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Quote: Originally posted by SamP on 22/8/2018

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Quote from Boff:
"Just remember a caravan is a box for a given length to make something bigger you have got make something else smaller. So it comes down what is important to you."

That there is the single most important point to consider.

We spent a lot of time looking at fixed bed vans, but in the end decided that too much space was taken up by the fixed bed, & the kitchen & living area were thus made too small for our liking.
We ended up getting a "4 berth" side dinnette van where there is loads of room in the kitchen & living area. That was the best compromise for us.

P.S. Using the front bench seats as two singles will only work if neither one of you is particularly tall.
Any time you look at a van, have a lie down & see if you'd fit.
Note: One bench seat is usually a bit longer than the other.

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Quote: Originally posted by boff on 22/8/2018

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Sorry, didn’t make it clear I don’t think a fixed bed is a practical layout for a family.

This time of year all the glossy brochures will be published for the 2019 exciting range of vans. What you will see is endless mock ups of vans with hardly any evidence of human habitation. We all want imagine holidays of endless sun. Instead imagine how you will cope with a wet week in April where do the wellies and wet coats go. If you are lucky enough to get a week of endless sun then the layout becomes irrelevant because if you have any sense you spend all your time outside of your caravan.

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Quote: Originally posted by boff on 23/8/2018

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I think a rear dinette is a good layout for families as it gives the children there own space. The normal compromise is the washroom. As I say make something bigger something else has got to shrink to accommodate. We sometimes take our Grandson and the fixed bed layout isn’t ideal in that case if he goes 2 bed then we have no where to sit. However we bought the van to suit us not various hangers on.   The problem with the bedtime is also partially solved by uneconomical with the truth when they ask what time he went to bed. He drop us in it recently by claiming he hadn’t gone to bed until 3am, this wasn’t true he was definitely in bed by 2 30am

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Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 23/8/2018

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The layout of ours suits us perfectly. Two singles (or one huge double) at the front and a single dinette at the rear for meals if we can't eat outside. We usually use the front as singles as it's easier for either of us to get up in the night if we have to. I am 5'10 and my wife is 5'7, and we both have plenty of room, although if our son borrowed it at any time he might have to bend his knees a little as he is 6'4. Then again, if he did use it, he and his wife would probably choose to set it out as a double. Then they would have loads of room.

However, what suits us wouldn't suit someone else, so as others have said, there is no perfect layout it's all about what suits you. If there was a perfect layout, all caravans would be built like it.

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