questions about bed orientation

[aggie79]

I'm not sure where to post this topic, but since it is about a standy design I thought I'd try here. Your replies will help me in my second build.

In most standies the bed orientation is across the width of the trailer instead of parallel to the length. I understand this conserves space - or at least length - and works well for a dinette that converts to a bed. My concern with this traditional arrangement is that for two sleeping, one would have to climb over the other to make a "midnight run" to the head. Two other options are: 1) use twin beds parallel to the length with an aisle in the middle, or 2) use one twin bed running across the length and second twin bed running parallel to the length in a "L" shaped arrangement. The problem with these two options is that they both consume a lot of space.

What are you thoughts about running a gaucho style full bed running lengthwise with the trailer butted against one sidewall and butted against a row of cabinets on the second sidewall? Would there still be too many "gymnastics" to crawl to the end of the bed for the midnight runs?

Thank you for your thoughts.

[S. Heisley]

If you put cabinets along one side wall, against the bed, don't put extruding handles on them or one of you might hear some new words emanating from your spouse's mouth in the middle of the night.

I have friends who complain about beds that lay sideways in the trailer, complaining about the "yoga" that they have to do to get out of bed when they are the one up against the back wall. I, personally, have no experience with sideways beds in trailers.

My bed is lengthwise and I crawl down to the bottom to get out. In about six thousand miles of camping, it hasn't caused any problems for me yet, even when the dog is sleeping up against my side and my other side is against the wall. The one possible problem that should be considered is that, when you get out of a teardrop, you can roll to your side and push with your hands to get up. When your bed is lengthwise in a standy and you need to get out at the bottom of the bed, your arms and legs will afford you little help. Unless you have good torso muscles, you might plan to add an extra piece of wood framing for backing a reachable handle on the side closest to the wall and a handle on the cabinet (if it is a floor to ceiling model) or something like that, to assist you in lifting your body out of the bed, should you find you need it later.

You can get away with a smaller width than the standard (39") twin size, using, instead, roughly half the size of a full bed (54"), which would be about 27" or maybe a little more, say 30"(?) and making your own mattresses out of foam, etc. Many of the older Scotty-type trailers had "full" beds that were really only 44" wide, which is not a standard full bed width for two people. If you decide to go with "twin" sized beds, I'd put the aisle in the center. With twin beds, you would have the added advantage of it being easier to make the bed when you get up in the morning but you might miss the shared body heat on a cold night.

[aggie79]

Great points! Thank you Sharon.

[S. Heisley]

OOPs! I just added more to my original comment.

[mezmo]

Another approach to take - as long as you don't Have to sleep
together in a double bed - is to do two single beds, one crosswise
and the other lengthwise in an abbreviated "L", abbreviating it
by using a bunk-like arrangement like is done in larger RVs that
are trying to appeal to larger families with a "bunkhouse'" setup. In these,
the 'foot' portion of one bed overlaps the 'foot' portion of the other
bed by raising it up enough so that there is enough leg & foot clearance
for the bottom bed. This clearance is very much like the clearance
that there is in the shorter/smaller TDs with cabinets or part of the
gallery that cantilevers over the bottom portion of the mattress.
A short closet or other type of storage could go under the bed that
is raised. I'd also go for a bit wider bed @ 36in at the minimum. I
know that the bed against the wall allows sleeping close to it and thus
can help negate the need for width to 'keep' you on the mattress,
but I just personally feel a bit wider mattress is more conducive to
comfortable sleep, especially important when you are more active than
normal and out in the fresh air when camping.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[48Rob]

Tom,

I've tried both and crawling across someone is far easier than "scooting" to the end of the bed to get out.
Either way will disturb the other person.
Just part of camping in a small trailer.
I like Norms idea, and considered it for a time as it is a great space saver!
However, it isn't of much use if your wife wants to be in the same bed.

Rob

[aggie79]

Thank you Norm and Rob. I appreciate your insights and real-world perspectives. Sharon - that's a good idea to go with 30" instead of 39" for a twin. All of these ideas are very helpful.

[wagondude]

Just to complicate things, If you are not worried about length, you could do a narrow double lengthwise and build a slide out on each side of the bed to give a isle on each side. The slide would house a small closet and night stand and also allow for a window on each side. Of course this would greatly complicaye the build and probably be hard to do with a cool looking profile.

[aggie79]

Just to complicate things, If you are not worried about length, you could do a narrow double lengthwise and build a slide out on each side of the bed to give a isle on each side. The slide would house a small closet and night stand and also allow for a window on each side. Of course this would greatly complicaye the build and probably be hard to do with a cool looking profile.

Interesting idea! I'm going to have to do a few sketches of that. Hmmmm.

[angib]

When it comes to bed orientation, I say go with tradition and stick with the horizontal orientation. Folks have tried that new-fangled vertical orientation to reduce the size of floorplan required, but I don't see it catching on.....

[droid_ca]

I think that if you go the traditional route but use a futon then you could have a couch with some floor space and then pull it out and have a bed

[tkteardrop]

About 20 years ago my wife and I had a 1966 VW camper (westfalia?). The bed was somewhere between a full and a twin I think. It ran length wise and
folded into a bench seat if you wanted. It worked fine sleeping with our heads over the engine and feet to the cabin. The only problem was the
back hatch poping open in the middle of the night? The hatch poped open a couple of times on the freeway also! It was old and well used then
so strange things happened every now and again. The first time out we slept with our feet over the engine and the back opened up early one morning
and we woke up to some campers looking at our bare feet sticking out of the camper in 35degree temps.

[48Rob]

by angib » Wed Nov 07, 2012 8:50 pm

When it comes to bed orientation, I say go with tradition and stick with the horizontal orientation. Folks have tried that new-fangled vertical orientation to reduce the size of floorplan required, but I don't see it catching on.....

Andrew,

Yo DO have a sense of humor!

Rob

[starleen2]

I had only one camper with the bed running longways - sure it means that you will have to scoot down to the end of the bed when someone gets out - after that we changed to the transverse position - and yes, someone does have to crawl over another for a "midnight run" if needed. But we found out that those who need to make the run frequently is the one who sleeps nearest to the outside edge.

However, I do prefer Mrs starleen to crawl over the top of me any time of the evening

[bearfromobx]

However, I do prefer Mrs starleen to crawl over the top of me any time of the evening [/quote]

Down boy, HEEL!

Glad to know I wasn't the only one thinking along those lines...