Sleeping in Airstreams 23 feet and smaller

[davcarv]

I have a question to all those who've bought an AS with a bed that's smaller than a queen,

Some assumptions,
Exclude AS's with twins.
Assume you have a partner that you sleep with.
Assume at home you have a larger bed like a king or queen.
Assume that both adults are at over 5.5 and of normal, (American diet)weight-wise.

I would think that sleeping in the 23footer would be VERY cozy. Not that I don’t love mah wife n all but that’s really cozy. OK for a nite maybe two but after that I needs mah space.

To me I’m thinking I’m gonna need either a minimum of a 25 footer with a queen or a twin.

How do you all who own these guys deal with such cozy conditions?

I had a broker tell me that AS has become very adept in their design of the spaces with double beds and people don’t feel as cramped as you would think. Ida know, … still seems very cramped.

Or does the dominant partner get the double bed and the other partner get the bed that’s made from the table

Inquiring minds wanna know.

[blmitch5]

We have the 19' Bambi and it's the same bed in the 23'. It is cozy but I'm 5'8" @160 and my better half is 6'2" @150 and we fit just fine. It is a pain to crawl over to get out of bed but it is "camping" sort of. go look at the different sizes and lay on the beds to see if will work for you. I will say making it is a pain but there again not that bad.

[RangerJay]

Originally Posted by davcarv

I have a question to all those who've bought an AS with a bed that's smaller than a queen.

Smaller than a queen? - try smaller than a double!

A 48" bed for two beyond a weekend outing is (in our view) cruel and unusual punishment - beyond a weekend event "cozy" gets worn out ......

We bought our Bambi in 2003.

By 2006 "cozy" meant "no sleep" .....

..... our complaints had nothing to do with our relationship ..... and everything to do with a good nights sleep .....

In 2007 I built bunks.

Airstream life has been good since ....



Jay (and Marg) .....

[Alphonse]

A double bed with two adults and no aisle space would be cramped from my perspective. Airstreams have magic but likely not enough to temper this issue, broker claim or not.

[daymonjones]

No partner, but three dogs. If I slept in one position near the edge, letting my feet dangle off the bottom, it would be fine. I, and the dogs, are crawlers. Moving around and adjusting constantly.

I am 6' and 150 lbs. It's tight.

[crisen]

The 23FB has the same size bed as the 25FB (60x 75) according to the published floorplans and my memory when we looked at a 23FB before buying our 25 Eddie Bauer. The bed works fine for us. The only difference I recall on the 23FB is that there is less walk around room for the bed.

[goshawks00]

Just for grins next time you're all settled in bed, take a measurement as to how much room you both require, laying next to each other Also make note of how much length you require when your comfortable. There is this stigma that stays the bigger the bed the more comfortable you are, just like the more you eat the better you feel. In both cases it's less than you think.

[SteveH]

For that very reason (size of the bed), we sold our 23' with the gaucho bed when we got back from our 30 day trip to Alaska in '08, and bought a 25' with twins.

Obviously some people find the small bed adequate, but for us we needed a bigger bed.

[srpuywa]

I'm 6-4 and my wife is 5-7, we have a 19 footer, sleep is not the problem it's room in the kitchen, when we upgrade it will be a twin bed 25 or the sideways queen

[John&Vicki]

My wife and I have an, umm, active relationship. But we opted for a 25' with twins and are really pleased with our decision. Perfect size trailer for us and perfect sleeping arrangement.

Poppy

[mutcth]

If comfort when sleeping together is crucial, get a 23FB - as mentioned above, it has the same "queen" bed as the larger trailers.

My wife sleeps on the front couch and I sleep on the bed in our trailer. Since we're used to a king bed at home, sleeping together in the corner bed in our trailer isn't going to happen. It's ironic that the smallest trailer we've owned, a T@B teardrop, had the largest bed, a full king...

Tom

[m.hony]

Ditto the wife sleeping on the other end of the trailer.
We have the walk around queen- a mistake in 20/20 hindsight- we should have gotten the twins for easier access/walk-through.
I snore- so- I sleep on the couch (I don't bother to fold it out- just sleep on it as-is).
My wife sleeps in the queen bed.
This arrangement works out for temperature control and watching television- we each have our own a/c and TV...

[crabbey1]

We have a 22' Argosy with the Full Gaucho Bed. We are very comfy with 2 dogs as well. The only issue I have is that when I get up at night, I have to crawl over her. It is annoying... Also, I should mention that in ours, both the gaucho and the dinette beds are Full size.

[goshawks00]

We also have the gaucho in our 66 Safari, and the nighttime calls are the only issue we have. Our next to be built 54 FC will have a full-time walk around bed in the back, and it was during that planning stage that we began to really examine what our sleep space requirements really are.

[Ahab]

Having the queen in our 22' SS I sleep on the outside because of my frequent nighttime journeys. The DW has no problem maneuvering over me and I don't mind at all.

[kswelsh]

We had the twin bed in our first AS, a '75 Excella and now have a walk-around queen in our 2006 Classic. I miss my twin beds every time we go out on a trip. Hubby usually ends up on the couch cuz he likes more space.

[dkottum]

We had a 20' with the 48" wide bed and it was fine, but it also had extra length compared to the 48" corner beds. It's the access for the inside partner that's a problem.

We have a rear queen bed now and it's overkill for a camping trailer. A standard size double bed would be excellent for sleeping, and make access better. But Airstream doesn't offer one, and this is most surely a marketing decision rather than practical. Not sure what they will do when people demand a Calif king size bed offering, probably take more useful space away.

In the 1950's it was classy for homes to have twin beds in the master bedroom, but that soon lost favor. Still a good idea for travel trailers from a practical view, but we're not practical yet. Maybe when we get old(er) we'll do a conversion to our Airstream. For now couldn't be better.

The guy who built bunks in his 19' is a genius. Make the best of what you have.

[robert claus]

Hey, Ranger Jay, how about some pics of the bunk layout you built in your Bambi? It's interesting to consider.
Becky & I started out sleeping together in the corner bed. After a while, she wanted more room, and we started setting up the dinette each night for her. This year, we started sharing the bed again, and it's fine. Setting up the dinette and tearing it down takes time better spent on other things. We have a king bed at home, so sleeping close is a nice change.

[Hittenstiehl]

The first Airstream we slept in was a 59 twind w/twins. It was very comfortable. We were able to keep the beds made up full time. Our sleep was very restful and similar to home but in separate beds. We used the aisle to dress in and could easily pass through to the bathroom. We just spent our first night in our own 65 twind in a double. Our sleep was not as restful, we had to unmake the bed to push in the bed to pass to the bathroom. (Okay we dont actually have a toilet yet) We think we would like twins someday but will miss the great closet space a double gives you.

[JimGolden]

I have a 34 foot triple axle that had rear twins.
I built a bridge across the aisle and made the entire back of the coach a bed.

I tried to get Kingsdowne in Winchester, VA, to make me a King mattress with two rounded corners for the rear...they wouldn't. But, I got a Simmons Beauty Rest Queen (a full size house Queen mattress) that fits in with room to spare. We put body pillows around it on three sides to take up the extra.

Now there's room for me, my wife, both kids, and the dog. I sleep better in that bed than I do the one in my house!

Best of luck,

Jim