Back bedroom floorplan - which way to go?

[malconium]

I have a completely empty 1973 31' rear bedroom model. I am thinking about how best to design the bedroom. I can do it any way that I want to. I am debating between the following approaches:

1.) Wall to wall bed.

This could be king size but would require crawling in from the hallway. It would also be harder to make the bed and might require special bedding that could roll up and that would sit on top of rather than tuck in around the mattress. It would provide more storage space under the bed but it might be a bit harder to get to. Also I need to keep the weight down so I would not want to store too much stuff in the back anyway. I do have access hatches on both sides of the bedroom now that would have storage space to access. I could save a little room overall by making the bedroom shorter with this approach since there would not need to be any walking space at the foot of the bed near the hallway. The mattress might need to be custom because of the curves at the end of the AS unless I built in something in the way of night stands in that area.

2.) Walk around queen size bed.

I have enough floor space to install a walk around queen bed lengthwise of the floor. I could have about 16" of space on each side and provide about the same at the foot of the bed toward the hallway. The advantage is that the bed would seem more home like and would be easier to make with standard bedding. It would take a bit more floor space overall with the 16" at the foot of the bed. The mattress could be a completely standard model of our choice.

3.) Twin beds along the sides.

This approach would give the side access hatches something to access. The beds would be easier to make with more or less standard bedding. One disadvantage is that the mattresses might need to be a custom size either because of the curve at the end of the trailer or because of the overall width of the space not allowing two normal twin size widths. Of course the issue of 1 bed or two is a matter of personal preference that we would have to sort out.

4.) Queen bed crosswise at the back.

We have generally ruled out this approach because one of us might have to climb over the other person to get up. Also the bed would be harder to make and might need to be a special shape to fit the curved corners.

5.) Queen bed crosswise at one side with walk around.

This is similar to the way our unit was orignially but the orignal bed was more like a full rather than a queen. We would only have about 12" of clearance at the foot of the bed which might be a bit tight. We could adjust the clearance at the sides as much as we want but would probably settle on about 16" or so.

I have one other novel approach that I am thinking about that I might decide to go for. The idea is to have two 30" x 80" mattresses (half of a queen size). I would put them on bases that could have storage space inside but could also move either with rollers or glides on the bottom. I would initially place them along the sides just far enough forward so that they miss the curved corners. I am thinking of about 16" or so. I would build corner storage units in the curved areas leaving 60+" of space between them. The wall of the bedroom would be at the end of the two mattresses with them placed at the sides. The mattesses could work like couches during the day or even for beds for visiting grandchildren in their initial position. All we would have to do to get a queen size walk around bed would be to pull them together into the center of the room and push them back 16" or so into the space between the corner cabinets. I might even be able to find a way to make some sort of fold up desk at the back end between the cabinets when the beds are at the sides. I have attached a drawing of the idea?

I would appreciate any opinions of which approach to take and why.

Thanks,

Malcolm

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by malconium

...
5.) Queen bed crosswise at one side with walk around.

This is similar to the way our unit was orignially but the orignal bed was more like a full rather than a queen. We would only have about 12" of clearance at the foot of the bed which might be a bit tight. We could adjust the clearance at the sides as much as we want but would probably settle on about 16" or so.
...

Malcolm,

#5 is my choice. I'm putting a 78"x54" foam mattress on the street side. It fits nicely between the rear bathroom wall and aft end of the bedroom. It'll have a bit of a curve in the far corner, but my Caravel is the same way with an even narrower mattess and it works fine for two 5'9" adults. Across from the bed on the curb side wall I'll have some limited storage and a translating desk that will allow you to sit on the bed and pull the desktop over to you (as already installed in my Overlander--love it!).

Putting a bed against the wall does make it a pain to make, but trying to allow room to "walk" around the bed just doesn't work for me--the alleys are way too narrow, so you sort of "scoot" around, trying not to hyper-extend some knee or hip joint against the bed frame.

Let us know what you decide, then post photos! Here's the start of my bedroom.

http://www.airforums.com/forum...dux-23481.html

[remcolent]

About the same Q here.
I'm looking for a other airstream , a bit newer and bigger than what i have now ( a 1973 27 ft overlander)
Want a rear bedroom, but all those beds are so small.
I'm 6ft8 so need at least a 7ft bed to be a bit comfortable.
My idee to try things out is to take the original bed out.
And first try with a aerobed , I can get 7 ft aerobed's here.
And see if there is enough room left on the side of the bedroom.

Remco

[rebel beck]

This is what we did we have a 75 with the rear bedroom. It had twins to small for us so we took them out, left the frames added a piece of ply board down the middle with supports and ran our queen size mat. across. I do grant I always have to crawl over in the middle of the night. There was enough room to add some hand made nightstands at the end. We have enjoyed it, the twins are just to small and we wanted to leave it original in case we ever sell (don't plan on it)

[joewinfield]

Malcom, we did #1 on our 28' mh and love it. Had custom foam mattress made in tow pieces. Yes it is harder to make up and you do have to crawl in from the foot. But it is great once your there. Good luck on your choice. joe

[empresley]

Malcolm,
Interestingly, we are also modifying our rear bedroom and have asked many of the same questions.
If you took a poll, I would vote for the centered Queen with night stands on each side, head to the rear wall. Of all the AS we have checked out, this looks most comfortable and manageable.
You will sacrifice the storage access from outside but this seems worthwhile when you 1.have a safe and comfortable path to the loo. 2.do not have to “crawl over” in the middle of the night 3.have access the mattress from 3 sides, for making up and changing linen.
Many of those we surveyed used the Short Queen 74” length rather than the standard 80”. Unless you are really tall, I would use that space somewhere else.
By using a light weight, hinged platform you can have a lot of storage under the mattress. The bases for our existing twins are approx. 14.5” high before adding a mattress.

A second vote would be for the standard double mattress on one wall and a narrow credenza on the opposite. You can save your storage on both sides and have a nice aisle for the length of the room. Of course this involves the “crawl over” and a custom mattress with one curved corner.

You will have a greater selection of mattress types and firmness if you use a standard size. Check around and see if anyone is making mattresses near you. I found a small manufacturer 25 miles away who is making our “short” Queen. He supplies custom mattresses for the Wonderlodge motor home and was very helpful. If you google RV mattress, there are a lot of companies to work with.

Good luck,

[Holzarbeiter]

I have a rear bedroom unit as well. I removed the old double to lay the wood flooring under all furniture. I would vote for the Queen in center with head to rear window.

[Happycampers]

Hello everyone.. We are redoing our Argosy from rear twins to a rear queen with the head on the streetside.. We have shortened up the triple closet to a double to give us the walk around for the bed.. going to put in an island with piston lift up as we have in our 5th wheel.. it will give us lots of storage .. still in the demolition and cleaning stage.. this will be a 2 year project.. complete redo.. even to the painting..

[uwe]

Originally Posted by malconium

5.) Queen bed crosswise at one side with walk around.

That one.

[malconium]

As I suspected there are a lot of different opinions depending on what issues need to be solved for a particular trailer so keep the comments coming. Here are a couple more questions:

1.) Did anyone use special bedding such as the Hack Sack?

2.) If you had custom mattress(s) made can you furnish some details about suppliers and pricing?

One issue for me is that we definitely need at least the full 80" of length on a queen bed. I am 6'2 and my wife is 5'10". It would actually be a bit tight for me if the mattress was enclosed at both ends. Side to side at the mattress level there is about 92" to work with so we could just squeeze in an 80" bed crosswise and have about a foot of walk by on the end but there really would not be enough space to add any cabinetry along that side.

I do intend to publish more information as the work progresses. I just need to get the work to progress...

Malcolm

[uwe]

Originally Posted by malconium

As I suspected there are a lot of different opinions depending on what issues need to be solved for a particular trailer so keep the comments coming. Here are a couple more questions:

1.) Did anyone use special bedding such as the Hack Sack?

2.) If you had custom mattress(s) made can you furnish some details about suppliers and pricing?

One issue for me is that we definitely need at least the full 80" of length on a queen bed. I am 6'2 and my wife is 5'10". It would actually be a bit tight for me if the mattress was enclosed at both ends. Side to side at the mattress level there is about 92" to work with so we could just squeeze in an 80" bed crosswise and have about a foot of walk by on the end but there really would not be enough space to add any cabinetry along that side.

I do intend to publish more information as the work progresses. I just need to get the work to progress...

Malcolm

Malcolm,

an open ended bed is much more tolerable for tall people than one in a compartment, like it is in my trailer.
I sleep on the outside, it seem that there is unfinitely more length than in teh inside, where head and feet are bound to hit the walls. ( my bed is 52" with a 18" pullout in a 63 Overlander)
My mattress is heavenly - latex foam over regular firm bedding foam. Sleeps like a dream, and can be easily shaped to odd requirements.

[gklott]

Tempurpedic will custom cut and deliver their mattress at the price of the size they have to cut down from. See their web site for details. We are considering this option since we really like our matress at home.

If you do this, it seems the the matress weight will make access to the storage below somewhat difficult. Anyone had experience with this, and did you have to change the devices that keep the storage top open?

73/gus

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by malconium

Did anyone use special bedding such as the Hack Sack?

Malcolm

I had a Hacksack at one time and later a TravlSack which was better constructed. I used them in a Scamp 5th wheel and in a TrailManor; in either trailer making a conventional bed was nearly impossible due to access.

I would not recommend either one in a trailer with reasonable access to make the bed. They were always either too hot or too cool. The worst thing, though, is that there is no tension on the sheet beneath and they were always lumpy and uncomfortable to sleep on. I sold both to popup owners when I bought my first Airstream and it was good riddance.

[Alumin8]

Malcolm,

I like your novel idea of twins that could be moved to become a centered queen. It is clear that you have a need to sleep grandchildren and this would work great. A simple fastening latch at the bottom would hold the queen together and a foam topper could eliminate the crack between the two mattresses formed when pulling the twins together.

I like the ingenuity and utility of this design. I might consider this in my trailer. I have the walkaround double with the head to the road side at present.

Good Luck.

Joe

[overlander63]

Here's another idea. Or, parts of other ideas in a new way. I think. It's still early here...
Anyway, put your two twins fore-and-aft long the sides, but near the forward bulkhead of the bedroom, instead of aft, so you can use squared-off mattressses. But, instead of having a nightstand sticking up between them, make the nightstand low enough you could put a piece of plywood over it without touching. Then cut two pieces of plywood the size of the mattresses, and put the plywood under them on the bedframes. Then, when your yougsters show up, lift off the mattresses, turn the plywood sideways, and shove the mattresses together, making a single queen bed.