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Old 12-23-2009, 10:07 AM   #1
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Sequatchie , Tennessee
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Bed Comfort Question

I have a general comfort question about smaller Argosys.

Specifically I am referring to the models that have the gauchos that fold down to make beds. Are they comfortable? I am starting the process to look for one of these older smaller models. My family consists of my wife, 2 boys (8 and 5), and myself. We have never owned a travel trailer or even looked at an Argosy trailer so I am clueless about these things.

Are the Gauchos comfortable for 2 adults to sleep on? Are they the size of twin beds or full size beds? I am not worried about the boys because one can sleep on the floor if he needs to. When they get older they will probably be in a tent any way.

If we go for a 23 ft model do they have a corner full size bed? We could probably do that fine. The issue that I have is that my wife and I prefer the same bed not separate twin size beds.


Thanks!

Jerem0621
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Old 12-23-2009, 12:56 PM   #2
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2019 22' Sport
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Most older Airstream beds are 48" wide; I've heard 48" beds referred to as "3/4" beds, because they fit between a 39" twin and a 54" double.

Our trailer's front gaucho was modified by a previous owner, and actually measures 54" when set up. I find that it's as comfortable as a queen size (60") because one person can sleep right up against the wall. Applying that logic, a 48" bed in a trailer is likely to be about as comfortable as a freestanding double bed.

FWIW, our modified gaucho has cushions made with high-density foam, and is very comfortable to sleep on.
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Old 12-23-2009, 02:26 PM   #3
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2010 27' FB Classic
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I have one of the older models that has no bed but has the couch that converts into a bed. Although it is an Airstream and not an Argosy, I believe they couch and layout are similar to what you are looking for.
The couch when opened up is the same size as a trailer full size bed. The back of the couch flips around and over the seat and lays almost flat with the seat. There is a slight difference between the 2 surfaces. To solve that problem we have a 3 inch thick mattress from a futon that lays over it. It works great and we never have problems sleeping in on it.
During the day we use the couch as a couch and the futon mattress conforms to the seat and back and works well as an extra soft couch for sitting.
Our coach (trailer) also has a dinette which comes apart and becomes a bed for 2 people or kids, like in your case.
It's a little more work to convert the beds to dinette and couch everyday but not a big deal as we have a system we developed over the years of traveling and making up the beds.
A trailer like mine uses all the space to it's advantage and you don't have to tote around a long trailer to get comfortable. I've had mine since 1987 and it's been all over the US and is small enough to get into every National Park we were interested in seeing and can be pulled along over any mountain we chose to go over.
Would a queen size bed with a seperate bedroom be nice? Of course, and I have thought about it, but to get a similar layout with a bedroom I would have to go at least to a 30 foot model and the way we travel and site see a larger trailer would have some drawbacks as well.
When we were younger with kids, we found out that the kids wanted to camp out in their own tent anyway so we let them do that as long as the dog slept with them. Our dogs were alway protective of them, and if the dog barked, we would check on them. If real bad weather hit they always had a bed in the trailer.
Good luck and I hope my views help you a little.

PS. The new 23 footers do have a corner bed but because of the permanent bed in a 23 footer, the trailer is more cramped and has very little storage space.
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Old 12-23-2009, 02:28 PM   #4
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1978 Argosy Minuet 6.7 Metre
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6.7 m. Minuet 1978 Argosy

Ours has two gauchos that fold out into beds. They are 3/4 size. Not quite double. Comfortable for one large adult. Okay for two "kids". Larry and I each get a bed. I reupholstered mine and redid the foam in high density foam which was 5". I used the original covers as a pattern. That pattern gives you a sewn hinge so that the cushions do not slide apart. They are pretty comfortable. When the beds are folded out there is no room for somebody to sleep in the floor! Pretty tight quarters.
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Old 12-23-2009, 05:00 PM   #5
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We have a 1974 24ft Argosy... but we had the table set up in ours....we pulled all of that out and made our own bed so that my husband and I can sleep together instead of in each a twin also. We have pics posted if you want to see what our bed turned out to be. I also went with high density foam and it really is a nice bed to sleep on and we made our new bed with lots and lots and lots of storage.
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Old 12-23-2009, 05:47 PM   #6
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We have an Argosy Minuet with a front dinette and a pull-out gaucho on the side. As mentioned, the gaucho is not-quite-a-double. I lay it flat but I don't put in the extra 1' wide cushion as that would totally block the alleyway to the bathroom (the Minuet is a narrow trailer.) With that configuration, twin sheets fit perfectly. Double sheets fit the front dinette well.

As you might have guessed by now, my wife and I sleep in separate beds when camping. We're used to a king bed at home, so cramming together on either bed isn't in the cards. The cushion foam in our trailer is pretty stiff, so the beds are somewhat hard.

You might want to consider a 25' center bath Airstream (Argosy didn't offer that floorplan in anything shorter than a 28') with a rear double bed and a front couch. That floorplan has good space for kids to sleep on the floor, and a private bedroom in back for the parents. They built this floorplan for years, starting from 84, and many have the front panaromic window that is so awesome in the Argosys.

Finally, none of the Argosys had the corner bed that you see in modern 23' and 19' Airstreams.

Tom
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Old 12-23-2009, 06:38 PM   #7
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this is a good question. My wife and I recently purchased a 27' Argosy (1978). The couple we got it from were not honest with us when we asked them if there were every any animals in the trailer. They said now but after we purchased it and go it home to begin the cleaning process we found that mice had been in the trailer (not currently but in the past) and that the mice had damaged one of the sleeping pads (gouchos) so we tossed them out and are planning to use futons with covers. The Argosy has two couch/beds, one in the front and one mid way back. Our goal is to use the front couch with a futon which is approx 54" wide and 65" long as our bed but we are still in the "planning stage" and have not bought "mattress" yet. We did price the high density foam at almost $300 a section and said "too much $$" So we are working with the futon idea. If anyone else has any experiences with this please I am interested. Good luck on your project. jjairstream@gmail.com
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Old 12-23-2009, 07:18 PM   #8
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Bed Comfort Question

My Minuet has the twin lounges while my Overlander has the "standard" center twin layout. From the standpoint of comfortable sleeping for adults, I would be looking at 24' or larger which have the option of center twins -- the center twins are close enough in size that custom mattress manufacturers can easily adapt the mattress that you prefer to the size needed.

Part of the comfort equation also is the duration of your typical excursion. When I am traveling, I am usually out on the road for well over four weeks so uncomfortable sleep arrangments can negatively impact the overall enjoyment. If you are looking at weekend use along with a two-week vacation each year; you may not notice a huge difference in comfort if you utilize new high density foam cushions in the lounges -- longer forays may well be a greater issue. I have taken my Minuet on a six+ week excursion and I was getting very anxious to get back to my regular mattress as the end of the trip.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

P.S.: To get anything bigger than a twin bed (that doesn't fold up lounge styel) in a first generation Argosy, you will need to look at the 27' plus models. The rear bedrooms with fixed twin, double, or queen bedding were only available in the two longest lengths -- the easy way to identify one of these coaches is the existence of deep-wrap wing windows in the rear of the coach!
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Old 12-23-2009, 07:18 PM   #9
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foam

When I was replacing the foam in the gauchos I went to JoAnn Fabrics and signed up for their VIP membership. Once a month they send out a flyer that contains a 40% coupon. So once a month I would take my coupon and go to their store and get a cushion of foam for the gauchos. It took me four months to get them! But it worked! Foutons may limit your storage unless you figure out a way to build it in under them yourself. Good luck with your project.
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Old 12-23-2009, 07:21 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mutcth View Post
You might want to consider a 25' center bath Airstream (Argosy didn't offer that floorplan in anything shorter than a 28') with a rear double bed and a front couch. That floorplan has good space for kids to sleep on the floor, and a private bedroom in back for the parents. They built this floorplan for years, starting from 84, and many have the front panaromic window that is so awesome in the Argosys.Tom
This past March, Larry and I purchased a 1989 Airstream Excella 29 ft. trailer which has this center bath configuration! It is THE best floorplan! We love it! Lots of space for guests and privacy in the back. Although this one is heavier and a little more to pull and park, we are finding that it really is great for us because we do not have to make up the beds every morning and night. More time for the fun parts of camping!
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Old 12-31-2009, 06:44 PM   #11
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I have a '76 22 ft. Argosy with the original gaucho cushions and my wife and I have no problem sleeping together. I'm 6 feet tall but don't have a problem. It's cosy, but fine. The only trouble we've had is that the cushions tend to reorganize themselves underneath us. We solved this by buying a memory foam mattress topper that we put on top of the cushions - very comfortable.
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Old 01-03-2010, 12:45 AM   #12
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Our 24' Argosy has a 3/4 bed in the dinette area, and another between the kitchen & the bathroom that folds up into a couch. My husband & I aren't small people, and finally gave up on the idea of sharing a bed. Our 17 year old son prefers to sleep in a tent outside, so there is a bed available for each of us. When we bought the trailer, the original cushions were given to us, but the fabric was long gone. They smelled terrible, so we used them as templates & bought two full size foam mattresses to cut down to size. We paid about $120 each for them. We found discount fabric at different stores (not knowing much about sewing, we underestimated the amount needed!) and made our own covers. We put in velcro fasteners along one back side, so we could remove them for cleaning. After the first few trips, we added 2" of memory foam to each one. Much more comfortable!!! The bottom line is, if you don't like the bed, you can modify it easily. Good luck!
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Old 01-03-2010, 07:53 AM   #13
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My 1966 Safari has a gaucho that folds down into a bed. I use a good quality blow up mattress (very thick) on top and a quality mattress pad. It literally takes only 5 minutes to set it up at night and the same to take it down in the morning. It's very comfortable and I sleep like a baby on it. The other sleeping arrangement is in the dinette. We fold the table down and take all the cushions and lay them out flat and then put another air mattress on top of it. That works fine also.
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Old 01-03-2010, 10:09 AM   #14
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We have just got our upholstery back for both the goucho and the new dinette conversion (I will post some photos soon). The foam we used was hight density 3" with a 2" memory foam glued to the top, then covered. Very comfortable.
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