We are thinking of buying a new (second hand) caravan. Which layout/berth is best for a small family of two adults, one baby at moment and a small dog.
We have seen six berth fixed bunks, five berth or four berth L shaped living area and rear bathroom.
When we started out and we had a small person, we bought a two berth , just for seeing if we liked it, and he slept in the middle, when we changed to a four berth, we went for the end bunks, purely so when he went to bed early being small, he was more up the other end so as we didn't disturb him, it all depends on you really, if you want your child near you then side dinette, away end dinette, if you are planning on any more little ones, the four berth will see you out for a long long time, six berth with fixed bunks are nice too , no making up the beds for the kiddies, and the side dinette can be left as seating, however, if you choose the fixed bunks or end bunks, your bathroom will be more of a wet room, if you go for side dinette, you will get an end bathroom with nice shower and changing area.
The best thing to do is go to a dealers and have a look at all the layouts, and spend sometime sitting in them, try and get it right first time as it can be a costly mistake if you don't, good luck have fun :)
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When our twins were very young, we found an end double bunk with side dinette (small table and chairs) very good as we could sit them down and do brekky/ dinner at the kitchen next to them while grumpy dad (me) was kept happy at the front watching telly. We used the awning at night alot, with the monitors on so we had our time and could hear them at the same time. So end bunks going across, side dinette and a 5berth giving us four plenty of room to move about. Went to sites with a family bathroom so mum could wash them.
I would go with the advice of go and have a look at layouts and pick the one you can grow into. We are foster carers, but also take two special needs adults as well. So its the two lounges for us, so we can have two tvs and a playstation. We then have the annexes on the awning which the two special needs lads use as a bedroom each. The wife gets the little double and the two toddlers get the big double. Muggins gets the camp bed in the awning.
we went for a fixed bed when we changed. The kids go one each side on the front seats. I was sick of putting beds together every night in our last van. This way we have the best of both.
My best advice would be when you go to view van layouts, get inside the van, shut the door and imagine that you are away and doing the things you would normally do, its amazing what you can find out doing this.
Don't rush things either, take your time to get the best layout you can, you may have to compromise on somethings though.
Hi we are on our second twin dinette caravan(single axle) and find it very versatile, only take 1 son mostly now but have taken all 3 and friends + 2 dogs, it has so many sleeping options and daytime living space that even when its just the 2 of us we will be sticking with this layout
I have triple fixed bunks - top two for the kids, bottom one for the dogs. Works a treat for me, but do look out as some vans have very narrow bunks (mine is an Adria and is, I think ,pretty generous).
I like this layout as the kids treat the bunks like mini bedrooms and we get some P&Q !
I saw someone on another forum who had the same van as me and had fitted mini TVs in each bunk - looked fantastic!
Quote: Originally posted by DaveCoaches on 07/8/2012
we went for a fixed bed when we changed. The kids go one each side on the front seats. I was sick of putting beds together every night in our last van. This way we have the best of both.
We have had various caravans over the last 25 years, all with the double dinette style of layout. This has worked well for us, originally when caravanning with our children, later going away mostly as a couple, but sometimes taking friends or family members and for the last few years with grandchildren as occasional guests. Our current van is now 15 years old and we know that at some point in the future we shall have to think about trading up to something more modern. Given the rarity of double dinette vans in the current market, we may well have to consider a fixed bed layout as an alternative, and have no doubt that this would work well for us as a couple.
What we cannot quite come to terms with is how we would manage when we took the grandchildren away with us. As you say, the children go to bed on the seats. But what do you do then, when there is nowhere left to sit? There seem to be two options. Either we go to bed ourselves at the same time, or we then sit outside the van, either outdoors or in the awning. The former means we would miss out on that last hour or so of wind down time, when we can talk over the day with a nice glass of wine, the latter would be no problem at all on a warm summer evening, but seems much less appealing when we have the sort of cold, wet weather we have been having lately.
How do you get around this one? There are always compromises to be made in caravanning, I do realise, but I'm struggling to see that we would actually find this one to offer real benefits to offset what we had lost. Perhaps there is a really obvious solution that I am missing?
Quote: Originally posted by chrissie7 on 08/8/2012
We have had various caravans over the last 25 years, all with the double dinette style of layout. This has worked well for us, originally when caravanning with our children, later going away mostly as a couple, but sometimes taking friends or family members and for the last few years with grandchildren as occasional guests. Our current van is now 15 years old and we know that at some point in the future we shall have to think about trading up to something more modern. Given the rarity of double dinette vans in the current market, we may well have to consider a fixed bed layout as an alternative, and have no doubt that this would work well for us as a couple.
What we cannot quite come to terms with is how we would manage when we took the grandchildren away with us. As you say, the children go to bed on the seats. But what do you do then, when there is nowhere left to sit? There seem to be two options. Either we go to bed ourselves at the same time, or we then sit outside the van, either outdoors or in the awning. The former means we would miss out on that last hour or so of wind down time, when we can talk over the day with a nice glass of wine, the latter would be no problem at all on a warm summer evening, but seems much less appealing when we have the sort of cold, wet weather we have been having lately.
How do you get around this one? There are always compromises to be made in caravanning, I do realise, but I'm struggling to see that we would actually find this one to offer real benefits to offset what we had lost. Perhaps there is a really obvious solution that I am missing?
This is the same problem we face too. Fixed beds just aren't suitable or practical for us as a family. We use both the front a rear tables. DD can be at the back colouring in when I'm at the front doing something else. Just feel fixed beds take up so much useable space, even with our awning on. I can only see disadvantages to fixed beds as it not takes me a couples of minutes to put the bed up.
Hoping manufactures will retain the choice of fixed or foldaway beds so families can have suitable caravans.
Quote: Originally posted by derekupnorth on 07/8/2012
I have triple fixed bunks - top two for the kids, bottom one for the dogs. Works a treat for me, but do look out as some vans have very narrow bunks (mine is an Adria and is, I think ,pretty generous).
I like this layout as the kids treat the bunks like mini bedrooms and we get some P&Q !
I saw someone on another forum who had the same van as me and had fitted mini TVs in each bunk - looked fantastic!
I am glad you liked my handywork. The Tv's are great for kids to chill at at night after hard days playing and if one wakes up early they than turn them on without disturbing the others as they have headphones. They are 9" lcd picture frames with built in freeview and media players so they each control what they watch. It gives each child their own space. We then have the rest of the van.
The Adria 542DT works well for families as the washroom is also large and can be used as a changing room etc. We have the best of both worlds, fixed bunks ,side dinette and a large end/corner bathroom(not justa wetroom)
The 542DK is also another good layout as the whole of the van can be closed off from the front but it has a lot smaller wetroom. The Adria bunks are huge. I have even slept in them. My eldest is 13.
I would go for as many berths as possible. We are a family of five nad the 6th berth (the side dinette stays up all the time as a table and can fit 4 (two adults and two children. I have a stool at the end and this means we don't have to make the front bed up straight away). This also allows us to take away one of the kids friends
Your not far from glossop caravans who have all the different layouts.I would go and pay them a visit and try all the different vans. All the caravans are open so just have good look. Then if you find layout you like start looking for a private sale with maybe an awning and some other bits.
In our opinion, the Pageant Provence range was & still is a very good family layout. We had a 5 series, missed out on the 6 series & currently have a 7 series & they're superb family vans. The double dinette layout with the good bathroom with seperate shower cubicle is briliant.
I'm not aware of any othe makes with this layout & I don't know if any of the newer Bailey Alu-Tec vans use the layout but if you're loking for a used van I suggst you step into a Pageant provence somewhere & see what the layout has to offer you.
We originally went for a twin dining area to give more room in the daytime but quickly got tires of putting beds up at night and as the kids got older they got tired of sharing a double bed to say the least (two boys)
We considered changing to bunks but having taken some measurements we worked out that if we took the van we were looking at on finance then the chances were the bunks would be too small for our oldest before we had finished paying for it.
In the end we went for a fixed double for mummy and daddy and the front "double" remains un-made and the boys put the seat backrests on the floor and use the front seats as single beds. We had been known to do the same in the previous van if one of us (OK, if I) had had a few drinks and couldn't put the bed up and found the front seats to be more than comfortable.
We originally went for a twin dining area to give more room in the daytime but quickly got tires of putting beds up at night and as the kids got older they got tired of sharing a double bed to say the least (two boys)
We considered changing to bunks but having taken some measurements we worked out that if we took the van we were looking at on finance then the chances were the bunks would be too small for our oldest before we had finished paying for it.
In the end we went for a fixed double for mummy and daddy and the front "double" remains un-made and the boys put the seat backrests on the floor and use the front seats as single beds. We had been known to do the same in the previous van if one of us (OK, if I) had had a few drinks and couldn't put the bed up and found the front seats to be more than comfortable.
I normally get up at 4 am for work, so in reality I am usually going to bed before the kids. It's not usually a problem even if the kids want to go early. There is room for one to sit at the foot of the front seats without sitting on any ones feet. It's also not a problem to sit on the bed with a glass of wine, a book or turn the TV round
Quote: Originally posted by Basilbrush on 08/9/2012
In our opinion, the Pageant Provence range was & still is a very good family layout. We had a 5 series, missed out on the 6 series & currently have a 7 series & they're superb family vans. The double dinette layout with the good bathroom with seperate shower cubicle is briliant.
I'm not aware of any othe makes with this layout & I don't know if any of the newer Bailey Alu-Tec vans use the layout but if you're loking for a used van I suggst you step into a Pageant provence somewhere & see what the layout has to offer you.
BB
Likewise I think this is a perfect layout for the OP and worth a look. We are also a family of 3 (2 adults and a 20 month old) and went for this layout as its very flexiable. We have currently removed the fold down bunk to save on weight and then have put a travel cot up in place of one of the rear seats. Our little boy will be able to use the rear singles prob till around 6 yrs old and if we have another one there is room for 2 travel cots or 2 children singles. The other plus is if we decided to have a weekend away and leave him at the grandparents we can make the rear up as a fixed double. We have the L shaped front lounge (ours is a series 6 but they stopped this on the series 7) which gives a lot more floor space and is useful for putting up the high chair, etc. The seperate shower is also a massive plus and we often use this instead of the site ones. The other HUGE benefit is it has a fold out solid wooden partition (not like the flimsey thing on newer vans) that closes off the back area at night and is really good at blocking out any noise from the front.............so we don't have to sit in the awning anymore to watch the TV!!
Overall are plan is to keep this for 3-4 yrs and then look to change to something with bunks when any children are a bit older (I believe most bunks are not recomended until children are approx 6yrs). If we were buying one of these now then I would be looking at the Lunar Quasar 546 and the Bailey Olympus 2 5 berth. Both of these have bunks (3 in the Lunar and 2 in the Bailey) and also a seperate side dinette that can be used for the children to eat at, etc. They also both have the seperate shower which is again something we find essential. I also like the Adria but at the moment don't believe they do one with the shower seperate......but will be having a look at the NEC next month.
Our series 6 is a 2008 model and I would expect you could pick one up around 9.5K 2nd hand if buying private or around £10k from a dealer. If you went for a series 5 then you could go back a few more years and save quite a bit.
We originally brought a 4 berth as our 1st van (Bailey Ranger 470/4) but changed after only 6 months (i.e lost a fair bit!) as this layout just didn't work for us. I would take you time and choose carefully and really think what will work for you as a family. Also consider how long you intend to keep it and will the van work for you as the children grow up or if you have anymore, etc
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Topic: Which layout is best for a family?
