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Madeline2001's avatar
Madeline2001
Explorer
Oct 07, 2013

Bunk Beds in Small Class C

Hello - I've been reading posts here and there for a few months, first time posting. :) We are a family of four + dog planning a year long US trip, leaving July 2014. Today's question is whether a bunk bed floor plan a) will be comfortable enough for boys 10 and 13 to deal with and b)will be more difficult to resell?

The 2010 Coachmen Freelander Dreamer 23BB caught my eye this morning as a possibility to get more lounging space. We are concentrating on around a 25' size Class C.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Madeline
  • That's an interesting floor plan, one I don't believe I've seen before, which would lead me to believe it wasn't very popular, which would naturally affect it's resale value.
    As far as bunk beds, I believe you find them mainly in travel trailers. In your case I don't see where you'd need bunk beds. A more "common" Class C would have enough sleeping spaces without the bunks. Typical is the large cab over bed along with a sofa/bed, a dinette that converts to a bed and a bed down back. That would give you an extra sleeping space, or one for each of you.
  • Thank you for the replies! I need to start a new thread about what size will be best for us because I definitely want to know what factors to consider ahead of time. Because most of my family seems to always want to be within 3 feet of me at all times, I don't know that I would get the benefit of the extra space! Point well-taken, though, about considering all the "stuff" vs. eyeballing a clean, empty motorhome. I'll put our situation in a new thread, after I browse through some other people's "what motorhome for me" postings.

    But, generally speaking, are bunk beds considered a desirable floorplan for a reasonable percentage of buyers or do you think that will limit our options for resale?

    Thanks!!
  • Hi, welcome to the Forums.

    In answer to your questions: Your boys will probably fit in the bunk bed space. Resale value is hard to predict. If you want that floorplan, most likely, someone else might in the future. It just depends how long you want to wait until someone comes along and how badly they want it.

    If resale is a prime concern, then I'd opt for a more main-stream floorplan (full or queen bed in back, overhead bunks up front) and a slide. You'll probably be at around 28' for so.

    Here's my opinion. I just looked up the floorplan for that motorhome. In my opinion, that's too small of a rig for a family of four (plus dog) and a year long trip. I really don't think you'll have the storage space you'll need for clothes, tools, cooking supplies, food and you'll be extremely cramped on days where you'll be cooped up inside due to travel/weather. Unless your dog is of the size that easily fits into your pocket :) I'd recommend something with a slide to give extra floor space. Stepping over the dog gets old.

    To be honest with you, for a one year trip and your size crew, I wouldn't recommend anything much smaller than 35', either a Super C or even a gas Class A.

    The larger rigs will have larger storage bays outside, more cabinets/storage inside, and larger fresh/black/gray holding tanks. The latter is really convenient if you should be camping at an area without full hookups. The holding tanks on the 23BB would last you two, maybe three days IF you're very conservative with water usage. Most people aren't. We can go 5 days on the holding tanks in our rig.

    There will be issues with getting around when you're camped, but you'll have the same with the small C. Once you're set up at camp, you don't want to have to break camp & drag the family around every time you need to go out shopping. And the less you can store, the more likely you'll be shopping. So you can either tow your vehicle behind you, or rent one at your destinations.

    We've been on the road for 2 months at a time in our rig and it worked really well. We're a larger family than yours, but knowing what I know, I wouldn't even think about the trip you're planning with anything smaller than our rig.

    I do envy you for planning such a trip. We're hoping that one of these year's I'll be able to take a long enough leave of absence to do the same.

    Keep asking questions here and we'll do our best to help.

    Good Luck,

    ~Rick

    P.S. To put my post in perspective, I'll let you in on a little secret. :) When I first came to these forums, we were planning on getting a small hybrid trailer to pull behind our Honda Odyssey. Instead, we ended up with a 36' Class A and tow our Odyssey behind it. Thanks to the terrific experience & insight of the folks on this board, we ended up buying the right rig the first time. We did our research (about 2 years worth) and looked at all combinations between where we started and what we ended with, but in the end it was all worth it. We have yet to find a floorplan I like more than ours (dual slide/dual sofa). Well...there was that 45' Prevost Bus....but that'll have to wait until the kids are grown up...and I hit the lottery! :)
  • We have a 31 foot Thor 31A and it would be very good for your size family. The down side is the small bathroom. If you a planning on towing a car then it would be more than sufficient.

    As for resale, who knows what the market will be from year-to-year.