Traveling with bed made.

[Chris1985uk]

My caravan is a twin dinette, when travelling is it okay to have the bed made at the rear of the caravan? We have 2 children and having the bed made while traveling will save us time when arriving to the site later in the evening when the kids are tired.

Thanks

Chris

 

[RogerL]

My caravan is a twin dinette, when travelling is it okay to have the bed made at the rear of the caravan? We have 2 children and having the bed made while traveling will save us time when arriving to the site later in the evening when the kids are tired.

Thanks

Chris

Yes you can - but check that the infill slats haven't moved during transit.

 

[ProfJohnL]

My caravan is a twin dinette, when travelling is it okay to have the bed made at the rear of the caravan? We have 2 children and having the bed made while traveling will save us time when arriving to the site later in the evening when the kids are tired.

Thanks

Chris

The answer is probably yes, but check your nose load before hitching.

 

[Mel]

Many years ago we had a twin dinette and travelled with the rear bed made without problem. There was a fold away bunk to put above the rear bed. We never towed with that made up.
Mel

 

[Woodentop]

The answer is probably yes, but check your nose load before hitching.

Why should a bed whether made up or not affect the noseweight? The weight is always behind the axle anyway.

 

[Dustydog]

Why should a bed whether made up or not affect the noseweight? The weight is always behind the axle anyway.

Some people do store their bedding in the car when travelling. We certainly don’t 🤪

 

[otherclive]

Some people do store their bedding in the car when travelling. We certainly don’t 🤪

We always had the rear beds made up, and things like TV would be carried laying flat on the bed under the sleeping bags.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Of course its OK ! Why wouldn't it be?

Where is it written that you cannot/should not travel with beds made up?

Many caravans (mine included) have an island bed and that remains made up at all times

 

[ProfJohnL]

Why should a bed whether made up or not affect the noseweight? The weight is always behind the axle anyway.

Not everyone carries the bedding for a particular berth in it's under seat locker.

Any change in the way a caravan has been loaded, may affect the noseload. Moving 7.5 Kg of bedding from the front to the rear of a caravan could make 15Kg difference at the hitch.

Or there may be something heavy that occupied the floor under the rear dinette table, but because the bed is made up now that item has been moved elsewhere.

It may make no noticeable difference, but for the reasons above, it might and that could render the outfit to become more sensitive to instability..

Are you suggesting you shouldn't check?

 

[Chris1985uk]

Of course its OK ! Why wouldn't it be?

Where is it written that you cannot/should not travel with beds made up?

Many caravans (mine included) have an island bed and that remains made up at all times

Island beds are designed to stay in position at all times. So that's taken into account when towing etc. So I'm just checking from people's experience.

 

[Beachball]

Some years ago we had a fixed bed we always had it made up and tv would lay flat under the duvet.

 

[Buckman]

My caravan is a twin dinette, when travelling is it okay to have the bed made at the rear of the caravan? We have 2 children and having the bed made while traveling will save us time when arriving to the site later in the evening when the kids are tired.

Thanks

Chris

As mentioned there is no issue with the bed being made up however it is very important that you check your nose weight of the caravan. Having the bed made up may add another 10 or more kgs weight to the rear of the caravan and this could cause an issue of the tail wagging the dog.

 

[Raywood]

We often travel with the bed made up. On the basis that bedding would normally be stored in or under the bed it should make no real difference to weight distribution.

 

[Buckman]

We often travel with the bed made up. On the basis that bedding would normally be stored in or under the bed it should make no real difference to weight distribution.

A lot depends where the bed is located.

 

[Hutch]

We travel with the side bed " made up," in as much as the duvet is folded square to the middle bulkhead and the pillows on top, rather than having them all towards the rear of the caravan, probably no more than 5kg, but every little bit counts in the end.

 

[Dustydog]

Unless you store your bedding elsewhere other than under the seats I can’t see what it really matters. My deceased in laws made up their front single beds every morning and sat on them daytime.
What does concern me and , mea culpa, I’ve made the same mistake. Over our travels used clothing goes in the rear laundry bin. Full this can weigh 15 kg+. That does affect the nose load!

 

[GaryB]

We have always left the bed made up when travelling, I find I have to use ratchet straps to stop my wife rolling out of it when going over speed bumps though.

The only slight downside would be if a mattress topper was being used as they have a considerable weight penalty.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I'm wondering if I (and others) have misunderstood the OP's question. When Chris said " the bed made at the rear " I presumed he meant it was set in its bed form and made up with all the bedding.

If you add the bedding then that might involve a weight transfer which would affect the nose load.

 

[audiorob]

I think the layout that Chris owns and describes as twin dinette was at times used by couples prior to the popularity of fixed bed layouts with the rear being left as a made up double and the front used as the dinette. If there is any bunk it should be stowed for travel for safety but otherwise should be fine during travel.

 

[Buckman]

I think the layout that Chris owns and describes as twin dinette was at times used by couples prior to the popularity of fixed bed layouts with the rear being left as a made up double and the front used as the dinette. If there is any bunk it should be stowed for travel for safety but otherwise should be fine during travel.

Our single axle 2004 Lunar had the fixed bed across the rear and it always felt unstable when towing even with awning between front bunks and we did have a very bad snake on the M5 whilst towing it. After only 6 months we traded it in for a twin axle and never looked back.

 

[Dustydog]

Our single axle 2004 Lunar had the fixed bed across the rear and it always felt unstable when towing even with awning between front bunks and we did have a very bad snake on the M5 whilst towing it. After only 6 months we traded it in for a twin axle and never looked back.

Another advocate of TA stability tic.

 

[GaryB]

Our single axle 2004 Lunar had the fixed bed across the rear and it always felt unstable when towing even with awning between front bunks and we did have a very bad snake on the M5 whilst towing it. After only 6 months we traded it in for a twin axle and never looked back.

It just shows how no two are the same, we had a 2002 Sterling Eccles Jewel then a 2007 Elddis Avante 540 with a fixed bed across the back and both towed fine. Got to admit we had a twin axle Sprite Quattro EB from 2018 until last September and that was incredibly stable on all journeys.

 

[ProfJohnL]

It just shows that if you change almost anything on a caravan, it can affect the way it tows, so if you change something, then be wary and if necessary recheck things like nose load and weight distribution.

 

[Hutch]

It just shows how no two are the same, we had a 2002 Sterling Eccles Jewel then a 2007 Elddis Avante 540 with a fixed bed across the back and both towed fine. Got to admit we had a twin axle Sprite Quattro EB from 2018 until last September and that was incredibly stable on all journeys.

We also had a Sterling Eccles Jewel with the rear bed, it towed great, and at that time I wasn't too concerned about weights and balance, After a huge snaking with a Coachman 575 with rear Island bed, I had a huge rethink about balancing kit.

 

[Christhecaravanner84]

Absolutely not. The bed might explode and endanger other road users.