Hi
Looking to buy my first (second hand) caravan. Will be just two of us so could be 2 or 4 berth. However I am 6ft 4 and my partner 6ft 1, so length of bed is critical - the longer the better! Towing weight not so critical as I have a Shogun and BE licence, max budget £6000 but preferably less. Any ideas for which model to go for?
------------- real men shouldn't be crying into their beer, they should be drinking whisky.
If you want fixed bed then you will have to look at German caravans which often have 2mtre length beds or even more if it's a transverse fixed bed. Search ebay for makes like Burstner, Hobby, Hymer etc.
UK built caravans often have 190cm fixed beds which is shorter than you are. Some are even shorter. I find in gobsmacking that caravans costing up to £30k have beds this short.
If you want a normal UK make then best bet for large bed is made up front dinette sleeping across the caravan. Larger UK caravans are usually 6ft 8in or more across between interior walls so enough room. Take a tape measure when you go to view. Put a king sized mattress topper over dinette cushions & it's comfortable enough.
Post last edited on 04/02/2017 14:01:53
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Our first van was a twin dinette layout which was ideal for us as a family. However, when just the 2 of us we left the rear settees made up as a double bed which is the full width of the van. I am 6ft 3 and could still stretch out. Our current van is a fixed bed and my feet stick out of the bed bottom.
We had a Lunar Lexon CS 2007 which had a transverse fixed bed straight across the rear of the caravan. Width of the van was 228cm, so well over 7ft internally.
Opensauce is correct about German vans, I'm 6ft and my feet are nowhere near the bottom of the bed on our hobby,also wide enough for a threesome if that floats you boat
We have a Elddis with an island bed - I extend the bed using a 4 inch piece of foam at the top. The matress hangs over the end but there is no weight there - just our feet.
I have that problem too.
Which is why I just walk away from fixed beds.
Sadly the industry is besotted with them and when you ask reps at shows about side dinettes they just run away and hide.
I can't understand how the UK caravan industry approaches fixed beds. Almost every UK built caravan has a fixed double less than standard UK double bed size & fixed singles smaller than standard UK single bed size. If one is paying £20-£30k for a caravan one should expect a bed at least as large & comfortable as they have at home.
Continental makes tend to offer more caravans with fixed beds but they manage to offer plenty of models with standard or oversize Double beds & standard width twin singles 2mtres long. This even in their basic budget ranges.
I am also 6'4" i have had a bailey ranger 550/6 and now have a coachman Amara 570/6. i always sleep on the made up double at the front lying across the caravan. if i stretch out then my feet and head touch the walls of the caravan but that doesnt make it uncomfortable what does is the fact the bed is made up of shaped cushions. i turn the cushions upside down so that the buttons and roll of the edge face downwards. i then put a 50mm thick memory foam sheet on top of that then a mattress topper on that. it still isnt that comfortable.
------------- First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
Our van is a twin dinette layout which is ideal for us hubby is 6ft 5, We leave the rear dinette made up as a double bed which is the full width of the van, thus giving us the front end as living space. We are looking at getting a mattress made to measure for it but at the moment we have a topper on it and it is quite comfortable. Good luck :)
Mine is also a twin dinette (I'm 6'4) and I leave the rear bed made up, loads of room to stretch out and really comfy.
I was thinking of changing the van for a newer one but couldn't find one that works as well, all with short fixed beds and the worst ones with the cut off at the bottom end, which require you to have one leg shorter than the other