Size of bunks

[HazelPaul]

We've been looking at vans either 5 or 6 birth and have come across the bunks over side dinette's that are on a metal frame and look quite sturdy but others where the bunk is over a double end dinette area and you have to lift the bunk down and it rests on blocks on each side of the vans. This looks very narrow and not safe and as we've an 11 year old, do you think this format is too small? Will it also become a pain putting the bunk up each night? Help... we want to buy soon but cannot decide which layout to go for. Can you share some of your realistic experiences? Thanks....

 

[weejock]

I currently have the side dinette bunks and whilst they are sturdy enough they are not terribly big so it will depend upon the size of your daughter.

On the twin dinette not all vans have the block of wood. My last swift van had the same arrangement as the side dinette type you have been looking at and our lad used this till he was 14.

 

[Jo_5040485]

The pull out bunks normally have a weight limit, so you need to check that, I think some are better than others.

Have to say we have found with our children that some of the bunks are very small. When we have looked at vans we have put up the bunk and got the child who'd be using it to try it out for size. Also think about growing room, as it's surprising how quickly they can out grow the bunks!

jog

 

[Jo_5040485]

Sorry meant to add, we have just changed from a 6 birth van with fixed end bunks, to a larger 6 birth van with a fixed bed for us and then the children are sleeping on the two front seats , with the 3rd child on the side dinette. One of the reasons for the change was because 2 of our children were finding the bunks too small. THe new layout works really well for us.

How many children do you have? Things to think about also are are you all likely to be going to bed at the same time, or will you want somewhere to sit in the evenings after the children are in bed?

When we are away, our children all tend to go to bed a bit later than normal, and to be honest, when they are in bed we either sit out side chatting or we sit on our bed and watch a film!

Jog

 

[smiley]

We have a tent this year on holiday both slept in it.

we only used the bunk for a soptover.

the kids love camping out in the tent

 

[Chaps]

We need a 5 berth and when we began our search for the perfect first caravan last October we realised that the main consideration for us would be the width of the bunks for our 3 kids. They were determined from the start that none of them wanted to share a double bed and a lot of 5 and 6 berth vans have very narrow bunks. The triple bunk Baileys are great layouts for kids but the 3 bunks are only about 1' 11" wide which could be unsuitable if your kids are older and bigger. Our 12 year old twins differ greatly in size - 1 is slightly built and a smaller bunk would be ok for him for now but the other one is 5' 5" tall, 9 stone and wears mens clothes! You need to think ahead if you plan to keep the van for a while. The very low bottom bunk on the Baileys works great for very young kids as they don't have far to fall if they roll out.

The layout in our 5 berth Geist AK495 suits us perfectly as the fixed bunks are around 2' 8" wide. You can get an extra bunk fitted over the single bed for around

 

[Zafiral]

For the money, Adrea Alteas have larger bunks than most rivals, but beware they have no battery or gas water heater so can only be used on EHU equiped sites.

 

[IonaCaravan]

We have an Adria Altea 542 it sounds like a similar layout to the Geist with full bunks at the back and a dining area which converts into a single bed, all these beds are large enough for an adult although the top bunk has a weight limit of 70kg. We bought a leisure battery for it so you don't have to be plugged in all the time! The build quality seems to be pretty good and certainly far superior to the usual "British" makes ie Lunar Bailley etc.