design critique of a 60's caravel

[overlander63]

If you want to keep the shower off to the side, and the toilet to the other side, you could put a small counter in between them, open underneath, for a makeup/dressing table. It could also double as a spot to use a laptop, out of everyone else's way. The new 22 CCD has a small computer desk in the rear, opposite the throne.

[Janet H]

It's getting better - figure out how wide the room for the toilet will be - then rig it up realtime (cardboard or plywood) around your toilet at home - ask your wife to try it out. Make sure it's wide enough....

[Stefrobrts]

Originally Posted by urbanfood

this feedback has been so helpful. it's allowed me to get very little done at work....

Well, that's what the forum's for

My only comment to the last design is that you lose your closets, so no space to hang stuff up. Though you could probably rig something in the shower and use that space when it's not being used as a shower, which is most of the time. And if you're really camping you don't need to hang stuff anyway. I find the Caravel has a lot of storage under the dinette and in the overhead bins. We don't even use it all!

Another thing, if you look at a picture of a caravel with a dinette, you will see it is installed at an angle. This means the side by the door is a little narrower, and the opposite side is longer. It lets you have a big table that can seat four while still leaving plenty of room for getting in and out. Very clever. I've seen ones built straight on and they are smaller than the factory dinette.

[85MH325]

The first floorplan will be the most useable, and the least aesthetic. I have a 34' Airstream now, but I've had a '61 Bambi with the two-couch layout. Last year I decided I wanted a small trailer for a specific purpose and am now on my fifth fiberglass trailer in the past year in my quest for the 'perfect' floorplan. My trailer #4, an '87 Burro widebody had exactly the floorplan you have in #1, except that it had a queen size bed and a little smaller dinette.

For me a full bath is a must; but not enough of a must to give up 1/3 of the trailer floorspace to it. A 48" bed really isn't wide enough for two to sleep comfortably, and you spend a LOT more time in bed than in the bathroom! A dinette in a small trailer is really an asset. The 16' Scamp trailer I have now has a 54" dinette in the rear that stays made up as a bed, and a street-side dinette for two. It has a curb-side galley, and a front bath/closet setup. It's really a very well-planned out setup that maximizes the use of the space without making it feel claustrophobic.

Roger