single bedded motorhome ? ?

[suethedriver]

Hope someone can help . My parents age 71 & 67 are thinking of getting a small motorhome (used) but require two large single beds as my mum has arthritis in her knees and needs a lot of room to move about without disturbing my dad. As we own a large motorhome i am not very genned up on the smaller ones layouts etc. The only things i have seen are roof/ over cab beds which would be no good either. I expect there will be some one off conversions out there but just wondered if anyone had any ideas of makes / models etc. They want to be able to drive it around off site every day . (?)

[Dave Newell]

Hi sue, There are a few motorhomes around with twin singles, although I'm not certain they could be realistically called large beds. I doubt you will find one on a small 'van though. Most of the ones I've seen are German (Hymer, Burstner etc) and would probably be in the 6 metre range. D.

[Don Madge]

[QUOTE]suethedriver - 2006-07-22 8:39 PM Hope someone can help . My parents age 71 & 67 are thinking of getting a small motorhome (used) but require two large single beds as my mum has arthritis in her knees and needs a lot of room to move about without disturbing my dad. As we own a large motorhome i am not very genned up on the smaller ones layouts etc. The only things i have seen are roof/ over cab beds which would be no good either. I expect there will be some one off conversions out there but just wondered if anyone had any ideas of makes / models etc. They want to be able to drive it around off site every day . (?)[/QUOTE] Sue We are slightly older than your parents and we also need two single beds. One bed is 6ft and the other is 5ft 7in. Our van is a Timberland Freedom 11 on the Fiat Ducato LWB high top panel van. The van is 5.5 metres long. I hope that helps. Don

[Ranger]

How about the old Auto-Sleeper Talisman??? Plenty around, some elderly friends of mine had them. The single beds had an extention easy to do on the front end of the beds, after sliding the cab seats foreward. GRP van body, so hopefully no leaks. Easy to manage layout, end kitchen, small shower-room/loo in the back off side corner. Will just fit in a super-market parking space. Always fancied the Auto-Sleeper Legend for my self, very similar 'van but a little bit shorter, available on a Ford Transit Automatic. Am looking for one for myself, but hard to find with automatic box. We are both well into seventies and have "Blue Badges" Also you could have a look at www.willowmotorhomes.co.uk they do a nice low profile with two good single beds. New van on a used Renault Trafic base vehicle. Herald also do a model with two good single beds on a Transit base but they are a bit bigger. I expect Uncle Derek will be along sooner or later, he is very knowedgable on 'van availablity. Good luck with your search, David Powell........

[Derek Uzzell]

Suethedriver: I think you are going to have give a better idea of how big a vehicle your parents have in mind and how large a bed your mother will need. You will also need to state the budget! We owned a 1997 Herald Templar. You could sleep above the cab, in a 4'-wide transverse double, or in two single-beds made up from the side settees. We used the last arrangement, but I wouldn't class the single-beds as "large". From what I recall the widths were 2' 3" and the lengths 6' 2" and 5' 10", which sounds OK until you measure a domestic bed. (I maintain that a bed needs to be a good 4" longer than a sleeper's height.) There was also the relative lack of comfort due to each bed being constructed from seat cushions rather than having a one-piece mattress. The Herald was about 19' long, so hardly something you just wanted to pop down to the supermarket for a newspaper in. A possibility that comes to mind is Rapido's 710F. This is fairly short and quite narrow, with an easily constructed transverse single bed towards the front and a rear U-lounge that converts to a double if one so wished. Actually, it might be better to forget the two single-beds idea altogether and consider a design that allows a 'king size' sleeping platform to be made up. That way your mother could have the lioness's share (and not risk falling out) and your father could sleep undisturbed in his portion. A number of panel-van conversions have allowed this sleeping arrangement and you'd get vehicle compactness as a side benefit. The Trigano Tribute might suit as it offers multiple sleeping options, including longitudinal single-beds or a transverse king-size.

[howie]

Hi sue. I don,t see any problems finding a van to suit your parents needs. The majority of front lounge hi top conversions give the option two single or one double bed. The same applies to larger twin settee motorhomes where the same layouts can be used. with regard to your mother needing a bigger bed , you could look at one single bed with side dinette models where you find the dinette bed will be far wider than the single. Hope this helps. Howard.

[Brian Kirby]

[QUOTE]suethedriver - 2006-07-22 8:39 PM Hope someone can help . My parents age 71 & 67 are thinking of getting a small motorhome (used) but require two large single beds as my mum has arthritis in her knees and needs a lot of room to move about without disturbing my dad. As we own a large motorhome i am not very genned up on the smaller ones layouts etc. The only things i have seen are roof/ over cab beds which would be no good either. I expect there will be some one off conversions out there but just wondered if anyone had any ideas of makes / models etc. They want to be able to drive it around off site every day . (?)[/QUOTE]

I think the van you/they are looking for may be a Bilbo's Nektar.  VW based, so good ride and reasonably compact for every day use, rising roof or high top options, two single beds.  Rear kitchen/washroom/toilet.

Yes, it is compromised in many areas, for example cab seats rotate to become the foot end of the single beds and some don't like this arrangement; compact outside means small inside so manoeuvering space is limited - maybe not ideal for arthritic knees.  However, conversion quality always looks good, and is well reputed. 

You can have new, secondhand, or they'll source a suitable van and convert on that: thus, many price options to suit many budgets.  However, no van conversions are cheap, and Bilbo's never were the cheapest among VW converters.  What they will do, however (as will a number of the other converters) is alter their "standard" layouts to suit individual requirements. 

The one thing I'd be nervous about with any of the compact, every day usable, conversions, is than many, the above included, tend to use a "Porta Potty" toilet.  These are low and not fixed down, so use with arthritic knees might not be an option.  If that is the case, then a decision is needed on whether a larger van, able to accommodate a Thetford cassette type toilet, is still small enough for their day to day needs. 

Also, they will need to define when/how they intend using this van.  As a "picnicker" - for days out and only the odd overnight stop, in which case bed space could be enlarged at the expense of the kitchen range, a "weekender" - where the kitchen becomes more important but storage isn't such a priority, or a "voyager" - for extended trips where all mod cons + lots of storage become paramount.  If for summer use only, maybe no need for heating/hot water; if shoulder seasons, some heating/hot water may be useful, if all year round, I'd suggest they will need a larger van to compensate for the space required for internal water tank, possibly larger gas bottles and, if gas powered, the heater.  The alternative, for good autonomy and less internal space take, might be diesel powered heating/hot water and enhanced battery capacity.  All at a price, of course!

The answer, as ever, will be a lot of research and a lot of looking.  There will almost certainly be no "off the shelf ideal" answer, and only they can decide where to make the necessary compromises.  The smaller you go, the more difficult it gets.  It'll make your collective heads hurt!

[suethedriver]

Thanks very much to all who replied so promptly, i have certainly got a few ideas now. I can start searching them out now now i have narrowed it down a bit. :-D