To Bunkhouse ,,,or not to bunkhouse ,that is a question

[Bobj616]

Trying to decide if I want to get a bunkhouse TT so my grandkids will have permanent beds or get one with a big slide and trifold couch/bed and convertible dinette. The kids are 9(2) and 13 so they will, probably go with us for a few more years ,but after that we will have a lot of wasted space in the trailer. Anyone out there that did the couch and table thing for any length of time? The kids generally use sleeping bags and a pillow anyway and those can be stowed during the day. How much time do you spend indoors anyway? The smaller footprint for the non BB trailer would be nice. Any suggestion or discussion welcomed.

[Bobj616]

The double bunks are what I am considering. He just happened to be with me when I looked at one with a bunkhouse with single size bunks. I guess we could convert them to other space later as long as it doesn't hurt to knock them out.

[x96mnn]

If the GKs are going to be with you a lot a bunk house slide option is a great feature.

What I have seen people do with bunk houses once the kids no longer camped, or camped less. Convert them into more useable space. Computer rooms, sewing rooms, office, storage, and one guy who was super handy made a second bathroom/laundry out of one.

Some of these options still gives you the option of leaving a bunk if you wanted. Just a thought.

[patperry2766]

camper option

Have you considered something like this? I have three kids myself and I wouldn't let them sleep in a quad bunkhouse set up because the beds are just too narrow for my liking. I'm sure that you could put up some kind of netting to catch them if they were to roll out.

One of the advantages of a larger bunk it that it will give them space to store their bags and whatever else they need to bring along. I think I have seen one mfg. that had triple bunks

[Uma___Papa]

We have bunk room in our RV. Grandkids are the reason we got the plan, they still come with us often but when they don't we love using the room as a nice closet/storage area.

[Bobj616]

Thanks for the comments. One of our granddaughters live with us and the other 2 are here almost every weekend. I have thought about a nice tent and good cots with airbeds, in a few years they will probably prefer that . My grandson , one of the 9 yr olds said he wouldn't mind the couch , he said he rolls and moves too much for an upper bunk LOL.

[camp-n-family]

Get what suits you, not the occasional others. That's what tents are for.

[JiminDenver]

We have bunks and no kids, it would seem a waste of space but boy do we love having places to put stuff without having to pack it away. Food, clothes, coats, fishing poles, camera bags, even the coolers if we use them go on the bunks.

Now would I get another trailer with bunks for that reason? No, I'd still go for more living space and dig for everything when I needed it.

[gbopp]

When we bought our 96 Southwind, I didn't want slides or bunks. The GK's were young and I felt the dinette/jackknife sofa would be sufficient for the amount of time they spend with us.

Fast forward a few years. Setting up and taking down the dinette or sofa gets real old, real quick. Even on weekend trips.
And, now the GK's are with us all the time so, we're looking at something with bunks and slides.

You don't know what life will hand you tomorrow. Things change quickly.

[Lantley]

fallsrider wrote:
If your GKs don't go with you all the time, and you think it may only be just a few more years that they join you, I would not go with the BH plans. That's some pretty valuable real estate if it is just the two of you the majority of the time.

It really boils down to how often they go with you, IMHO.

Agreed If they were your kids get a bunkhouse. However grand kids, I would absolutely not get a bunkhouse. The kids are also old enough to make up and create there own sleeping space.
I would not get a bunk house for grand kids unless they were in your custody or with you camping 100% of the time.
There are too many fantastic floorplans that are more suitable for two that are not bunkhouses. I would not make that sacrifice for grand kids that did not camp with me 100% of the time

[sch911]

If they are anything like our kids, at those ages their participation will begin to decline in the next 4 years. If it were me I'd go without bunks. But let them know for sure that they're still welcome....

[fallsrider]

If your GKs don't go with you all the time, and you think it may only be just a few more years that they join you, I would not go with the BH plans. That's some pretty valuable real estate if it is just the two of you the majority of the time.

It really boils down to how often they go with you, IMHO.

[handye9]

Our last trailer was a bunkhouse. Grandkids used the bunks one time in four years. The rest of the time they collected junk.

No bunks in the current TT. Had a couple adult visitors, for a week long camp. One used the blow up bed in the couch, the other used a blowup matress on the floor. Everybody survived.