Rear Wetbath v Side or Corner

[rboegh]

Originally Posted by Davydd

That's the video. We were at Advanced Fest and I spotted an empty 144 Sprinter van with a plywood floor already put down so took the time to lay out the plan with painter's tape to visualize the plan. Rob from ARV spotted us and unexpectedly volunteered to mock up the bunk beds. It took him about an hour with spare plywood, 2x4s and foam mattresses. News got around quickly and Mike Neundorfer took the opportunity to video the process. It was all spontaneous.

I had to get over the hurdle of convincing my wife. She wanted the upper bunk with a skylight over the bed. I have to have the lower bunk because our cat sleeps with her chin on my left ankle every night.

A single person could reconfigure one of the bunks for storage or leave it for guests. The bunks are 30" wide which is better than twin beds on the floor side by side with an aisle between. The bunk beds take up 25% of the available floor space behind the B pillar whereas side by side beds with aisle space or full width beds take up 60% of the space and usually have to be converted from daytime use to night time setup. In freeing up space I can have a permanent bed setup, a larger bathroom and a functional kitchen equivalent to my extended van Sprinter. Back storage I think is more functional than under bed or sofa storage usually found in vans. The batteries and inverter are under the lower bunk. I have windows all around other than the driver's side rear panel.

The two cab seats turn around fully and are unencumbered to sit down with leg space to place an ottoman. I am opting for two Lagun type tables instead of one which would necessitate sliding over to occupy the drivers seat. You could put a shared pedestal table between if you wanted. We opted for two for computer use.

We never entertain others inside our van nor take passengers along.

David,

Just wondering if you had ARV build this unit? I like your design and you are right, if single with a buddy you have it nailed!

We had a rear bath Hymer and did not like all the concerns shared on this thread.... we ended up trading for a Winnabago Solis 59PX with the murphy bed set up and it is working much better for us.

[MsNomer]

Davydd, who gets to make those beds?

[jrobe]

One of the most enjoyable parts of owning our Class B was designing it with a custom builder. I doubt we would ever buy a Class B again from one of the major sellers because it wouldn't fit our specific needs. Even when we were able to find a commercial floor plan that we liked, there were multiple other system options that we didn't like. It also doesn't necessarily need to cost more than the units on the dealer lots. We spent less on our fully equipped van than many current commercial units and certainly didn't spend money like the cost of an ARV van. I think we spent about $115k on our Sprinter Class B. The only downside was that the whole building process took time. We spent a little over a year on the whole process but it was very enjoyable. Fortunately there seems to be more and more custom builder options now available. It was well worth the time for us to get exactly what we wanted. I would enjoy designing another van as Davidd is doing.

[HWDean]

Originally Posted by Davydd

I had to get over the hurdle of convincing my wife. She wanted the upper bunk with a skylight over the bed. I have to have the lower bunk because our cat sleeps with her chin on my left ankle every night.

Check out these bunk beds in this 1982 Warrior

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

Davydd, who gets to make those beds?

We haven't got that far yet. The top bunk mattress will be 50" high off the floor. We have ordered custom fitted sheets from ARV if per chance we go that way, and the mattresses are encased in leather like our current van with the electric articulating beds. We have always used sleeping bags in the past and we may continue to do so and we would not have to roll them up and put them away if we choose not to since the beds are beds and nothing else.