Duvet or sleeping bags to sleep and store?

[sweet caroline]

Hi Guys,

Just starting to embrace my new motorhome, and buying all kind of space and collapsable items, for dollie. Just wondering what is the best thing to sleep in, Duvets are far too large, and where do you store a 15 tog duvet in a motorhome for 2, without overhead sleeping to store them ? sleeping bags, far too restrictive for my irritable leg syndrome, so anyone out there with suggestions, on a new camper lady. Also, sleeping bags, need to be washed, and their huge, I like a bed linen twice a week at home ! hahaha thank you so much guy s

 

[Nanniemate]

I'm curious, if one wears clean T-shirt and pants and they get often washed and changed along with the pillow case, leaving only one's bare legs in contact with the sleeping bag, how often does it really need washing when one is on holiday?
I suppose it all depends on how much one is away and how many nights they are used?

How often do men wash/clean their trousers and how often do you wash your bed mattress, and Pillow (not just the case) or vehicle drivers seat?

This cleaning can go too far for an old man, don't you know?

Everyone has different standards .I would hate to think that me or my van smelled

 

[Southend]

As Nanniemate suggests, we made a cotton liner using a pair of double sheets. These line a couple of SunnCamp king-size sleeping bags that zip together. https://sunncamp.co.uk/collections/sleeping/sleeping-bag
Sleeping bags liner and mattress topper all fit under the bench seat in our 6m PVC. The liner is easily extracted and washed after every trip.

 

[plug]

sadly no drivers overhead storage on Dollie, which would be great, but have a skylight instead, and all thelockers are very small, so putting any beddingwithin the lockers are totally out !. so i think a sleeping back is the only thing really.
Butthanks guys for all the advise

Why don’t you lift the seating in the u shaped lounge, just lift the seating lay you quilt flat the refit the seat, just a thought.

 

[reckless]

Living and/or holidaying in a motorhome is a compromise. You can most certainly make it very homely but it isn't quite a house on wheels don't overthink it.
As someone suggested, stop buying stuff or buy cheap to start until you find what really works for you. It will be alright on the night

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[L' Hobo]

Everyone has different standards .I would hate to think that me or my van smelled

So would I, no-one has complained yet!

 

[Herbyventures]

We have very expensive but very comfy Duvalay freshtec mattresses (with sprung beech slats, get us) and 2 single duvets, (tog 9/10, we do not go away in the depths of winter) which get put away in storage boxes under the beds when not in use. It's a self converted panel van and large amounts of storage plus two big built in dog crates were the top of the layout list. If the dogs are left at home for any reason, there's even more storage space. While travelling we just leave the duvets on the beds and lay other stuff (like the awning and the windscreen covers) on top, over a bedspread we keep for the purpose. I hesitate to say this but ... half the fun of camping is you don't wash everything all the time. Or is that just us?!

 

[Nanniemate]

We have very expensive but very comfy Duvalay freshtec mattresses (with sprung beech slats, get us) and 2 single duvets, (tog 9/10, we do not go away in the depths of winter) which get put away in storage boxes under the beds when not in use. It's a self converted panel van and large amounts of storage plus two big built in dog crates were the top of the layout list. If the dogs are left at home for any reason, there's even more storage space. While travelling we just leave the duvets on the beds and lay other stuff (like the awning and the windscreen covers) on top, over a bedspread we keep for the purpose. I hesitate to say this but ... half the fun of camping is you don't wash everything all the time. Or is that just us?!

when buying a van priority was flush loo and a shower, I cannot function without being covered in running water every morning, even when travelling with parents it used to rattle my mother as father would not turn on water everyday (mam had to kettle wash) when they travelled alone , If I was there the shower was hot every morning ,

 

[Herbyventures]

sadly no drivers overhead storage on Dollie, which would be great, but have a skylight instead, and all thelockers are very small, so putting any beddingwithin the lockers are totally out !. so i think a sleeping back is the only thing really.
Butthanks guys for all the advise

Look for a sleeping bag designed for women, they do exist and they give us more hip wiggle room! Go for down, not artificial filling, it is warmer than claimed quite often. And get a four season one. If it's warm weather you just unzip it. They are not cheap but if you're getting one, get the best you can afford. (years of tent camping, learnt the hard way)

 

[Herbyventures]

when buying a van priority was flush loo and a shower, I cannot function without being covered in running water every morning, even when travelling with parents it used to rattle my mother as father would not turn on water everyday (mam had to kettle wash) when they travelled alone , If I was there the shower was hot every morning ,

That's the joy of a self conversion, you can prioritise what matters to you!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Nanniemate]

That's the joy of a self conversion, you can prioritise what matters to you!

yes and they always have personality and are unique and have some very interesting/clever additions my neighbour has put a full size shower cubical in his until he realised how much water he used he built his un under 3 months and done a brilliant job

 

[sweet caroline]

I cannot work out whether you have bought a MH.

Your Avatar says 'Looking' but post says 'New motorhome'.

If you are still looking and this aspect is important to you then surely you need to build the bedding and storage of it into the choice of MH?

It certainly was in my specification that I wanted a fixed bed, king-sized, therefore the bed has a duvet just like at home and the bed st

Dollie has been bought 29th Dec 2022. She's a 2 seater


star dream 2001 boxer peoguot

ays made up. Same with the drop-down king-size if we use it sometimes.

I know everybody cannot afford that layout, but they are thee at under £39K.

We use a duvet and shove it into a stuff bag in the day. The stuff bag then goes under one of the rear seats which slides forward to make a sofa - so once that seat has slid forward, there is a large cavity beneath it for bedding. I think you have to be a neat freak when living in a small space!

Owww thanks guys yr brilliant with yr ideas

 

[sweet caroline]

Why don’t you lift the seating in the u shaped lounge, just lift the seating lay you quilt flat the refit the seat, just a thought.

On one side, all the electrical stuff solar stuff n hot water tank. In the middle is another tank, not much room in either really.mmm

 

[sweet caroline]

Thanks guys. I'm feeling exited about going on a Winter run, but slightly worried about having to sleep with a Balliclava on though,? It won't do anything for my fine thin hair though haha.

 

[SpeedyDux]

A 4.5 tog duvet does fine for us and in hot weather we sleep on top of that. If we feel cold a fleece throw goes on top of the duvet but that is rare.

I got carried away and bought one of these Quishion things but haven't needed it.

Amazon product ASIN B08MB6K6M8

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Nanniemate]

Thanks guys. I'm feeling exited about going on a Winter run, but slightly worried about having to sleep with a Balliclava on though,? It won't do anything for my fine thin hair though haha.

your camping wear a hat if your have a bad hair day, I use mine all year and if its really cold reach up and turn on the heating before I get out of bed, in addition to that I can turn the kettle on from the bed also so mug is ready with teabag in have to get up though as I can't reach the fridge for the milk but if it that cold dont need to keep it in the fridge.
If the van is warm to go to sleep and your snuggled in with quilt/blanket/sleeping bag of choice you will be fine and warm

 

[sweet caroline]

A 4.5 tog duvet does fine for us and in hot weather we sleep on top of that. If we feel cold a fleece throw goes on top of the duvet but that is rare.

I got carried away and bought one of these Quishion things but haven't needed it.

Amazon product ASIN B08MB6K6M8

Thanks gir the above guys what a lovely community out there, to help n post sites too. As ive sad I'm overwhelmed by u allx

 

[Sapper520]

your camping wear a hat if your have a bad hair day, I use mine all year and if its really cold reach up and turn on the heating before I get out of bed, in addition to that I can turn the kettle on from the bed also so mug is ready with teabag in have to get up though as I can't reach the fridge for the milk but if it that cold dont need to keep it in the fridge.
If the van is warm to go to sleep and your snuggled in with quilt/blanket/sleeping bag of choice you will be fine and warm

What hair? My last bad hair day must of been more than 20 years ago.

 

[cyberyacht]

Given the apparent nubile propensities displayed in the avatar, I think the earlier suggestion of Chanel No 5 is most appropriate of the recommendations made.

 

[sweet caroline]

Given the apparent nubile propensities displayed in the avatar, I think the earlier suggestion of Chanel No 5 is most appropriate of the recommendations made.

well, as Coco chanel is my chosen perfume, i quite agree with that

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[AnnieB]

We started out with a campervan (VW T5) and sleeping bags which I hated so I would unzip mine 2/3 down and use it like a quilt with a ‘foot pocket’.
When we moved to the Marquis 115 (similar to Autosleeper Nuevo) we splashed out on 2 Duvalays.
They came with summer weight duvets and in colder seasons we used single quilted throws as well. These doubled as sofa covers during the day and the duvalays were rolled up tight and shoved into the bathroom when on the road. Once camped up i would squash one between the cab seats and the other sat on the drivers seat.

We are back in a campervan now (Autosleeper Air on a Ford) and still have the Duvalays.
however, I have adapted them because the zips kept sliding round the memory foam mattressEd and drove me nuts.

I cut them so all is left are the thirds that hold the mattresses and ditched the other bits, bought 2 single duvets from the supermarket (9 tog) and a couple of single duvet covers from a local seconds shop. Just as warm, more comfy and much easier to change the covers.

The duvet is rolled up with the mattress, fastened with the ratchet ‘luggage’bstraps and travel on our back shelf.

As others have said, don’t spend too much money until you have live tested stuff. Use what you have, a lighter weight duvet will be fine for 3/4 of the year and you can always add a pretty throw (and a hot water bottle ).

 

[sweet caroline]

ahh thank you for that, i appreciate you putting pen to paper to reply to my very anxious threads. i feel more reassured as the days go by. ive booked into a smallsite in west rowe, which is about 10 miles from me, so that is local, and the owner lady will now give me some lessons in the vanre heating, gas elctric battery etc, which is terrifying m, incase i blow Dollie up ! haha I am sure i will finally get there ! thanks you all the same

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

Hi Guys,

Just starting to embrace my new motorhome, and buying all kind of space and collapsable items, for dollie. Just wondering what is the best thing to sleep in, Duvets are far too large, and where do you store a 15 tog duvet in a motorhome for 2, without overhead sleeping to store them ? sleeping bags, far too restrictive for my irritable leg syndrome, so anyone out there with suggestions, on a new camper lady. Also, sleeping bags, need to be washed, and their huge, I like a bed linen twice a week at home ! hahaha thank you so much guy s

I too have irritable legs and don't get on with a sleeping bag. We've got a double 4.5tog duvet which we fold in half long ways then the same again then roll it up tight, then place it into a laundry bag along with 4 pillows then it's stored in the shower room. Our van is only 5.99m and we've got space for everything including bulky items like the external silver screen, large windbreak and large ground sheet, and some to spare.
We even have 3 tables
Before we bought our (first) van, we were concerned because we couldn't get a van much bigger than 6m into our driveway. We were pleasantly surprised how much space we actually had.
Just be aware of your payload

 

[Colinyellowspanner]

We’ve used duvalays successfully for over 20 years in several different ‘vans. They can be rolled up into a “flat” roll, secured with a suitcase strap. We’ve stored them like this in an overcab locker, and, currently under one side settee.

 

[Gina M]

Given the apparent nubile propensities displayed in the avatar, I think the earlier suggestion of Chanel No 5 is most appropriate of the recommendations made.

ding dong

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

Dollie has been bought 29th Dec 2022. She's a 2 seater


star dream 2001 boxer peoguot



Owww thanks guys yr brilliant with yr ideas

Just noticed which van you've got, that model was on our short list until we realised it was too big for our drive
You shouldn't have too much problems with space, you'll be surprised by the space under those lounge seats.
Enjoy your travels

 

[Funmeister]

Store ours in the shower cubicle during travelling. Easy option really

 

[Wabs]

Try a sleeping pod, bigger than a sleeping bag but easier to manage

 

[Brains]

We have 2 x fixed beds
We have 2 x summer duvets and 1 x winter duvet

Whichever duvet we are not using is stored in a vacuum bag, which means it's a flat package that will fin it the bottom of a storage cabinet

 

[L' Hobo]

ahh thank you for that, i appreciate you putting pen to paper to reply to my very anxious threads. i feel more reassured as the days go by. ive booked into a smallsite in west rowe, which is about 10 miles from me, so that is local, and the owner lady will now give me some lessons in the vanre heating, gas elctric battery etc, which is terrifying m, incase i blow Dollie up ! haha I am sure i will finally get there ! thanks you all the same

As a newbie, if you haven't already got any, get an assortment of elasticated Bungees, you can get a bag full of different lengths (usually 10) at any good Caravan shop. They have hooks on each end and are one of the handiest and most cost effective purchase you will ever make.

When not in use I just roll up my sleeping bags and put a couple Bungees around them, so if I want lumber support like a cushion, I roll the sleeping bags lengthways but if I want to use them as Roman pillows, just roll them in the short direction. One could do the same with a Duvet.

PS. If your a light sleeper and going to West Row, you might need to take some earplug with you if the planes from Mildenhall & Lakenheath are on night take-offs?
It's been some time since I have been there (it may have changed) but the campsite, I went to, was right under the flightpath of the planes from Mildenhall. Good Luck!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DDJC]

ahh thank you for that, i appreciate you putting pen to paper to reply to my very anxious threads. i feel more reassured as the days go by. ive booked into a smallsite in west rowe, which is about 10 miles from me, so that is local, and the owner lady will now give me some lessons in the vanre heating, gas elctric battery etc, which is terrifying m, incase i blow Dollie up ! haha I am sure i will finally get there ! thanks you all the same

You have to go some way to actually blow anything up! The much more normal thing is for stuff to stop working or not work as well as it should.

As far as beds are concerned, when you are in your motorhome, you are probably on some sort of break or holiday, unless you are a lifer. Holidays are supposed to be relaxing, and so every second you spend in your bed should be comfortable. The jigsaw of seat cushions is fine when you go to bed, but by the next morning, you wake stiff and achey. Every subsequent morning you wake up progressively stiffer and achey-er (sic), or so we found when we had a caravan. We got fixed beds in motorhome and so we bought three layer, orthopaedic memory foam mattresses. Double the weight, but we sleep well every night.

I've looked at the layout of a 2001 Stardream. As the bed isn't fixed, you may need a mattress topper. Duvalay as suggested by others is a very common choice, but in a small van you might have storage issues. Smaller vans have the blessing of being able to go anywhere, but the curse of making up the bed. I would advise finding a way round the storage issue rather then slum it with a seat cushion jigsaw, but you may find it fine for you.

For top cover, duvet, every time. That way you can change the duvet cover if you feel the need. Have two. A summer and a winter, but only pack the one you need!