insignia Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 We are looking to change our coachbuilt van for an A class with drop down bed,does anyone know if their is a bed which is wider than 4ft 6inch available on any vans except large RVs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 The 2011 Hymer B class vans are stated to have 1,500mm wide beds, as are the 2011 Dethleffs Esprit A class vans. I would imagine other Dethleffs A class vans will share the same bed mechanism. I would therefore also check out Burstner, Eriba, Niesmann and TEC, since they are all part of the Hymer group, and will probably be using the same mechanism, + Carthago and Concorde. Should keep you going for a day or two! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Being on my second A-class, I would say it is not the published width of the beds you need to consider. It is the usability of the bed width and length. For example, the 2000 Arto model we had was fitted with a square shaped bed because the van itself was square shaped. The drapes were also tautly fixed to give a feeling of openness. My wife and I happily slept in this. My Hymer 05 bed has a curved edge to fit the curved window screen. The drapes are looser and it is like sleeping in a Arabian tent. We find it feels narrower. I presume the wider the bed, the heavier it is to pull up and down. If you load the bedding into bed area for travelling, then you might find the bed blocks visibilty at the top edge of the window screen. This is unlikely to be a problem for visibility when driving but it does mean that you have less visibility through the panoramic windscreen. Again, the Arto was better than the Hymer for storing bedding in the drop down bed because the ceiling was angular, not curved. We find two pillows, two sleeping bags and a couple of blankets allow the bed to lay fairly close to the ceiling when pulled up. I have a 6.5m A-class because my drive will not fit anything longer. I like A-class vehicles and am willing to make the compromises necessary. However, if length of van was not an issue, I'd probably prefer a longer low profile rear bed/garage layout on a coachbuilt. My wife refuses to drive an a-class; she happily drove the coachbuilts we had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Tony, Is that for one or two persons? art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insignia Posted June 27, 2010 Author Share Posted June 27, 2010 it will be for my wife and I My wife has a bad back problem caused by lifting patients in her younger days as a nurse so has trouble getting comfortable we had a fixed bed on a Lunar 780 which at 4ft 6in was two small for us both,thanks for your interest Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 insignia - 2010-06-27 11:32 AM it will be for my wife and I My wife has a bad back problem caused by lifting patients in her younger days as a nurse so has trouble getting comfortable we had a fixed bed on a Lunar 780 which at 4ft 6in was two small for us both,thanks for your interest Tony With bad back problems, I would question the suitability of an A Class drop down bed for access. If not now but for the future. Front or Rear lounge which form 2 x singles could be a better option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 flicka - 2010-06-27 8:10 PM insignia - 2010-06-27 11:32 AM it will be for my wife and I My wife has a bad back problem caused by lifting patients in her younger days as a nurse so has trouble getting comfortable we had a fixed bed on a Lunar 780 which at 4ft 6in was two small for us both,thanks for your interest Tony With bad back problems, I would question the suitability of an A Class drop down bed for access. If not now but for the future. Front or Rear lounge which form 2 x singles could be a better option. I disagree with that theory, a nightly scrabble with cushions etc. to make beds would not only give me a pain in the back but also one in the a@@e too. the drop down bed is great, ready made you just undo the safety belt thing and lower away, and climb in, also the permanent bed over the garage in the Hymers are superb, again ready made and very comfortable. (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Lee Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Have you looked at Laika? There is an advert on p189 of June's MMM with a very interesting photo of a different concept in drop down beds - might be just what you need? Looking at the ad, the model numbers seem to be X715R and X610R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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