Where will we sleep?

[timtune]

My wife and I are looking to buy a small (21ftish) used class C motorhome. Our plan is to tow our motorcycle in a small enclosed trailer and then live in the camper for a 1-3 weeks at a time while we ride, and explore the local roads. We in our mid-50's and both in good health.

We have been looking at campers with a permanent bed in the back vs one where the table needs to drop down to create a sleeping area. We don't want to have to turn our bed into a table and our table into a bed every day.

So far we have assumed we won't be interested in sleeping in the bed up front over the "cockpit". Less head room & the need to climb up there we figured it was really just for kids.

Now I'm having second thoughts. Wondering if that's a perfectly legitimate place for 2 adults to sleep. If so it really opens up many options we could consider.

Lastly, if pulling a small trailer will we need a dually?

[CharlesinGA]

I think all C class Motor homes are dully wheels on the rear except for the ones based on a Ram Promaster chassis and those likely have a very low tow rating..

I didn't know to shop floorplan first and everything else later, I bought a Winnebago View 23H, that has a cab over bunk, a jackknife couch, and the break down dinette. I started out using the cab over bunk (I am by myself) and found two or so times a night down and up the ladder was a hassle. The ladder has very narrow rungs and hurt bare feet due to their sharp tread pattern, and being half asleep doing this was, well, not the best idea.

I now use the jackknife couch, no comfortable since it is not flat, but plan to convert it to a futon bed design which some View owners have done, still leaves you a nice couch and a flat bed. Downside is teardown and make up of the bed, but if in one place for more than a night I just leave the bed made up.

Using the dinette except for kids and in emergencies is not the thing to do. I keep too much stuff on the table and stuff in the unused side of the seats. I actually have a screw in the floor to keep the leg locked in place so it won't vibrate out.

Corner bed is best alternative for one person, quite workable for two, and a walkaround bed is best for two, but wastes lots of floorspace.

Charles

[pnichols]

Ron ... thanks for the explanation!

FWIW, we kindof lucked out: Our corner has had the same foam mattress Winnebego supplied as stock about 11 years ago and it's still the most comfortable mattress we own. The DW sleeps out there in the rig in the back yard instead of the house when her back is really bad. Our overhead cab bed also came stock with a foam mattress about 6-7" thick that has remained super comfortable for myself.

[ron_dittmer]

pnichols wrote:
Ron,

We have that same clothing closet mounted up high at the foot of the outside wall sleeping half of our rear corner bed.

How does that impact a person sleeping on that outside half (with their feet to the kichen end of the bed) sliding out towards the kitchen? They merely have to shift their feet slightly to the left as they exit the bed feet-first.

(The above is not a consideration in our case because only the DW sleeps in the corner bed.)

Per the dimensions in the floor plan of our rig, the bed is smaller than most other rear corner beds due to the over-all down-size of the rig. The hanging closet sticks out further, and the TV increases the restriction. The pull-out TV tray is hardly a contributor.

I sleep on the inside. My wife occasionally crawls over me to get out. I just pull my knees up to my chin. But we both find it simpler for me to get out first for her. When one of us gets up in the middle of the night to go potty, it's a good time for the other anyways.

[OldRadios]

Don't get anything where the slide has to be out to use the bed. Dumbest design ever. You want full access to the bed no matter where you want to park. Especially parking lots and overnight rest areas.

We had a B but it was a pain making up the bed all the time and wasn't really big enough for two people with different sleeping schedules. When we decided to trade up the one thing my wife demanded it have was a full time queen bed that we didn't have to climb over each other to get in and out and didn't have to sleep with a wall in our face.



This is ours. Don't know how big your bike is but we carry two full size Harley's so a tandem axle is required. Get a tandem axle so if a tire lets go there's a second on that side so the trailer isn't destroyed along with everything in it.

We use the cab over bed area for storage. Took the mattress out. It holds spare clothes, bedding, dry goods, etc. We call it the attic and it's very handy having all the extra inside storage space.

[pnichols]

Ron,

We have that same clothing closet mounted up high at the foot of the outside wall sleeping half of our rear corner bed.

How does that impact a person sleeping on that outside half (with their feet to the kichen end of the bed) sliding out towards the kitchen? They merely have to shift their feet slightly to the left as they exit the bed feet-first.

(The above is not a consideration in our case because only the DW sleeps in the corner bed.)

[ron_dittmer]

It is our TV tray the least of our obstructions

[Bumpyroad]

ron.dittmer wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
Either of us can get up without disturbing the other. Just flip the covers off and sit up and scoot off the end of the bed.

Our situation would be similar except that we have a shirt closet hanging over the foot of our bed. We made it worse by hanging a TV with DVD player on it. Oh well.....trade-offs.

what's that, a pull out tray/table for a TV? under the closet? why not remove that?
bumpy

[ron_dittmer]

Desert Captain wrote:
Either of us can get up without disturbing the other. Just flip the covers off and sit up and scoot off the end of the bed.

Our situation would be similar except that we have a shirt closet hanging over the foot of our bed. We made it worse by hanging a TV with DVD player on it. Oh well.....trade-offs.

[Desert_Captain]

Nothing wrong with the 6L Chevy except there just aren't that many of them out there. The OP will have far more choices that come with the venerable V-10. If towing a big V-8 or the V-10 is definitely the way to go.

:C

[Farmboy666]

Desert Captain wrote:
We have a Nexus Phantom 23P {24.5' overall} and love our rear corner bed. It came with a quality innerspring mattress and frankly, we sleep better back there than we do at home. We sleep with our heads at the rear of the coach, I on the outside and my bride on the inside{bathroom} wall.

Either of us can get up without disturbing the other. Just flip the covers off and sit up and scoot off the end of the bed. Yes, making it up is a pain but it only takes 5 minutes and you don't have to do it all that often.

When we have the occasional guests the cab over queen+ sized bunk works just fine though you do have to climb up and in. If we have guests for whom that would be an issue we just give them our bed and we sleep up there. Our dinette would be a comfortable bed but we have never even dropped the table to try it as It is nice to have the big lounge/table always set up.

As for towing, I think you will be happier with a dually and V-10 especially if you are towing two bikes or a trike. I tow my Harley Dyna Super Glide on a Kendon single trailer. Bike and trailer weigh 900# and tow like a dream, really can't tell they are there {they don't appear in my mirrors} except when I see the profile of the bike in shadow.

Towing a bike works great, we have towed ours over 9,000 miles {and ridden 15,000} just in 2017 alone. Being able to easily load/offload and go for long rides on amazing roads has opened a whole new chapter to our RV experience. We did two, 2-week trips to the southern Rockies, 2 weeks in Utah, rode out of Flagstaff, Cottonwood, Laughlin and Vegas taking long side trips daily. We love to head up to the White mountains {6 trips this year} to beat the heat of southern Arizona summer... very pleasant at 7 to 9,000'.

The best part is returning to the coach at the end of a ride for a nice hot shower, cocktails, dinner and then a great nights sleep before starting all over the next morning after coffee.

At 67-66 my bride and I are too old to sleep on the ground in a tent and humping all of the requisite camping gear would be a huge pain probably requiring a bigger bike. Nightly stays at motels and eating every meal out is financially out of the question.

Works for us!

:B

I totally agree with everything you say and is about the exact setup we have. I have to disagree with the V 10 part. We have a Chevy V8 6 liter and it pulls with power to spare.

[Desert_Captain]

We have a Nexus Phantom 23P {24.5' overall} and love our rear corner bed. It came with a quality innerspring mattress and frankly, we sleep better back there than we do at home. We sleep with our heads at the rear of the coach, I on the outside and my bride on the inside{bathroom} wall.

Either of us can get up without disturbing the other. Just flip the covers off and sit up and scoot off the end of the bed. Yes, making it up is a pain but it only takes 5 minutes and you don't have to do it all that often.

When we have the occasional guests the cab over queen+ sized bunk works just fine though you do have to climb up and in. If we have guests for whom that would be an issue we just give them our bed and we sleep up there. Our dinette would be a comfortable bed but we have never even dropped the table to try it as It is nice to have the big lounge/table always set up.

As for towing, I think you will be happier with a dually and V-10 especially if you are towing two bikes or a trike. I tow my Harley Dyna Super Glide on a Kendon single trailer. Bike and trailer weigh 900# and tow like a dream, really can't tell they are there {they don't appear in my mirrors} except when I see the profile of the bike in shadow.

Towing a bike works great, we have towed ours over 9,000 miles {and ridden 15,000} just in 2017 alone. Being able to easily load/offload and go for long rides on amazing roads has opened a whole new chapter to our RV experience. We did two, 2-week trips to the southern Rockies, 2 weeks in Utah, rode out of Flagstaff, Cottonwood, Laughlin and Vegas taking long side trips daily. We love to head up to the White mountains {6 trips this year} to beat the heat of southern Arizona summer... very pleasant at 7 to 9,000'.

The best part is returning to the coach at the end of a ride for a nice hot shower, cocktails, dinner and then a great nights sleep before starting all over the next morning after coffee.

At 67-66 my bride and I are too old to sleep on the ground in a tent and humping all of the requisite camping gear would be a huge pain probably requiring a bigger bike. Nightly stays at motels and eating every meal out is financially out of the question.

Works for us!

:B

[jjrbus]

I have a Toyota class C, our travel requirements have changed and I have been looking for a small 21 foot B.

The more I looked I decided that I do not want to be changing the bed to table and back all the time and will stick with the C. I also don't want the toilet shower setup. The C bed is a bit inconvenient but a much better option than the table bed switch. Thats for 20 year olds.

I replaced the cushions in the cab over with a 5 inch memory foam mattress and it is very comfortable. Just don't sit up quick in the middle on the night : )

[paddykernahan]

We have a 22' 9" Class C (B+) no overhead bunk.
Has a huge bathroom and separate huge shower.
Has room to do that because it has a very easy to use Murphy bed.
Takes seconds to fold up or down.
We keep all the bedding and pillows on all the time.
No dinette but it has a very comfortable couch which I prefer to a dinette.

[ron_dittmer]

Bumpyroad wrote:
....and remember that you will be getting older and less agile as time goes by.

also, I have to make up the dinette into a bed for the GGS which means no place to prepare/eat breakfast in the am.
bumpy

Good advise on planning ahead "as we get older".

Our dinette stays a dinette all the time. We love our dinette always ready, never disturbing anyone to use it.

It seems that dinettes get a bad rap because so many are confining and with uncomfortable cushions. If only more consideration was given to size and comfort by the RV manufactures. We did have to upgrade our cushions to make it comfortable, and even more roomier...they are much more dense and yet a little thinner which provided more breathing room.

[Bumpyroad]

If you are considering using the front over the cab bed, I would suggest renting one for a week or two and see how you like it. and remember that you will be getting older and less agile as time goes by.
also, I have to make up the dinette into a bed for the GGS which means no place to prepare/eat breakfast in the am.
bumpy