BED LOCATION: ELEVATED? STORAGE? ACCESS? FRONT? BACK?

[Bushtracker]

Hello Friends,
I am getting some rough outlines loaded here, for each Topic, to give you some of the ideas to start thinking about... I will refine it as time permits.

On size and location of beds, the most common layout is the Island Bed. The reasons that the bed is most often in the front of the van, is to take advantage of the nosecone. By putting the beds up in the nosecone area, you gain more storage space under the bed and you gain about 400 mm or about 16'� in floor area in the rest of the van. Now some people find the bed too high when they first see it at the Shows, but you can have a raised floor area to use as a shoe locker, and when you step up on it the bed seems no longer high. This gives you 400mm more floor area in the van, more storage under the bed and cargo hold, and added storage for shoes under the raised floor area on one or both sides of the bed. A win in all aspects...



The Yacht Berth (sideways bed) gives you about 2 more feet of practical layout in a van because it is 1500mm wide as a Queen, where a queen length is 2030. You also gain with two large floor to ceiling lockers, His and Hers, on each side of the bed instead of the wasted space to walk around the foot of the bed.



Now what is wrong with this Yacht Berth layout? Well it is more difficult to make the bed, you have to live with fitted sheets, and the last person out of bed spreads out the Doona. It is a bit of an effort to get up on the step besides the bed, and up on one knee to change the sheets on the bed. The other disadvantage is that the person who gets up most during the night sleeps on the outside, and they need to be a heavy sleeper. The other person has to get up on all fours and dog walk sideways over them to get out of bed. Me? I lived on yachts for 20 years and almost all berths on yachts are this type for safety at sea and I do it for the added floor space equal to about two feet of van. I have always had a yacht berth and still do today in my own Bushtracker. But if you are not fit, overweight, bad knees or hips, or a light sleeper; you may well be advised to avoid this sort of layout.

Single beds have almost the same affect as the yacht berth, with more floor area in the van, as again you do not have the walk around area at the foot of the bed. This they have the ability to have a shorter bed on one side to enhance the layout. Something to think about there.



Overall, we probably do about 60-70% in Island Beds these days, maybe about 20-30% in Yacht Berths, and say 10% in Single Beds. The only other consideration is Resale, but quite often people will take what they can get, as the Second Hand Market is often very tight with respects to Bushtracker Vans. I have seen months with 25 for sale. You would expect to see as many as 50 for sale Australia wide given over a 1000 vans out there. But quite often there are far less for sale, and I have seen months with only two or three or none for sale. My point is, get what you like, so far there has always been a solid second hand market for Bushtracker vans with some people paying more than New Prices not to have to wait for one to be built.

To take and put the beds at the rear of the van, loses the added storage under the bed in the cargo hold, and about 400mm of floor area as the bed is not elevated into the nosecone. And sometimes at the Shows, you see a bed sideways, with a walk around both sides and the foot of the bed. Measure it, it is deceiving. There is not the room to have a descent length of bed, AND walk around the foot of it... Cute trick at the Shows but it does not work...

When I have time, I will try and add layout illustrations to these postings, just samples, for your convenience.. OK?

Kind Regards, stg

[Bushtracker]

Hello again,
Thank you for all the email messages requesting this to be on the General Members Section, and I have obviously agreed. This Category and all of the Topics will be open to comments from Owners, with respect to their feelings over the choices they have made, and what they live with...

However: Newbies, please do not engage in trying to start the coaching process here. Please read the Topic: NUMBER ONE ! READ FIRST- HOW IT COMES TOGETHER AND WHY.... And understand you get months of private coaching to go through all of the possibilities refining all the details.. OK? Otherwise, this will get huge and bog down, and the help I am trying to offer will get buried.

Best Wishes, stg

[Mobi Condo]

Hello there all,
from our experiences (there for personal choice etc) we post the following.
We are of 'average' height, but a bit? on the tubby side.
Island Bed preferred for lots of reasons of which the main one is the awkward climb over top of one another etc, for night trips to the ensuite, the second being we are both unwilling to be "closed in" against the wall or what ever which would occur with yacht style.
We do wish we had asked for the extended foot locker though. That is full length each side. It simply would have been easier access to the bed for getting in / out and making the bed, let alone useful storage space.
We have three draws, plus two doors to mid height shelf at the end for clothes etc, and wished we had asked for two sets of three drawers.
Our van is 19' with a large Cafe style dinette and therefore the bed is not full queen size length. This is just Ok for us, but we think that taller than average folk would have trouble with feet extruding out the end.
Overall we are VERY pleased with the layout we have.
Cheers - Ian & Sally
_________________
Cheers - Ian & Sally
Regions to Ramble
&
Terrain to Travel

[Loki of Condor]

At the recent mini-muster at Denmark in WA we were able to see all three bed options.

We chose a Yacht bed (east-west) because it gives us 500mm more bench space.

However, as mentioned above, it is harder to make.

The Island Bed is a lot more compatible with most couples' lifestyles at home.

We saw one van with single beds. Now I've always thought... hmmmm, separate beds, not a good image.

But, I've been thinking about the extreme practicalities of this layout. You can have more XL Storage Doors for the front boot. One each side as normal. On the driver's side another for, say, a genny slideout. One on the passenger side for a BBQ maybe. And all without reducing the normal size of the front boot or access to it.

You could have two different types of mattresses to suit each other's choice of comfort.

And they should be easy to make, or get the mattresses in and out of the van.

And after all is said and done, it's only a small step to romance.

I now think they have great potential. If external covers are found for the front windows that would be a clincher.
_________________
Stephen J
Mandurah WA
http://farcanal.blogspot.com/

[Sawtybt]

Stephen,

Have to agree. We went with the single beds and removed the hanging space locker that is normally between the single beds and replaced it with a set of draws that are just a tad higher than the beds. That allowed us to have the normal large window at the front.

Works well!!


_________________
Regards
RosnRoss

http://sawtybt.blogspot.com
2018 Chev Silverado 2500 HD converted by HSV. Patiently waiting on the new van for delivery in November 2021

[Loki of Condor]

Looks good Ross. Did you put hanging space anywhere else?
_________________
Stephen J
Mandurah WA
http://farcanal.blogspot.com/

[Sawtybt]

Stephen,

Our hanging space is at the rear, near our entry door. We have ample hanging space as most of our camping clothes are folded and in our three drawers under each of our beds.


_________________
Regards
RosnRoss

http://sawtybt.blogspot.com
2018 Chev Silverado 2500 HD converted by HSV. Patiently waiting on the new van for delivery in November 2021

[ski.parents]

I wonder if there is experience with king sized beds (ie 170-180 x 200 cms). I'm guessing it would work okay with yacht style up the front....but are there any other options ?
Thanks for your thoughts.
_________________
One day a Bushtracker.

[Bushtracker]

Good question, and I am slamming on the brakes to stop,
and give you the all out answer..



We have done the King Sized bed a couple of different ways.. The problem in a standard Island Bed arrangement, is that you would have to have skinny legs to force your way along the sides of the King Size, unless you cut it down by a 100mm on each side.. So it would be about half way between a Queen at 1500 wide, and a King at 2000 wide. If you went down to say 1800 mm wide, you would have 230 mm on each side to work with and that is possible and reasonably functional unless you were a heavy person with larger legs...

The other way we have done it is in an "East West" sometimes called, we call a Yacht Berth, that works just fine. Actually you could sleep either way it is so vastly large..

The other way that has worked well is to push it over to one side, sort of the Island Bed arrangement, but pushed over to the side. This gives reasonable walk way, the one on the inside has the option of getting out of the bed at the foot of the bed, the other person on the side as per normal. This works...

In either case, I would probably just opt for a little smaller bed, something between the Queen and King, like around 1800 wide. Mattresses are custom made, so there is no problem, and it is nearly as big and certainly functional...

Kind regards, Cowboy, half a Horseman, all of a Bushtracker Man...

[ski.parents]

Many thanks,
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One day a Bushtracker.

[Rob]