Removing rear sofa for 2 twin beds?

[folivier]

As I’m still researching and beginning to look for an early 2000’s B I see many more B’s with the rear sofa rather than 2 separate twin beds. Has anyone removed the sofa and built 2 twin beds? I guess the main thing is there being at least 6’ front to back once the sofa is gone to build the platforms. I need a comfortable flat mattress for my bad back so the folddown sofa is NOT an option for me and we don't want to crawl over each other. That's why I want 2 separate beds. If I can find the right unit, maintenance being very important, I don’t mind doing this.

[mkguitar]

I think the biggest consideration is what is built under the beds/sofa cabinetry

We have a 2006 pleasure way lexor TD on a chev with 2 beds fore/aft. panels and bolsters fill the center aisle if desired to make an almost king bed, a little shorter on the pass side.

under our pass side near in front of the wheel well are the electrics and breaker panels, distribution of the 120VAC and 12 VDC- the house battery is directly below this. behind the wheel well is some storage


under the driver side bed to the rear of the wheel well is the hot water heater ( which can also warm the bed nicely when cold) also stored are the crank and support for awning, the panels which fill the aisle for bed and the scissor jack, & 2 drawers

on some PW models with the sofa the electrics/breakers are under the sofa, a redesign may require a rewiring of everything

rather than rebuilt all the systems look for a van with is designed for you as I think most vans will have AC and DC electrics, hotwater/plumbing, propane gas lines and wheels wells to work around in the rear part of the van

the lexor TD beds are ( I think) 84" long on driver side, 78" pass side

the roadtrek popular models sleep fore and aft ( versatile models usually sleep sideways


Mike

[folivier]

It probably wouldn't be a problem leaving the existing stuff intact, the bed platforms can be designed to cover that. If stuff is only under the sofa and the sides that wouldn't be a problem. I don't need an aisle between the full length of the beds, halfway would be enough. Main thing is having enough length along the walls front to back. Height can also be done to accommodate anything under and storage.
The main use will be a 3-4 day road trip from Louisiana to Colorado a couple times a year to our cabin. And a few shorter trips. Just my wife and I.

[Jon in AZ]

The nice thing about the rear sofa is it provides forward-facing, 3-point belted seats for extra passengers. When we fold down the sofa, it looks like this:
Roadtrek Bed.jpg

For us it works better than twins, because it has more room at the top for shoulders and arms, it preserves the feeling of a shared bed for a couple, while the aisle at the feet makes for easy entry and exit without disturbing your partner. Best of both worlds.

It also provides more easy-to-access storage. We can fit our spare tire under there, along with all my tools, cords, hoses, electric space heater, and all the Reflectix panels for the windows when not in use.

There's nothing in the center to prevent you from turning it into permanent twins, but it would be a step backward functionally and would decrease resale value somewhat. As already said, some layouts don't have enough space for north-south sleeping. Ours is 72" on the passenger side and 75" on the driver's side. We're 5'7" and 5'1", so we're fine.

[folivier]

Except I've tried that type of bed and it won't work for me. That layout is similar to what I'm thinking of doing if I can't find a B with twin beds. I'm hoping I can find someone who has done similar and can pick their brains for ideas.
Jon how long are the twin beds front to back?

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by folivier

Except I've tried that type of bed and it won't work for me. That layout is similar to what I'm thinking of doing if I can't find a B with twin beds. I'm hoping I can find someone who has done similar and can pick their brains for ideas.
Jon how long are the twin beds front to back?

Got it. Everyone's different. I added the dimensions as you were responding.

Curious what didn't work for you. Mattress quality/firmness, perhaps, or bedding difficulty?

Based on what I've seen though, older units (at least those with longways sleeping) are more likely to have factory twins, so maybe it won't be a problem finding one set up that way.

[folivier]

Mostly a bad back, 2 herniated discs. So I need a good supportive but soft mattress. I had jackknife sofas in my previous coaches and couldn't take a nap on them without a backache. The pleasures of getting old
I haven't set a budget yet but mainly want a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge chassis.
Where in AZ are you? We visit good friends in Wittmann often.

[themexicandoctor]

Originally Posted by folivier

Mostly a bad back, 2 herniated discs. So I need a good supportive but soft mattress. I had jackknife sofas in my previous coaches and couldn't take a nap on them without a backache. The pleasures of getting old
I haven't set a budget yet but mainly want a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge chassis.
Where in AZ are you? We visit good friends in Wittmann often.

58 years young, broken back in 5 places, fractured neck twice and 40 plus bones broken, several many times over along with many shrapnel & concussive blast injuries.

Used to be 6ft 1 inch, now 5ft 11inch. According to my friends, mostly it's the reduction of my Ego that subtracted from my height.

Had an Explorer Camper Van with the Trifold seats before the Roadtrek & a Air Mattress - best thing I ever did was remove it & put in a queen sized platform bed with storage underneath.

Then I bought the Versatile with the 75 x 54 bed & forever did the tear down al the time between dinette & sleeping with those Roadtrek Cushions, all the time living full time until finally I had enough, keep the bed permanently down & got an 8 inch/$200 mattress from Walmart - Hallelujah.

Unfortunately it takes away from a communal* dining area so I have a slide in/no rattle mini table that fits between the kitchen & the closet because in improving the van I removed the third seat & put a full sized cupboard behind the passenger side & a full sized wardrobe behind the drivers side.

*I don't have any friends anyway, except for Santa

If you haven't done the front end mods like I, then perhaps you can build your own dining area up front with the drivers passenger swivel seats.

Next are some photos. Showing the extra storage under the bed gained by it being always down. The slide in table. The front closets. The 8 inch mattress.

[themexicandoctor]

There have been a few updates since them but for full time living, chronic back pain & still metal left in the body, the full time bed works for me.

Please note, the Versatile has the smallest bed of any of the Class B's.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by folivier

Mostly a bad back, 2 herniated discs. So I need a good supportive but soft mattress. I had jackknife sofas in my previous coaches and couldn't take a nap on them without a backache. The pleasures of getting old
I haven't set a budget yet but mainly want a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge chassis.
Where in AZ are you? We visit good friends in Wittmann often.

We’re in Pinetop in the White Mountains. I’ll confess even after living in AZ for 38 years, I had to look up where Wittmann is located. I've never been farther than Surprise on US 60 west of Phoenix.

I experienced a herniated disc about 25 years ago, so I know the pain and have to be careful. I think you should be able to find something with factory twins on one of those platforms fairly easily (many older Roadtrek Popular- not Versatile- models have the longways twin/king set-up). I found several on rvtrader.com.
Dodge chassis (there were at least 3 like it):
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/200...lar-5018349910
Chevy chassis:
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/200...lar-5015262831

Here's the twin bed layout from the Dodge listing above. The Chevy is the same. Replace the factory cushions with custom foam mattresses made to your specifications, or cut down a stock foam mattress and recover them to fit the van.
Roadtrek Twin Bed.jpg

On ours, I like to sleep on a puffy comforter on top of a typically firm RV mattress.