Some beginner bed questions

[RubyOptics]

Hi again all!

I'd like to ask a few questions about beds in motorhomes. These are probably very obvious to you guys, but I would love to hear what you have to say!

1 - So if you have a bed made up from cushions (either a temporary bed or in something like an autosleeper duetto) do you use a mattress topper on top of the cushions? Then a sheet? Just a sheet?! combined sheet/topper?! Arghh!! What do you do?!

2 - As per my first post, I'm looking at vans that are a LOT older, so to replace a mattress, would I need to have a custom memory foam one made up for me to the original shape?

3 - For you PVC peeps out there, how long (bearing in mind my sheet/topper etc question above!) does it take you to make up the bed each night? If you have something similar to the duetto (more 'campervan' than 'motorhome' i guess??) where do you keep your duvet / pillows when the bed isn't made up?

I'm sure I will have more as i carry on looking around, but would love to hear from any of you about these for now! Thank you as always in advance for your time!

Joe

 

[RubyOptics]

busbuddy Yes, that was something I was considering. I think for the amount of time we would maybe like to off-grid, something slightly larger than a Duetto would be better. Also, living in main-land Europe, having a RHD van doesn't really make much sense for a number of reasons. Being honest, the biggest reason is that LPG is so widely available here that I'd like something with a reasonable (twin bottle) gas locker in order to use a gaslow or similar refillable set-up.

 

[Red Shoes]

We were also asking ourselves these questions this time last year before buying our first van.
It was one of the reasons we went for a van (PVC) that has fixed single beds with proper matresses. Although using singles in the van, we use exactly the same ikea bedding as at home - matress protector, fitted sheet, duvets, then extra blankets or additional low tog duvets in winter. Don't need to store it anywhere (not much space in the van anyway), and the beds are always available for a powernap, or solitude when I get a migraine and himself wants to get some work done. We definitely wanted a van with two areas and it has been a good decision for us.

 

[RubyOptics]

Red Shoes I'm so glad that you found a solution that works well for both of you. As my sig states, I'm still in the research (and saving if I'm brutally honest!!) stage, so everything I read here is valuable to me in one way or another!!

 

[Red Shoes]

Glad to be of use RubyOptics.
We were in your shoes 12 months ago : Researching and saving.

We debated a DIY project, but realised we didn't know enough about what would actually work for us, so opted to buy - giving us the possibility of selling if it didn't work. Fortunately, so far it has. Although we ended up paying more than we wanted/hoped/budgeted for, but because the van was newer than we were expecting to get.

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[Mark and Mindy]

We were also asking ourselves these questions this time last year before buying our first van.
It was one of the reasons we went for a van (PVC) that has fixed single beds with proper matresses. Although using singles in the van, we use exactly the same ikea bedding as at home - matress protector, fitted sheet, duvets, then extra blankets or additional low tog duvets in winter. Don't need to store it anywhere (not much space in the van anyway), and the beds are always available for a powernap, or solitude when I get a migraine and himself wants to get some work done. We definitely wanted a van with two areas and it has been a good decision for us.

I get migraines as well, and the bliss of being able to lie down on the bed, draw the curtain to separate me from the rest of the van and have some quiet time is important.

When we're travelling we put the soft dog bed onto the end of the bed as its tucked round the corner of the washroom and then when we're parked up we can just put the dog bed back under the table.

 

[Rolyan]

We have the Autosleeper Sussex Duo which for us is absolutely perfect. It’s bigger than the Duetto but still only 5.9. The rear seating is ready to use as 2 single beds, which is what we do, using Duvalays. These just sit unrolled on the seats which a) protects them and b) the beds are ready in less than 10 seconds. If you want the double the seats just pull together. Check out the van (Sussex Duo or Warwick Duo) and look at Duvalays.

 

[PhilMary]

You do get double sleeping bags you know, very good for cuddles

Both in the one single sleeping bag ensures lots of "cuddles".
Phil

 

[RubyOptics]

Both in the one single sleeping bag ensures lots of "cuddles".

Also ensures her elbowing me in the face a thousand times before we can even think of the "cuddling" !!!!!

 

[TheMachMan]

Double sleeping bag for us. Served us well in our previous caravans. Quick and easy.