Our van is a 6 berth with fixed bunks then single diner/bed with a pull-out bunk over the diner/bed which we'll never use.
As weight is an issue for our main holiday we're wondering how much we'd save if we removed the extra bunk. Does anyone have a ball-park figure for what the framework might weigh to help us decide whether it's worth doing?
just take it out with lots of time and care and it can go back if required or sold / passed on.
one would be shocked what can be saved weight wise here and there. a pal of mine when he had his race car built insisted on lock nuts that saved 2kg plus enough for more fuel "another lap of a track" that equated to time and wins. just from not having spring washers on the car. caravans are the same a draw here unused shelf there can add to a lot of weight. just not carring water and two full gas bottles is a gain many dont think about.
We removed the pull out bunk from our van because we wanted the extra few inches we would gain. We kept the bits so that it can be replaced when we sell the van. I dont know the weight of it but it was heavy!
You will be left with a gap at the side of the cushions. I just bought some foam pieces from our local market and covered them. Not an exact match but with a scatter cushion over it hardly noticeable, and stops the seat cushions from sliding around.
Thanks for that tip Anniemacxx. If the gap looks unsightly I'll get some foam too.
We will be careful as we'll want to put it back in when we come to sell so I think we'll be as well making a diagram of everything & where it should go so we can reassemble it when the time comes.
Thanks for that tip Anniemacxx. If the gap looks unsightly I'll get some foam too.
We will be careful as we'll want to put it back in when we come to sell so I think we'll be as well making a diagram of everything & where it should go so we can reassemble it when the time comes.
Hi, may be good idea to get one of those file boxes (£1 from the pound shop) and keep your caravan info,papers,diagrams in it,that way you will know where it is when you need it.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
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Good thinking. We have 2 'caravan' folders - one lives in the van with copy insurance certificate & bits like manuals, awning instructions etc... & the other lives at home with the CRIS doc, orig insurance cert etc... so we'll keep the drawings in the one at home.
Just thinking we could save a tiny bit more weight if I keep the manuals & technical spec electronically on a memory stick rather than lug them with us everywhere. And we can also leave one of the gas bottles at home, take less pegs, one mallet instead of 2...
Im liking the duplicate folders idea, I may copy that one.
I try to go through the van every so often and make a "do we really need to take that" pile of stuff, it's amazing just what you accumulate in there. I think Im the worst culprit (Im a "just in case" person) although the front locker is the equivalent of OH's shed, woe betide anyone who tries to take anything out of there!
Quote: Originally posted by Anniemacxx on 17/4/2011
the front locker is the equivalent of OH's shed, woe betide anyone who tries to take anything out of there!
That made me laugh. Last year we went through everything before going away & OH found reasons why every item in the front locker needed to stay there. This year I'm going to sneak stuff out & hide it in the shed without telling him. But I can guaratee the one thing he'll need while we're away will be something I've taken out.
Hi adsheadv, i made list of all the caravan stuff i had accrued over the years with all their weights.:- used spread sheet formula to calculate all the stuff put in and any thing thats taken out of van,This is the list for the running weight of my van,also have list of all the caravan accessories,and any new things i buy is weighed and added to that list. Initually,weighed van empty including ,batt,bottles,cushins, then every thing was weighed,as you will see i only have 900kg max loaded,so came up with this,to keep me legal.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
Thanks jshw. We have a similar list that we made last summer to make sure we weren't over. Ours isn't as detailed at the top tho - how did you know what your fridge & cooker weighed? Are they in the spec in the handbooks?
The user payload in this van is similar to the last one but we've changed the car from a Shogun to a Passat so we've much less available there. That's why we're trying to save a few kilos here & there. If removing the bunk saves us 13kg it means we can put 13kg of what we used to put in the Shogun into the van instead.
Once we've removed the bunk we'll take the van to a weighbridge so we'll know exactly how much we can load.
Hi Vanessa, I weighed oven when i bought it, then had it fitted,the Fridge was being taken out, cleaned and serviced,and got that weighed,while out. the specs are in hand book but they seem to be approx weights,(used the specs for toilet,heater) and as i had two conflicting Ex works weights, (thought why not just weight it, to see if/or how approx weight difference is, if any), have had van weighed 4 times, 1st, was loaded, batt,gas,oven,mover fitted,and accessories,that was 100kg over weight, 2nd time was with gas bottles, and battery in van, oven fitted, and mover fitted, that gave me the 780kg,deducted mover,oven,battery,gas bottle (16kg) weights from total, and found weights still did not tally(697kg)(should be 724kg approx.at the data sheet weight Ex works)19kg higher than the other Ex works fig.of 678kg,and 27kg lower than the data sheet Ex works724kg,Confused so was i, so loaded van with only the fixtures,then batt,1 16kg gas bottle,weighed it a 3rd time,it weighed 780kg, and that is what i use as the unladen weight, loaded all the weighed essential stuff, weighed van again and i was smack on the 900kg max load.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
Hi we removed ours last year and Anniemacxx told us how to do the side cushions etc We are really pleased we did it .Weve stored the bunk in the loft and put screw covers over the screws that show .You wouldnt know it had been there .We did weigh it but cant remember what it was , think it was 7.5kg or was it 8 ....ill ask my oh tonight if he remembers .
We removed the lift-up bunk in our previous van to save weight. When ours was lifted up into the using position, it left a gap along the side of the cushions for the lower bunk, so a covered, folding infill piece had been provided to fill the gap.
Don't all vans with this type of bunk have the infill provided? Otherwise the lower bunk cushions would be loose side-to-side in use.
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Topic: Removing Pull-Out Bunk
We are really pleased we did it .Weve stored the bunk in the loft and put screw covers over the screws that show .You wouldnt know it had been there .We did weigh it but cant remember what it was , think it was 7.5kg or was it 8 
....ill ask my oh tonight if he remembers .
