped together in a van is not fun!

 

[Del_374232870]

Over the years we have part exchanged our vans , each time making a small but significant improvement. The best change we ever made was to a fixed bed model. Now if I or the wife wish to go to bed early the bed is already ade up and we do not disturb each other . Likewise we can get up in the morning and the other can remain in bed. Also no more putting away of bedding. Sheer Bliss.Plenty of fixwd bwd modwls within you body length.

 

[JohnKS]

We have a fixed bed model and wouldn't change it. It is difficult to find a bed if you ae 6'2" though. One thing I would advise is not to get an L shaped front. We bought one and changed it 6 months later. The most uncomfortable van we have ever had.

 

[swpostie]

Hi Leonard,

If I were you I would go for the largest 'van you can tow!

I don't think you'll notice any difference towing a 7 metre 'van as opposed to a 6 metre 'van, but you will certainly appreciate the extra living space.

Our caravan has a separate rear lounge, which we usually leave made up as a bed - but it gives us the flexibility if we want another seating area.

Our washroom is in the centre, of the 'van, opposite the kitched. It's quite small and doesn't have a separate shower but it is perfectly useable and suits us fine.

We looked at all sorts of single-axle 'vans with the layout we were after and there are plenty of 'vans around with centre washrooms with a separate shower cubicle - one of those may be worth a look.

Hope this helps

 

[Rioja]

Leonard, you've possibly opened a can of worms, the pro's vs the anti's !!!!

In an ideal layout you want everything and you can have it if you have a large enough vehicle to tow it all and a big enough budget to pay for both the outfit and the fuel required to tow it.

You have however stated you want a smallish van. You have to sacrifice something. A fixed bed takes a lot of space.Your call.

Even in a two berth van you do have the option of leaving the bed up all day and living in the awning if the weather is OK, although in my opinion it's not too much effort putting the bed away and getting it out again. As others have stated, if you want a big bathroom you often don't get one with a fixed bed , you might even have to dry the shower by hand before you can use the loo and that's a bigger pain than making the bed.

A major consideration though is that, as you get older, you might not want to crawl over your partner to get to the loo at night, and if you use two single beds are they wide enough for a decent nights sleep plus there's the stowage of the unused back and armrests and two beds to make instead of one.

A caravan is a major purchase, if you buy a new one it will depreciate hugely the minute you drive away. You read on this forum so many instances where new 'vanners have made a major mistake. Until you have really tried a van in the field it's hard to tell what you might need. Personally, if I were you, if this is your first attempt at vanning why not hire one for the week. Last time I spoke to someone who had they paid

 

[Gumbo]

This topic comes up quite often, it all comes down to personal choice. I spent 1/2 hour today walking around a dealers that we only visit once or twice a year. I left feeling good because 2 years after buying our van I have seen nothing I would exchange it for.

Fixed bed ( walk around ) changed matress for Memory Foam

Shower cubicle ( not wet room )

Toilet in it's own little room.

Plenty of room to Cook Breakfast or Lunch we tend to eat out in the Evening.

Didn't need space for children but OK for grandaughter to stay.

To obtain what we needed/wanted we have a Twin Axle with a large 4X4 to tow it with ease, and comfort for us.

Spend Time and Look Around that was the best advice we received. Oh and these aren't cheap I think we spent around

 

[weejock]

Hi Leonard

I think your major issue will be your height. There are not many vans that I have ever seen with a fixed bed for your height.

They may say that the bed is 6 2 but by the time you lie down I doubt if your head will be right at the headboard which will put you a couple of inches further down for a start and then if you roll on your side or front your toes will be yet another couple of inches down.

Whilst I am a couple of inches taller than you I find this to be very uncomfortable on the ankles. Also most of the latest wider width vans give you a much larger front bed. I also presume that if you are tall that you are fairly large across the shoulder and with the exception of the fixed beds that go across the back of the van this tends to be quite compromised as well.

Another point is you may as well cross Explorer group vans and Baileys off your list as they have 2 vital inches less headroom than most vans. At a show once I took a good deal of skin off the top of my head on a light fitting in a Bailey.

 

[Steve L]

Hi Leonard.

I'm 6ft 1" tall and have no bother sleeping in our Abbey Freestyle 540SE.

It has an offside fixed bed with the shower/loo next to the bed area. at the front the two bench seats are long enough for me on the right side and her ladyship on the left side, to stretch out for an afternoon siesta.

There is a cleaver vanity area by the bed which is handy and the kitchen is well laid out with a full cooker and 90Ltr fridge for the wine.

Also it has fibre glass side panels which are better for continental use as they don't ripple in the heat. Also they are quieter on a rainy night. Another plus is that they don't dent should a stray football come your way unlike paper thin aluminium panels do. The aluminium is under half a millimetre thick these days and rely's on the bonded foam backing for it's strength. Glassfibre isn't diffucult to repair and even if a caravan workshop can't do it a boatyard can.

Steve L.

At 1436Kgs max weight it would be well within your Freelanders capability.

It took me a while to find this van and we had looked at neumerous others before deciding that this one was as close as week could get to the luxury of a twin axle van without the excess weight as our car can only tow 1400Kgs.

Davan caravans at Jcn 21 M5 are abbey agents and may well have one for you to look at.

We found our 3 year old example at Coleford for 8k.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Leonard

Our last caravan was a Bailey Pagent Vendee. This came with a rear transverse bed, The vendee was 7'2" wide so I guess the bed's length wasn't far off that. Swift and Elldis do similar models. Internal length was 18'3" so I don't think overall it was far off your magical 6 metres.

I'm 6' and always had bags of room.

Let us all know what you go for.

Cheers

Alan

 

[ValA.]

If you're touring abroad then site facilities are usually so good that you won't miss a large bathroom. I'd go for the fixed bed every time - my OH is 6 feet and a whisker, and has no problem in our bed (Swift). The shower/toilet is big enough to use if you want it.

As said, the most important bit is that you can go to bed at different times, if that suits, without having to wrestle with cushions, turn off TVs, etc. Really think about the practicalities - imagine yourself in each van you go in, and write a list of likes and dislikes - only that way can you eliminate what doesn't suit your requirements.

 

[Charlie4]

we had a similar problem, i am 6ft 2 and over 18 stone partner not as big ,

we went to loads of vans and climbed on the beds laid down in our sleeping positions etc, how do you sleep perfectly straight?

we have a swift charisma 555 fixed bed and it is perfectly big enough for us and our dog (not in the bed) which is a great dane lucher cross

 

[triker1]

Hi Leonard,for us the fixed bed was a must.My wife and I are both disabled and to make up a bed is to difficult for me.We looked at many different models before finally settling on a Bailey Limousin,it ticked all the right boxes,fixed bed on the nearside (most are on the offside)end toilet c/w double size shower (very handy as I need to assist my wife in the shower) lots of storage,good centre kitchen,and for the grand kids/entertaining two long single beds up front which also converts to a huge double bed.

We bought a 2006 nissan pathfinder to tow it with,averages out at 25 mpg towing and 41 mpg solo excellant.we are both very happy with our outfit and like the last intend to use it all year round.We are away another once this month again next month and are away for six days over the new year.

It's the best move that we have ever made.

 

[IonaCaravan]

How about a 5 berth twin dinette arrangement. You could have the rear or front dinette permanently made up as a bed and still have a lounging area. The washroom will be in the centre with this configuration which may be larger than the corner toilet/shower arrangement of a fixed bed layout. Adria and other continental vans are 2.3m wide which can make a significant difference inside especially if the bed lies across the width of the van.