Traveling with kids and no bunks?
Hi folks, We are a family of 4, generally camp about a week at a time with a few weekends here and there. Planning on a few cross country trips as the kids grow up, and will buy a Class A before w...
Forum Discussion
I'm a full time family camper with two kids, bunk beds and two bathrooms. Many of the responses above are from occasional families. You only asked for experiences from people without bunks so you can probably ignore my experiences.
You indicated that your kids are 5 and 8 so most likely, bunk beds will not be too small for them for many years to come.
I started with a 2011 10 person Fleetwood Storm 32BH. It was an entry level gasser and, in my opinion, the almost perfect weekend camping coach for a family on a budget. There were 6 separate sleeping areas in that coach and it offered many sleeping options. There were two dinettes, one in front and one in back. The front converted to a bed, but the rear one converted to bunk beds. I really loved this setup because when I camped with only my kids, they used the front drop down bed and I could use the rear dinette as my personal workspace. When we traveled through Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone, we set them us as permanent bunk beds and each kid had their own space.
One interesting thing about children is that they have friends who often like to camp with them. Having sleeping choices is even more critical when your kids have their friends with them.
Now we travel in a 45 foot luxury DP with a bath and a half. The bunk beds are 6 feet long and I've even slept in them when I picked up my in-laws in NYC and brought them back to Asheville for a vacation. I'm 5'11" tall and that's about the limit for my bunk beds -- but I was comfortable.
Since we are full timers, the bunk beds are very, very useful. Mostly because each child has a place for their stuff. There are wall pockets and three drawers under the bunks. That also leaves us the pull out bed for any guests.
Given your intended style of travel, I'd say you could go either way, but I doubt you would ever regret getting the bunks.
You indicated that your kids are 5 and 8 so most likely, bunk beds will not be too small for them for many years to come.
I started with a 2011 10 person Fleetwood Storm 32BH. It was an entry level gasser and, in my opinion, the almost perfect weekend camping coach for a family on a budget. There were 6 separate sleeping areas in that coach and it offered many sleeping options. There were two dinettes, one in front and one in back. The front converted to a bed, but the rear one converted to bunk beds. I really loved this setup because when I camped with only my kids, they used the front drop down bed and I could use the rear dinette as my personal workspace. When we traveled through Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone, we set them us as permanent bunk beds and each kid had their own space.
One interesting thing about children is that they have friends who often like to camp with them. Having sleeping choices is even more critical when your kids have their friends with them.
Now we travel in a 45 foot luxury DP with a bath and a half. The bunk beds are 6 feet long and I've even slept in them when I picked up my in-laws in NYC and brought them back to Asheville for a vacation. I'm 5'11" tall and that's about the limit for my bunk beds -- but I was comfortable.
Since we are full timers, the bunk beds are very, very useful. Mostly because each child has a place for their stuff. There are wall pockets and three drawers under the bunks. That also leaves us the pull out bed for any guests.
Given your intended style of travel, I'd say you could go either way, but I doubt you would ever regret getting the bunks.
