How practical is the sliding bunk over cab in Class A's?

[Vacay_Wheels]

Are there any families here who use the kind of sliding-down bunk over the cab in a Class A, who would care to share their experience with it? I'm curious how effective they are. Wondering if they're a pain to put up and down, blow up the mattress every day, pull out blankets and pillows, etc. On vacation, we drive nearly every day, plus the kids take naps, so this will be a more than once daily process.

We have always rented a Class C with the nice permanent bunk over the bed, which is perfect for the kids. So that's what we're shopping for. I've seen more recent model A's with that sliding bunk, and now getting to thinking that it might be a good option.

This weekend, I'm hoping to test drive the Thor Hurricane 32a I mentioned in another thread, which has that kind of bunk.

[msturtz]

I measured the clearance with the bunk fully up on the Palazzo and it is about 1 1/2" if I use a 3/4" foam bed that should leave room for the pins to still be able to be used. I also noted that the pins location is approximately 1/2" from fully up giving even more clearance. I haven't tested this yet because the coach is in for service.

[Vacay_Wheels]

msturtz wrote:
Just bought a Thor Palazzo 33.3 with the drop down bunk. I plan on purchaing a thin foam mattress that will be sized to fit with the bed retracted..

Here is what I'm wondering about that. The bunk looks like it needs to be up all the way for the locking pin to be inserted--On the Hurricane, anyway. With the Palazzo, do you think you can get a foam mattress in there and still lock the bunk up? Having a foam mattress would be handy so as to remove one of the steps.

I trained the girls how to do it and that was their job. When we arrived at the campsite, I'd hook up the coach and they were responsible for setting up the beds. I think it's very good for kids to have responsibilities when camping.

Great idea. Didn't think of assigning the kids this responsibility… And yeah, I agree the kids should have responsibilities. 9yo son gets to dump 🙂

The ACE is the only model I know of that has an articulated electric bunk. There are a few advantages to this, mainly that the front seats can still be used when the bunk is down. On many units with the bunk on slide rails, the bunk literally comes to rest on the top of the front seats rendering them useless.

Yes, the ones I've seen, including the Hurricane, have the bunk resting on the seats. I'd be worried about leaving it 3/4 of the way down for worry of putting stress on the motors.

[kalynzoo]

Our long previous Holiday Rambler had a pull-down bunk over the cockpit. It was a bit smaller than a twin, and with a scissor mechanism it was quite a bit wobblier than what is offered today. Our youngest at the time, from his 5th year to about 8 years old found it was perfect. At first we attached a netting for safety, but later we found it was unnecessary. Back then we had twin beds in the back, and could/would sleep two on the dinette, two on the couch, one on the pull down and there was room for a couple of sleeping bags on the floor, in case it was too inclimate for a tent. Great memories. Happy Trails.

[Effy]

The best new drop down bunk I have seen will be on the 2015 Coachmen Sportscoach Cross Country 404RB. It's called a "salon bunk". It's a 12 foot long bunk that drops down from the bulkhead over the dinette and sofa. Long enough to sleep 2. When up it's totally concealed. It's a belt driven mechanism. I can't find any pics on line but it was featured in the new Motorhome magazine (pg 52). This could open up a whole new range of bunks essentially combining drop down and bunkhouse ideas in one. I love it.

[holstein13]

My previous coach was a Fleetwood Storm 32BH with the front drop down bed. I completely loved it. That setup had berths for 10 people. The rear dinette converted to bunk beds for additional sleeping. I would often camp with my buddy and his three girls so we would have 7 people in the coach with plenty of sleeping options.

My girls loved the front drop down so much that I could leave the rear dinette setup as my computer work station. The drop down bed was very easy to setup. Just make sure the seats and TV were moved out of the way and hit a switch to drop the bed. Then inflate the bed (but you could install a foam mattress instead). Then I'd install the ladder. Yes, there were some steps involved, but eventually, I trained the girls how to do it and that was their job. When we arrived at the campsite, I'd hook up the coach and they were responsible for setting up the beds. I think it's very good for kids to have responsibilities when camping.

The long and short of it, is that the drop down bed was extremely practical for us and I really wanted the same thing in a 45 foot diesel pusher. Unfortunately, there is no such coach. I think the drop down bed is perfect for families.

[Effy]

The ACE is the only model I know of that has an articulated electric bunk. There are a few advantages to this, mainly that the front seats can still be used when the bunk is down. On many units with the bunk on slide rails, the bunk literally comes to rest on the top of the front seats rendering them useless. We find the ACE's bunk setup to be about the easiest to use and set up/take down. It has a built in, foam mattress which my son loves and even with my weight I find comfortable, and you can keep the sheets on it when stowed although blankets and pillows need to be removed. We are very happy with ours and have actually passed on units with different bunk setups for those reasons. (I love my captain chair spun around, makes a great recliner and I'm not giving that up). We have friends with a Palazzo and they don't like that it rests on the seats and the netting and the light it lets in seems more of an afterthought than a good design. They have also had issues with the blow up mattress and it adds more to the set up/take down. In my Ace it's as simple as removing a blanket and pillow and hitting the switch - or leave it down. Either way it doesn't affect any other functionality and set up and take down literally can be done in under a minute. Easy and functional.

[rcmiller32]

We have the Coachmen Pursuit with a electric powered drop down front bunk. This works great for us. It has a bunk bed type mattress that requires nothing more than a set of sheets. Normally it is just the two of us and the two dogs. But when the kids or grandkids come with us it works great. Takes less than two minutes to lower down or put up. Can leave the sheets on it. Pillow goes in a cabinet.

[msturtz]

Just bought a Thor Palazzo 33.3 with the drop down bunk. I plan on purchaing a thin foam mattress that will be sized to fit with the bed retracted..