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We went to have a look at some caravans at the weekend and came away liking the look of the dinette bunk bed layout.

But once at home we carried on looking and then began to wonder whether fixed beds would be better, either a double fixed or fixed bunk beds.

We are a family of 2 adults and 2 children (aged 5 and 9), I am now not sure what type do you have and what are your thoughts etc

Thanks

K

hello I'm not too sure what you mean by the dinette bunk option but I will give you the benefit of our experience.

We are a family; husband wife and 8 year old. We have a 5 berth double dinette, so one end converts to a king (or two singles if we want) and the other end is a small double with a single bunk over that can be seperated by a pull across door -perfect when our son goes to sleep.

The benefit of our van is the flexibility. Believe me we have slept with every combination. Initially we had the king and son slept at the other end on the double. Then hubby and I tried the singles. More recently we all sleep down the other end and leave the beds constantly made up so we have a living and sleep area. Perfect for me and my indecision as currently I can not be bothered to make the beds up every night.

I can foresee a time in the not too distant future when our son will sleep in a pod in the awning and we will then have the double with no bunk above it.

Its very clear from being on here and talking to other people we meet that everyone has their own likes though so think carefully about what would work best for your family. Personally we wouldnt go down the fixed bed route as it takes up a lot of space and is not flexible. But never say never as I do dislike making the beds.

Do your children go to bed at the same time as you or would you like somewhere for them to go earlier, in which case fixed end bunks or the double dinette would work for you whereas a fixed bed may not (unless you stay up in an awning).

I was also told that double dinettes hold their value well as they are sought after for the flexibilty. No idea if its true but it was harder to find one.

I hope that is helpful and given you food for thought. Have fun with your search

Hi, we currently have a 4 berth, dinette/bunk beds, and we are trying to sell ours, when we brought it we didnt really think about it, but with the space in the van its not the easiest thing to do keep making up the bunk beds so we tend to leave ours made up, but this means we have then lost the dinette.

So we have now decided to go for a 6 berth, with fixed bunk beds as this will be alot easier plus the dinette gives the kids somewhere to sit and draw/write etc.

HTH.

Our provence has the similar layout to many above with the L shaped front lounge (converts into a double) and rear dinette that makes into a double bed with bunk above (or can be used as 2 small children singles). We brought this as our boy is only 19 months old and it meant that a travel cot fits on one of the rear seats and in the future he can use this as a single bed, probably till around 6-7yrs (depending how fast he grows). It also gives us an option of 2 cots if we had a number 2.

This layout also has the flexability that if we want to go away as a couple we can make the rear double up and use this like a fixed bed as we also have the front lounge.

Looking at your childrens ages I would be tempted either by this layout or something like the new Bailey Olympus 2 540-5 or lunar quasar 546. Both of these have fixed bunk beds (2 in the Bailey and 3 in the Lunar) with seperate shower cubicle. IMO the only reason not to go for bunk beds is if you think you might go away without the children, in which case the double dinette option gives more flexabiity.

Our plan is to keep the Provence we have until our boy is around 5 yrs old and then maybe look at something like the Bailey as this has the fixed bunks, seperate shower for OH and also a side dinette still. With children of the ages you have I would give the Lunar 546 a look as they have been making these for a couple of years and with 3 bunks at the rear (you can use the bottom one for storage as it folds up) and a seperate dining area for them the kids will have their own space at the back and this can be closed off at night. Other makes do a similar layout but not many have the seperate shower which we prefer as we would like the option of trying some rallies next year or some CL sites.

Hi, we just started caravanning last year and it was a big decision of which layout to go with.  We also have 2 young ones (5 and 6) and we looked at the fixed bed but thought realistically that the kiddies would be going to bed before us and they wouldn't be good at sharing so discounted that.  Also the dinette/bunk would take time to make up + take down.  When our kiddies are tired they are tired!!  So we opted for for the Sprite Musketeer EB and this has the fixed bunks and they have their own cubby holes for their books/toys and we have either the double at the front or if we can't bo bothered making that up then we go singles.  It works perfectly for us. 

Good luck in making your decision and have many happy years caravanning. 

Thanks for some great replies.  I think we need to have an inside look at every different layout option that is available and then make a decision.

I like the idea of not having to make up bunk beds every night, especially as we want our parents to be able to use the caravan with the girls and wouldn't like them to have to make up bunk beds every night.

Quote: Originally posted by Is that all,60mph!! on 20/8/2012

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FIXED BUNKS  All the way!  A godsend with the children as they are just ready to get into when ever they need 'em(as in they fall asleep at any point/place).

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Another thing to bear in mind with bunk beds, fixed or otherwise, is that they often have a weight limit and can be quite small.   You say you have a 9 year old, so perhaps this is something to think about as this child gets older, as you could then find you have to change your van to suit.

Just to complicate the issue, we have a 4 berth with fixed singles at the front (which we use as sort of "day beds" for our mardy teenagers), a rear dinette which converts to a king size at the rear, with a wet room/toilet mid way.  We find this is great for us, as the single beds are a proper full sized single, properly sprung and very comfy and the front end of the van can be screened off for privacy (handy when getting changed etc).   When we go off on our own and leave the kids at home, the fixed singles are good then too - no beds to make up and I don't have to disturb OH if I need to get up in the night!!

We have also had the conventional 5 berth double dinette layout in  our previous van and found this was a very flexible layout for people with families.

Yes they are both girls, and I think they would be ok sleeping in a double together.  Another plus for the double would be that when we go away without the girls, we don't have to keep making up the lounge part into beds