Access to overhead bunk

To address the OP's question, this is how we fixed the same issue.
I removed the LH ladder anchor metal loop and relocated it on the right side of the RH ladder anchor metal loop. only had to drill 2 new holes, for the two bolts that holds each ladder anchor metal loop. This means the ladder is relocated exactly one ladder width to the right.
I could have relocated the ladder about 6" to clear the opened jack-knife couch, but that would have resulted in 4 open holes in the overhead bunk faceplate. By removing only one ladder anchor metal loop, I only had 2 open holes. I put a small aluminum plate with 2 matching bolts in the LH open holes.

Easy fix....about a 10 minute project.

If you need to return the anchor to the factory position, simply do so and move the plate and two bolts over the newly drilled holes. The plate and bolts keep a 'finished' look to the modification.

I'm nearing 60 years old, wife is 2 years younger, and we both crawl up in the bunk to sleep all the time...and I'm 6'7" tall, 195 lbs so I go in first, the wife second, 5'6" 130 lbs. She gets up every night to go to the restroom, and I don't have that issue....yet....but we are very active and just refuse to grow old...LOL

2005 Fleetwood Tioga 23E
Ford E-450 V-10 Chassis

ron.dittmer wrote:

Expyinflight wrote:
Overhead bed....difficult for the older adult or senior??

Dang!! I don't think I'm quite that decrepit yet. I'm 65, 5'10", and 230 lbs....yet have no problem navigating the ladder in or out of our overhead bed whatsoever. It is my preferred place to sleep.

Well....My hat is off to you. Good for you that it's works well.

My reference considers the "typical" senior. There are always exceptions and you are surely one of them.

I also think some of the limitations are relative to the head clearance in the upper bunk. The low ceiling in some rigs prevent the person from sitting upright, making it more difficult to get in and out from. Then there is the dinette or couch to utilize in some situations. There is no one statement that covers every over-head situation. My apologies for that.

I am 75 so wait a while to brag.I am happy you are nemble not everyone is so fortunate.

Expyinflight wrote:
Overhead bed....difficult for the older adult or senior??

Dang!! I don't think I'm quite that decrepit yet. I'm 65, 5'10", and 230 lbs....yet have no problem navigating the ladder in or out of our overhead bed whatsoever. It is my preferred place to sleep.

Well ... not braggin' (maybe complaining?) ... but I'm 77, 6'2", ~220 lbs., and can get up into our 24 foot Itasca Class C's overhead cab bed with narry a problem (yet)! :C

However, our Class C has a higher floor than the cab floor so I guess this makes the up/down ladder trip a fairly short one. The headroom is fine for me to sit upright in the bed with my feet hanging over the side. I just stow the ladder tucked inside the bedding when not sleeping up there.
Since our coach is a widebody one, the head and foot have a nice storage slot all along them. In this space at the head and foot of the bed I stow such things as an outdoor lounge chair, a couple of outdoor folding tables, a fan, a CPAP machine, books, extra blankets, etc..

So what we wind up with is two queen beds, and a full bed (made up from the dinette, if needed) in a small Class C.

Expyinflight wrote:
Overhead bed....difficult for the older adult or senior??

Dang!! I don't think I'm quite that decrepit yet. I'm 65, 5'10", and 230 lbs....yet have no problem navigating the ladder in or out of our overhead bed whatsoever. It is my preferred place to sleep.

Well....My hat is off to you. Good for you that it's works well.

My reference considers the "typical" senior. There are always exceptions and you are surely one of them.

I also think some of the limitations are relative to the head clearance in the upper bunk. The low ceiling in some rigs prevent the person from sitting upright, making it more difficult to get in and out from. Then there is the dinette or couch to utilize in some situations. There is no one statement that covers every over-head situation. My apologies for that.

Overhead bed....difficult for the older adult or senior??

Dang!! I don't think I'm quite that decrepit yet. I'm 65, 5'10", and 230 lbs....yet have no problem navigating the ladder in or out of our overhead bed whatsoever. It is my preferred place to sleep.

Oh yes, the over-head bed. It is free space.

- great for kids
- works for the younger adult
- difficult for the older adult
- seniors? you have to be young-in-body or you'll find yourself in the hospital with a broken hand or sprained ankle.

As much bad press the rear-corner gets from seniors, it's challenges don't compare to an over-head.

We owned a tiny class C with over-head bed for 24 years. That space was reserved for the kids and linen. At age 49, we replaced the rig with a rear corner bed B+.

Getting a walk-around queen or full would have been ideal, but with a garage limiting our choices to 25'-0" in length, we opted for a rear corner double bed in a length of 23'-8" that fits in our garage with a little room to spare which has proven valuable.
Having a door opening height limit of 9'- 11-1/4" limited our choices even further. We were fortunate to find a fully featured motor home that fit in our garage.

bobndot wrote:

MDKMDK wrote:
Clear the aisles, then starting at the rear of the coach, run forward as fast as possible towards the couch bed, then jump on it and using it as a springboard, vault into the cabover bunk. Try to "stick" your landing for the judges. Good luck.

That works fine if you are alone. When my DW is with me I have her cup her hands and place my left foot in her cupped hands and right foot on her shoulder. It took me a few attempts doing it this way because I pushed on her shoulder too hard and knocked her over.

:W:B

MDKMDK wrote:
Clear the aisles, then starting at the rear of the coach, run forward as fast as possible towards the couch bed, then jump on it and using it as a springboard, vault into the cabover bunk. Try to "stick" your landing for the judges. Good luck.

That works fine if you are alone. When my DW is with me I have her cup her hands and place my left foot in her cupped hands and right foot on her shoulder. It took me a few attempts doing it this way because I pushed on her shoulder too hard and knocked her over.

Our C came without a ladder. I am tall and I just step on the dinette seat and slide in. My grand daughters 3 and 5 also have no problem getting up there, which is a problem!! It is nice though not having the ladder to stow.
Brian

I have a fairly similar setup and just step on the couch's armrest and use that to boost myself up...or just jump and scramble from floor level. I don't think I've yet to bring the bunk ladder with me anywhere.