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Hello all,

Due to a change in family circumstances hubby and I are exploring the world of caravans, and I was wondering if anyone could help me with a couple of questions.

If we were to go down this route we would probably be looking at a 6 berth.  I like the layout of the Sprite major 6 and Sterling Europa 565, as they have the triple bunk.  Is the triple bunk idea a new one?  I don't think we'd really be looking at buying new, so could anyone give me an idea how far back they go, and if so what models other than the aforementioned have a triple?

Would it be totally impracticle for a good diyer to adapt an older twin bunk to a triple?

Also, I'm not keen to change my car as I love him, and he wouldn't be able to pull a pint let alone a caravan!  Hubby has a company car and we were wondering if it was a ridiculous option to look at hiring a big 4x4 or similar for any outings in the van?

Cheers in advance if you can help,

Helen.

Hi, have a look on www.caravanfinder.co.uk for used vans (not sure how far back the triple bunks go but there are loads of layouts to consider).  Of the newer vans, Lunars tend to be lighter & older vans are generally lighter than new ones.

With regard to hiring a 4x4 for towing, a hire car would be unlikely to have a tow bar fitted.  Plus if you're looking at oldr vans you'd need the twin electrics on the car whereas newer vans only have one 'plug' for the car (sorry, but that's about as technical as I can get!).

Depending on the age of your children you could look at a smaller van & get an awning annexe for 2 to sleep in (our DS loves having his own space at 14).  You may also need to bear in mind that the bunks aren't full length beds - we were looking at the Coachman 570/6 but discovered the bunks are only 5' 10" long - no good for a teenager who's already 5' 10.5"  & still growing!).

Depending on what Co car your OH has & whether it'd be up to the job, could he get permission to have a tow bar fitted?

Hi Adsheadv, thanks so much for your quick reply.

OH does have a towbar but I think his rather basic 1.6 or something Skoda Estate is too light for a big van.  I think he checked on a website and it doesn't have the pulling power.  My little car is a Daihatsu Terios.

The thing is granddad, has been left rather suddenly on his own and I'm thinking ahead and don't want him to miss out on holidays.  Our 3 children are very timid and all below 10, and the triple bunks with a single nearby looked like a good layout so we could sit up with gramps and then send him off to bed later when they are all settled.  Mind you granddad doesn't know any of this yet, so he might not be keen!  I just want to do my homework so if he is I can make him as comfortable as possible.  I just think we'd be pushing our luck trying to get any of the children in the awning.  As long as the seperate single bed was either long enough or adaptable for grandad we could live with the bunks being a bit small for a while.  Mind you OH is 6ft5, so my son might suddenly take off!

Thanks again for your reply, much aprreciated, I'll check out the website.

Actually Grampian, you could be right.  I just had a very quick look on a hire site and a freelander with towbar was £400 plus for a week [I'm sure there are extras we'd need].  I don't even know if that would be up for the job!  But then if it was, and we were paying about £300 for a decent-ish campsite for a week it would be cheaper compared to prices I've seen for a family of 5/6 in school holidays at a holiday site in a chalet etc. 

I know you have to account for the van, but then I'm hoping if I sold sometime I'll get something back at least. 

Oh, I don't know.  Grr Holidays, aren't they meant to be relaxing, not taxing!!! 

Did you lift the mattress up on the 3 bunk 'van that you saw.  It's really cheap thin strips of wood. 

My uncle converted a tiny little 2 berth caravan into an 7 berth 'van with no problems!  It's a sight to see!!

I'm not clued up on the weights but i can't see why you shouldn't make a 3 bunk in the space of a 2 bunk as if you look at the wood in the 3 bunks and bought lighter mattresses you could probably get the weights the same.

I hope you do it and if you do come back on and let us see the results :)

The triple bunk layout is very new I think, only been around for the last couple of years. Some of the continential brands may have done something before that though. We have a 2 bunk layout in a 2005 van and I think that was pretty new at the time. It wouldn't give you anywhere for Granddad either, even if you could convert to three bunks as the side dinnette is too small for an adult. Have you looked at a double dinnette layout, space for 4 without any conversion. It may even be possible to convert into the layout you want.

Good luck with your search, Jenny

Thank you so much everyone, some very useful comments from all.  I reckon we need to decide on the car issue first, don't we?  Maybe a cheap 3rd car might be a good idea, we'll have to look into that.

Ashwellgirl I haven't actually looked at any recently in the flesh, I was going on the Iayouts in the online brochures.   I think I'll have to get the OH out for a few trips to caravan dealers and look at layouts and bed lengths/widths.  The picnic idea is a good one kpedd. 

Thanks again everyone, it's all useful stuff.