Drop down beds

[Retread24800]

Have to say thay A classes give a noticeable increase in usable living space compared to a classic end bed type. The Van is only 6 m long and with its short wheelbase handles easily in confined spaces tho' you do have to watch out for the rear overhang swinging about. We had a Chausson Flash before this and found the French bed OK but the restricted access to the wash-room and all that dead space............

  I sleep in the drop down in our antique Hymer, but if I want to sit up for my early morning tea I tend to go downstairs, if you are fit enough to use the ladder than you are fit enough to manage without it :-)  We load the bed to a comfortable 180 Kg and its still not complaining! And if TOH needs to crawl over me during the night nor do I :D

 

Broken windscreens, no idea in the U.K but here I was unfortunate enough to have to replace mine, French Assurance, so I had to pay a 20% excess about 300€ but no effect on my NCD.

 

[nuevoboy]

Thanks for all of your replies (and I don't think any of them were weirdo ones!).

 

I particularly like the look and layout of the new Pilotes, some are A class, some coachbuilt, but both with drop down beds.

At the moment, we can class ourselves as relatively fit, so clambering up from the sofa shouldn't be a problem.

Regarding the sleeping arrangements, I hadn't realised that it was still a case of sleeping "transversely", necessitating the odd nocturnal climbing over scenario.

With most of the drop down beds being roughly square, I was thinking of sleeping longitudinally, but hadn't worked out which end our heads would be. Have I got this all wrong?

Thanks.

 

[Will86]

I would doubt if any of the drop down beds are lengthwise the same as the body of the van. It would then make the width of a bed 6 feet plus in width and be unmanageable regarding fitting it into a given 'vehicle space'

[Mel B]

There was at least one A class MH that had a front drop down bed which had extension pieces so you could either sleep transversely as is the norm, or with the extension bits in place you could use it longitudinally ... but I'm not sure what it was ... possibly a Pilote?

[Mel B]

nuevoboy - 2014-01-26 12:55 PM

 

Thanks for all of your replies (and I don't think any of them were weirdo ones!).

 

I particularly like the look and layout of the new Pilotes, some are A class, some coachbuilt, but both with drop down beds.

At the moment, we can class ourselves as relatively fit, so clambering up from the sofa shouldn't be a problem.

Regarding the sleeping arrangements, I hadn't realised that it was still a case of sleeping "transversely", necessitating the odd nocturnal climbing over scenario.

With most of the drop down beds being roughly square, I was thinking of sleeping longitudinally, but hadn't worked out which end our heads would be. Have I got this all wrong?

Thanks.

 

I wonder if, with A class front ends being more 'upright' than they were, whether it would actually be possible to get out of the bed on the cab side rather than have to have to scramble over your other half to get out? Anyone care to try???? :->

[lennyhb]

Mel B - 2014-01-26 4:25 PM

 

nuevoboy - 2014-01-26 12:55 PM

 

Thanks for all of your replies (and I don't think any of them were weirdo ones!).

 

I particularly like the look and layout of the new Pilotes, some are A class, some coachbuilt, but both with drop down beds.

At the moment, we can class ourselves as relatively fit, so clambering up from the sofa shouldn't be a problem.

Regarding the sleeping arrangements, I hadn't realised that it was still a case of sleeping "transversely", necessitating the odd nocturnal climbing over scenario.

With most of the drop down beds being roughly square, I was thinking of sleeping longitudinally, but hadn't worked out which end our heads would be. Have I got this all wrong?

Thanks.

 

I wonder if, with A class front ends being more 'upright' than they were, whether it would actually be possible to get out of the bed on the cab side rather than have to have to scramble over your other half to get out? Anyone care to try???? :->

 

You would end up on the dash trapped behind the cab seats. (lol)

[Mel B]

lennyhb - 2014-01-26 4:42 PM

 

Mel B - 2014-01-26 4:25 PM

 

nuevoboy - 2014-01-26 12:55 PM

 

Thanks for all of your replies (and I don't think any of them were weirdo ones!).

 

I particularly like the look and layout of the new Pilotes, some are A class, some coachbuilt, but both with drop down beds.

At the moment, we can class ourselves as relatively fit, so clambering up from the sofa shouldn't be a problem.

Regarding the sleeping arrangements, I hadn't realised that it was still a case of sleeping "transversely", necessitating the odd nocturnal climbing over scenario.

With most of the drop down beds being roughly square, I was thinking of sleeping longitudinally, but hadn't worked out which end our heads would be. Have I got this all wrong?

Thanks.

 

I wonder if, with A class front ends being more 'upright' than they were, whether it would actually be possible to get out of the bed on the cab side rather than have to have to scramble over your other half to get out? Anyone care to try???? :->

 

You would end up on the dash trapped behind the cab seats. (lol)

 

Are they all so close then? Can't say I'd ever inspected one when in the down position to see how much of a gap there was?

 

I suppose you could just roll out onto the dash, then roll off it underneath the bed onto the cab floor, then crawl underneath ... hopefully not getting stuck in the process ... probably easier doing the scrabble over the other party though! :D

[Will86]

Do you mean between the bed and the windscreen?

[nuevoboy]

Well, we've seen it done!

At the NEC this year, we popped our heads into one 'van (can't remember which) and the salesman was standing alongside the ladder, which an elderly lady had just used to climb onto the (fairly high) drop down bed.

She wanted to see if it was possible to get down at t'other end and, much to nuevogirl's amusement, promptly disappeared head first over towards the cab end.

After a bit of a struggle and hanging upside down like a bat for a while, she managed to twist around,

limbo underneath the bed and emerge alongside the mystified salesman.

After a quick rearrangement of her hair, she declared that "that wasn't so bad really".

Whether she bought the 'van, I've no idea. :-D

[Tea Cup]

What worries me about drop down beds is - what if they don't? I mean - nowhere to sleep!

[tonyishuk]

I apologise for what may seem a silly question, but on a drop down down bed;

 

do you sleep across the m/home or up and down it ?

 

If the latter I assume the sleepers head is over the dashboard area ?

 

Rgds

 

Edit Dohhh ! I should have read the middle of the thread

[lennyhb]

Mel B - 2014-01-26 4:25 PM

I wonder if, with A class front ends being more 'upright' than they were, whether it would actually be possible to get out of the bed on the cab side rather than have to have to scramble over your other half to get out? Anyone care to try???? :->

 

If anything it is the opposite making the front and screen more vertical was to make the bed wider and be able to drop down lower. They have increased the width of the bed towards the screen so the bed is now very close to the screen.

Hymer Exsis bed is Length (across cab) 74" width (front to back) 59" my good lady would be OK across the width but she is only 4'10".

Hymer B Class is 77" x 59".

[thirtle26]

We too have been looking at MH with drop down beds - looked at a Rapido yesterday and the bed looked good. However we really want to have a U shaped lounge and possibly a dining area and this combination is not so easy to find. We know that some Niesmann & Bischoff suit criteria but not been able to see any. Also Hymer have U and drop down bed but no dining area. Looked at the Bailey with drop down bed but not much more headroom than our luton. However having fun looking.

[lennyhb]

Hymer do not have any U shaped lounge models in their 2014 line up.

[Will86]

Made a separate thread in order not to upset this one.

[Brock]

Tea Cup - never had a drop down bed fail in 13 years of owning 3 A-classes. Once had a bench seat collapse so couldn't be used as a bed in a previous coachbuilt. Bit of a sod if the bed drops down and won't go up because it makes the A-class impossible to drive.

 

If I remember rightly. the handbook explains how to deal with a drop down bed that fails.