Permanent bed v drop down bed - A-class type

lotusanne

Guest
Hi all
Much as I love my ancient Autosleeper Ford Legend van layout (2 long settees facing each other and revolving cab seats gives lots of living and entertaining space ) but I am starting to think a permanent bed would be nice in the next van, so have been doing some research. Don't want anything too long - about 20ft max and want to retain the space and the option of sleeping grandkids, so been looking at some of the smaller A-class with drop down beds, like the Hymer B series or Pilot Galaxy for example, where the bed lowers over the cab seats complete with bedding. Was starting to think that this was the perfect solution - but just been talking to someone who has sold his in favour of a Bessacar with permanent bed - he said they got sick of clambering into bed, plus he was always on the inside! As I have never driven in an A-class never mind slept in the drop down bed, I would be interested to hear of anyone else's experiences. Many thanks :)
 
I fortunately have both,a rear fixed longitudinal double and the drop down A class at the front but the van is 22' long.Both beds are very comfortable,we normally use the rear unless it is very hot weather or one of us is ill,then we sleep separately.The drop down bed is excellent but you do have to have a reasonable degree of mobility to get up and down the ladder.

If taking grandchildren in a smaller A class where the central dinette converts to a double bed bear in mind that when they have gone to bed in the drop down they will still be in close proximity to you so any noise or watching TV may disturb them.We put our granddaughter to bed in the rear double and can continue watching TV,then when it's our bedtime mrs wakk gets in the rear double with her and I use the drop down bed.
 
Agree with Colin

One aspect you may not be considering is width

PVC's are the original van width, if white van man can get more or less anywhere, so can a PVC.

Of course it all depends what you want, but we like to be able to go more or less anywhere we'd take the car and not worry about dimensions too much.

Your call really!
 
IanH said:
Agree with Colin

One aspect you may not be considering is width

PVC's are the original van width, if white van man can get more or less anywhere, so can a PVC.

Of course it all depends what you want, but we like to be able to go more or less anywhere we'd take the car and not worry about dimensions too much.

Your call really!
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Nail hit firmly on the head for us....

 
IanH said:
Agree with Colin

One aspect you may not be considering is width

PVC's are the original van width, if white van man can get more or less anywhere, so can a PVC.

Of course it all depends what you want, but we like to be able to go more or less anywhere we'd take the car and not worry about dimensions too much.

Your call really!
Click to expand...

Have to agree, that's reason I changed from a c class to a pvc.
Got fed up not being able to park up in small villages, visit inner cities etc.
Since changing to a pvc I can basically go anywhere I wish and park up into the bargain. I'm even considering getting rid of the car as my pvc can be my everyday vehicle.
 
But surely a smaller A-class is not going to be anymore restrictive than my current can which is a coach built so already wider than a van? I did worry when moving for a van conversion that it might be more restrictive but it hasn't been, and at 18 ft it fits in a normal parking space? And with an a class at least you know exactly how wide you are rather than having a narrower cab? We go everywhere in ours dales, lakes, 2 weeks in Donegal etc and I honestly don't think the extra width has made any difference.

I think I will have to to try out some of the drop down beds to see for myself how it feels, I just thought they would be the bees knees but now am not so sure....
 
My van has a rear lounge. The bed makes up within 5 minutes and personally I prefer not having to have a bigger van just to have a ready made bed. My c class is very close to the width of a pvc, and using it a lot in remote parts of Scotland I have been very glad of that at times. I do find that the few extra inches width make it feel much more spacious inside.
Before buying I rented a van with a climb up permanent bed and that convinced me that it was not what I wanted.
Horses for courses though, and I understand why some prefer a permanent bed or a drop down to climb into.
 
See my Avatar..Fixed rear bed yes !

We have a rear fixed bed.
A good sized shower with a door in the bathroom.

A nice open dining area just behind the cab seats which swivel.

Perfect for us
Vehicle is 6.5m long 3500kg

Yes 3 minuses

1 Full width so some very minor roads are tricky others are off-limits. (B roads OK. "opensided" unclassified roads just OK)

2 Parking in towns and small carparks
( can park outside and use bus or walk or even a Taxi if need be )
With regard to Taxi.. It can be nearly as cheap as the bus and more convenient as an example
We often stay on a farm site near Maidenhead
It is a decent walk to the bus stop
A pair of bus tickets is £4.50 one way
A taxi firm offers £5 fixed price fares which then takes us back right to the camp-site especially handy if you have "done food shopping".

Some people have bikes but the expense and inconvenience is simply not worth it.
(Obviously different if you go for leisure bike rides)

3 Some overnight POIs are not good

However it suits us and we deal with the 3 minuses quite happily for the living/sleeping space and general comfort.
We live in the vehicle for the full 6 months in the summer..which means that on some days we are in the (stationary) vehicle for a good deal of the day if the weather is very bad.
With a suitable extra cover on the bed it is an area we use in the day both for temporary storage and to assist with meal preparation etc.

Personally having used (swapping) other vehicles without such a bed I know we would get fed up with any other solution !

As you post earlier ..Not much difference between a coachbuilt and A class with regard to Small roads and parking issues
A class bigger cab area but how many are under 3500kg ? (I know there are)

Dropdown bed OK but a bit of hassle something else to go wrong and maybe claustrophobic.

Indeed some Vehicles with a fixed but high rear bed may be claustrophobic !
 
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Irrespective of van fixed or drop down it has to be a proper bed for us. Most people spend around 1/2 there time in their van in bed. Proper bed has a real mattress, normally sprung and is totally flat, a good nights sleep is right up there in the priorities for us.

As ohhers have said beds no longer need to be transverse but generally the more varied options are on new or newer vans. Some of the very latest have two drop downs one front one rear and again some of newer ones drop very very low.

As for width there are very few roads a PVC could tackle that a coach built or A Class coundnt, car parks are a different matter.
 
Just a few thoughts on different vehicles.

The Adria coach built, we had for a few months had a drop down bed which came down in the middle of vehicle and twin beds at the back - made the length 7 m plus. Only problem was you all ended up going to bed as, although the seats at the front were still usable you had to be a contortionist to get to them. We'd have stuck with that, but major drawback - and you won't believe this was the size of toilet cubicle. You could not sit on the loo and shut the door!! Would have been ok if you were 5 ft nothing but, if like us, large and 6ft no chance. So word of advice check the size of the loo as well - unless you want to talk to everyone while sitting on the loo. The shower in that van was lovely though as was the rest of it.

The Burstner Aviano had transverse bed at rear and drop down at the front. Front was quite high to climb into but at least with it being right at the front you could still use some the seating area.

We've now got Mobiviletta A class with twin rear beds and drop down at front. Drop down is low enough to be able to climb in without ladder and able to sit up in bed. Third time lucky. It's 3.5 t (cough) but that's another story. Still 7metres long.

As to self build to get some space you need a long wheel base and so don't gain a huge amount on length on vehicle plus climbing over partner with transverse bed in middle of night isn't much fun as we get older.

I don't think you are going to get under 7 metres and be comfortable especially with kids on a wet windy weekend - after all you will definitely need some much needed r & r me time at the end of the day when the little dears are in bed. Lol

Just another thought - have you looked at those duvalay things - all you do with those apparently is unroll them - like a sleeping bag with memory foam mattress attached, but a lot seem to love them.
 
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I should imagine with your'e locality, you will be visiting the Harrogate Motorhome show in March where there will be lots of different layouts on display all in one place. Make a list of for's and against's and check out the different models.
 
lotusanne said:
But surely a smaller A-class is not going to be anymore restrictive than my current can which is a coach built so already wider than a van? I did worry when moving for a van conversion that it might be more restrictive but it hasn't been, and at 18 ft it fits in a normal parking space? And with an a class at least you know exactly how wide you are rather than having a narrower cab? We go everywhere in ours dales, lakes, 2 weeks in Donegal etc and I honestly don't think the extra width has made any difference.

I think I will have to to try out some of the drop down beds to see for myself how it feels, I just thought they would be the bees knees but now am not so sure....
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Hi ya,
For my view its about How much you are actually going to USE your bed,, I mean is it like me as a Fulltime Livaboard, OR maybe 20/30 nights a year sort of thing,,,
PERMINANT DOUBLE would be my option every time if possible, No messing about, Leave it made up, Lots of under bed storage, IF there is Two or more of you aboard & one is a bit Under the weather for whatever reason, they can retreat to the Bed without disrupting the rest of the vehicles normal day to day usage by others. Nice BIG windows to look out of (& Escape from if needs be !) BUT this often means EXTRA vehicle Length. I use to have a Luton Van, & although a shorter vehicle as with Bed over cab, Climbing in & out at all times was getting a pain, & to be honest I find can get The Nest everywhere I use to get the Luton as far as Park ups go !. (The exception is I need TWO parking spaces in Length at places like supermarkets). So ive had NO problems Getting to where I Want or Needed to be.

IMAG1892.jpg


YES a bit Longer, YES a bit wider, YES a bit Higher But NOT as big as a lot I've seen & shared a cuppa with while enjoying a bit of Rough !. & with a bit of planning Park ups are Absolutely Fine. Remember, Have a look at where some of these Delivery Lorries, Busses, Coaches & Mini Busses actually get !.

Maybe visit some Motorhome Outlets and have a poke around to get a Fresh Perspective & some ideas !. I'm sure you will think it through.
 
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Loving the thread Anne i am currently driving myself nuts with the same dilemma going down the coach built route prefer 2 x single beds but not discounting anything just when I find the perfect van it's either deposit taken or left hand drive or I love Sue's new van if I could remove the fixed bed and replace with a lounging sofa lol there is just too much choice out there good luck with your search.
 
If I had my time again

I might have chosen a small A class because of the larger cab area...

However having bought and upgraded (Solar and 2x11kg LPG) our coach built....
We will quite happily stick with it (at least for now and no real plans to change)
We are quite happy so why spend £10K or more changing ?

Should we need to change I would look at A class provided
1) under 3500kg
2) rear fixed bed and good bathroom/shower
3) nice open airy lounge/dining room
4) lots of windows
5) nice engine and gearbox (6 speed and mostly over 30mpg)

No need for a 4 burner stove or bigger oven or microwave

PS We spent over a year looking round and went to about 5 dealerships before finding the layout we liked !!
 
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Thanks to all for all the replies, lots of useful information and things to think about. Nobody seems to be leaping up and down in favour of the drop down beds which worries me, but better to hear these things from all angles! I didn't know about the show in Harrowgate so will look into that, thanks Yelto. We definitely don't want to go any longer than around 20 ft as we would have problems parking it in the small shared carpark at the back of our terrace as well as out an about. The van is hopefully to be our Forever Van, currently we go away lots of weekends as well as 2 weeks in summer but I am approaching retirement and there is a good chance of getting redundancy before then, so after that we will use it loads, so yes to all who said a good bed is important!! If the drop down bed (plus thermal blinds!) turns out to be be a no go I think we will stick to making up a bed rather than sacrifice a large part of the van space to a permanent bed (probably another Autosleeper) - though open to persuasion! I have seen some vans under 6 ft with fixed bed, but the living accomodation tends to be quite cramped, usually the cab seats and one or 2 more, which doesn't give the option of having grandkids to stay. I am very grateful for the time everyone has given to tell me their thoughts, it has been really interesting reading. Still hoping someone out there will start singing the praises of the drop down beds!! :)
 
lotusanne said:
Thanks to all for all the replies, lots of useful information and things to think about. Nobody seems to be leaping up and down in favour of the drop down beds which worries me, but better to hear these things from all angles! I didn't know about the show in Harrowgate so will look into that, thanks Yelto. We definitely don't want to go any longer than around 20 ft as we would have problems parking it in the small shared carpark at the back of our terrace as well as out an about. The van is hopefully to be our Forever Van, currently we go away lots of weekends as well as 2 weeks in summer but I am approaching retirement and there is a good chance of getting redundancy before then, so after that we will use it loads, so yes to all who said a good bed is important!! If the drop down bed (plus thermal blinds!) turns out to be be a no go I think we will stick to making up a bed rather than sacrifice a large part of the van space to a permanent bed (probably another Autosleeper) - though open to persuasion! I have seen some vans under 6 ft with fixed bed, but the living accomodation tends to be quite cramped, usually the cab seats and one or 2 more, which doesn't give the option of having grandkids to stay. I am very grateful for the time everyone has given to tell me their thoughts, it has been really interesting reading. Still hoping someone out there will start singing the praises of the drop down beds!! :)
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Hi Anne.

May be worth a PM to Lee and Linda who, as you probably know, have a Pilote Galaxy with drop down bed.

Bearing in mind that Lee is 6' 7", I'm sure they can give you some good advice on the comfort and practicalities. x
 
***** said:
Regarding the Hymer Exsis, there has been three basic models.
The first introduced (Mk1) was the SK as below
Google

Then the Mk2 on the ford Transit base
Hymer Exsis-i 562 - Travelworld Motorhomes

And now the Mk3
Used 'van buyer ? Hymer Exsis-i (2009-present) | Advice | Practical Motorhome
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Thanks *****, I had discounted the Exsis range as I thought they all had fixed beds as well as drop down, but the Exsis-i 482 looks perfect! Just had a quick google but can't find any for sale, but think they may be out of our price range as fairly new model - but you never know - current van was an Ebay bargain!! :)
 
***** said:
I don't think there is any problem with using the drop down A Class bed, our Daughter, told us it was more comfortable than home, and with external screens for insulation, you will be snug as a bug. It is just a case that many of us already have extra beds at the rear, which are probably a little lower!
In fact, Mrs G has just had a hip replacement after an accident, and we are sleeping apart for comfort at the moment. We have to go to a family funeral soon and I will be using the from drop down bed and have no issues with this!
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Thats encouraging!! But do you think the bed would be OK for 2 as permanent bed? I guess I really do need to go and find some and lie down and let Martin clamber over me from the inside! The things you have to do in the name of research !! :)
 
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