Single Bed Dilemma

[Steamdrivenandy]

Following our recent trip, the first with two fully grown beardies on board, I've been given permission to look for a bigger van. However I've come across a problem.

 

In order to provide max. floor room for dogs, convenient bathroom access and reduce daily bed construction etc Mrs SDA has said we go fixed singles.

 

But due to me being 6ft 2ins tall at least one of the singles needs to be at least 6ft 3ins long and preferably more. My current across the rear single dinette bed is 6ft 7ins.

 

Looking at the obvious Lunar candidates they're all to short at 6ft 2ins. So are the Elddis and Coachman equivalents.

 

Bailey seem to work in both Peg. Rimini (S2 & GT65) and have MTPLMs that the V70 can handle. The Uni. Cadiz would be favourite BUT the U3 is too much for the budget, the U2 has a shower we won't fit in and the U1 really needs a tank to pull it as it's v close to the V70 tow limit.

 

Swift also seem a possibility with the Ch. Sport 564 and the Ch. SE 565 both having a 6ft 4ins single on board and presumably their Sterling equivalents do too, although their internal decor isn't my taste. The Swifts also seem to be very rare in the classifieds.

 

So is there anything else out there that I've overlooked?

[gumdrop]

I have never taken much interest in them but how are the Hymer range?

[Steamdrivenandy]

Wash your mouth out Rod (LOL), what's an Eriba Touring, if not a Hymer?

 

I suspect non poptop Hymers (Nova?) with single beds will weigh more than the V70 can tug, but I'll check it out.

[ian16527]

Wash your mouth out Rod (LOL), what's an Eriba Touring, if not a Hymer?

 

I suspect non poptop Hymers (Nova?) with single beds will weigh more than the V70 can tug, but I'll check it out.

Looked at some last year, lovely inside and out but if I remember they were 1700 MTPLM +.

 

They had more several models last year, but only listing this one now with fixed bed so no use to you.

http://www. kimberleycaravans. co. uk/caravans/332/2014-hymer-nova-luxusline-545

[Steamdrivenandy]

Well I went single bed hunting today.

 

Not exactly bowled over by a large selection to choose from.

 

A 2014 Bailey U2 Cadiz @ £18K and a 2012 P2 Rimini for £14K

 

Oddly the Peggy seemed in better presented condition than the Uni which can only have been a year old.

 

I'm not bothered about the lack of the big window on the Rimini and much prefer its rectangular shower to the cigar tube in the Cadiz.

 

The Pegasus windows seemed of equal quality, if not better than those on the Unicorn and storage seemed about the same.

 

So now I need everyone to tell me why Pegasus Series 2 should be left well alone

[donb]

I'm 6ft and just find the gt65 Rimini bed fine for me but sometimes stick my feet through the TV gap at the foot of the bed. Had loads of issues with my 2012 Rimini though which is why we changed up to the 2014 gt65, just love the big window but do miss the gas fire when off mains.

Edited April 18, 2015 by donb

[Steamdrivenandy]

One of the issues Mrs SDA is worried about is the narrowness of the floor space between front lounge benches. She feels the wider the space the more possibilities for finding a footspace when trying to negotiate a laid out dog.

 

On our current Lunar the gap is 2ft 1ins, and according to Bailey brochure stats the Series 2 Peg. has an 'enormous' 2ft 4ins whilst the GT65 has just 1ft 10ins. Certainly the floorspace looked enormous on the S2 we looked at this morning.

 

The Unicorn 1 has 2ft 4ins, the U2 2ft 1ins and the U3 2ft 2ins.

 

When you say you had issues, can you suggest what I should be looking for?

[donb]

Yes the p2 was wider and therefore wider beds. Had issues with damp mattresses having to be replaced finally, a couple of locker leaks but the worse was the paint on the roof peeling away around the sun roof area, stupid caravan company tried to say I had used a scourer on it, it was sorted by Chichester caravans under warranty as soon as we traded it in. Not found the gt65 being narrower an issue but we don't have any dogs. If We were looking to upgrade again then would look at the unicorn now although still unsure on the heating methods when we are da camping off grid,managing with two batteries and solar so far but its still a worry when your battery shows 11. 3 for a short time on start up.

[gumdrop]

The whole problem here is the dogs, could I suggest you courier them to the next show

and meet them there.

OR

One person takes the dogs in a large fitted out van that they live in separately from that

nice Andy and his beloved

[Steamdrivenandy]

Yes the p2 was wider and therefore wider beds. Had issues with damp mattresses having to be replaced finally, a couple of locker leaks but the worse was the paint on the roof peeling away around the sun roof area, stupid caravan company tried to say I had used a scourer on it, it was sorted by Chichester caravans under warranty as soon as we traded it in. Not found the gt65 being narrower an issue but we don't have any dogs. If We were looking to upgrade again then would look at the unicorn now although still unsure on the heating methods when we are da camping off grid,managing with two batteries and solar so far but its still a worry when your battery shows 11. 3 for a short time on start up.

 

Ahh yes, the dreaded Damp Mattress Saga, I'd forgotten about that. Maybe that's why the mattresses look so new and little used. Funnily enough I looked at the mattresses for a Peg 2 on Parts Direct an hour or so ago. Can't figure out why the 6ft 3ins ones are circa £110 each and the smaller 6ft ones are more than double at around £250 each. Makes no sense.

 

The front lockers look dry inside, no water marks at all, but no black plastic trays in there either. Are there supposed to be?

 

I'll pop my head through the Heki and look at the roof when next viewing.

 

The one we saw today was the standard version with upholstery across the front lounge and no central chest. Mrs SDA isn't sure if that's a good or a bad thing? There is another 2012 S2 Rimini with the chest fitted for sale on Autotrader buy it's a fair distance away.

[donb]

We purchased the chest second hand and that made a difference we both thought for the better. If no trays then should be fine in the lockers. The new mattresses had a different design on them, lots of small leaves if I recall. The original ones had just large leaf design and were so wet over winter you could make a puddle if you put your hand on them. The other odd thing we found a pain was the large wash basin in the bathroom, took up too much space we thought. The p2 had an onboard water pump and a portable onboard water tank that could have been usefull. The gts now have an external pump that is not brilliant. The Peggy's are due an upgrade this year so will see how much more alike the unicorns they become. We just love not making beds up now and not having to store cushions out of the way every night, only traded in the 2012 p2 due to a top trade in price against the gt65 and the brilliant window. Had one issue with the gt65 where the small front window fell off but replaced under warranty.?

Edited April 18, 2015 by donb

[Steamdrivenandy]

I presume that the reason the example we have seen has no 'bolster' cushions at the end of the lounge benches is because it's a standard variant without central chest. I've seen pics of one with the chest fitted and that does have end bolsters.

 

Are central chests easy to come by or as rare as hen's teeth?

[donb]

Not sure about the bolster cushions but I am sure ours were there, I think ours originally had a cental seat cushion and a separate backrest cushion that was simply removed to fit a chest, when fitted there is a gap down either side of the chest which looks a bit odd. I do miss the front locker even though the gt65 has them at the side now and the unicorns appear to have none at all. We travelled for 2 hours to get ours so fairly rare I think.

[Steamdrivenandy]

I've just had a look on ebay and there are about 4 or 5 chests advertised. Of course they fit all the S2 Peg. layouts which means there are more to go at, if you know what I mean.

[redrockhopper]

Following our recent trip, the first with two fully grown beardies on board, I've been given permission to look for a bigger van. However I've come across a problem.

 

In order to provide max. floor room for dogs, convenient bathroom access and reduce daily bed construction etc Mrs SDA has said we go fixed singles.

 

But due to me being 6ft 2ins tall at least one of the singles needs to be at least 6ft 3ins long and preferably more. My current across the rear single dinette bed is 6ft 7ins.

 

 

 

Swift also seem a possibility with the Ch. Sport 564 and the Ch. SE 565 both having a 6ft 4ins single on board and presumably their Sterling equivalents do too, although their internal decor isn't my taste. The Swifts also seem to be very rare in the classifieds.

 

So is there anything else out there that I've overlooked?

 

We have a Swift Challenger Sport 564. My husband is 6' 6" and he is fine in the longer single bed. The fold away divider is at the foot of that bed and with that left open it leaves an extra couple of inches of space for his feet if he decides to stretch out.

[Steamdrivenandy]

I see what you mean about the folding divider, though its end support stays in place I presume. Mrs SDA has taken a liking to the idea of the wardrobe in the bathroom, a la Bailey Pegasus, which by default makes the bathroom larger all round.

[redrockhopper]

Just been out to the van . ......

 

 

There is a gap either side of the divider so he can dangle his feet off the end of the mattress either side of it depending on which way he is facing. ....

[AlanNancy]

Following our recent trip, the first with two fully grown beardies on board, I've been given permission to look for a bigger van. However I've come across a problem.

 

In order to provide max. floor room for dogs, convenient bathroom access and reduce daily bed construction etc Mrs SDA has said we go fixed singles.

 

But due to me being 6ft 2ins tall at least one of the singles needs to be at least 6ft 3ins long and preferably more. My current across the rear single dinette bed is 6ft 7ins.

 

Looking at the obvious Lunar candidates they're all to short at 6ft 2ins. So are the Elddis and Coachman equivalents.

 

Bailey seem to work in both Peg. Rimini (S2 & GT65) and have MTPLMs that the V70 can handle. The Uni. Cadiz would be favourite BUT the U3 is too much for the budget, the U2 has a shower we won't fit in and the U1 really needs a tank to pull it as it's v close to the V70 tow limit.

 

Swift also seem a possibility with the Ch. Sport 564 and the Ch. SE 565 both having a 6ft 4ins single on board and presumably their Sterling equivalents do too, although their internal decor isn't my taste. The Swifts also seem to be very rare in the classifieds.

 

So is there anything else out there that I've overlooked?

Hobby make caravans with two single beds.

Alan

[Steamdrivenandy]

Hobby make caravans with two single beds.

Alan

Won't they be v heavy, like Hymer Novas mentioned earlier Alan?

 

Mind, I fell out with Hobby several NEC shows back when I asked a sales person why they had just a couple of caravans on the stand and loads of motorhomes and why those two caravans were ENORMOUS top of the range models and not ordinary vans from the range. His response indicated that such vans were below contemplation and therefore potential customers not worthy of consideration. That was me told, so I exited the stand and scrubbed Hobby from my list of vans to consider.

[Steamdrivenandy]

DonB, this wouldn't be your van would it?

 

http://ads. caravansforsale. co. uk/touring-caravans/bailey/bailey-pegasus-rimini-cs852618. aspx

[blondchaser]

Keep dugs in awning??????? Great security!!

[donb]

Mine was sold from Winchester shop within a couple of weeks but it looks to be in the same condition as mine was. Also I sold the chest separately. Good price that one though.

Don.

[Steamdrivenandy]

As there seems to be a fair shortage of Bailey Pegasus Series 2 Rimini's about I thought I'd look at the spec of a Pursuit 550 as an alternative. Same layout, with two rear single beds, but whereas the longest single on an S2 Rimini is 6ft 4ins, the longest on the 550 is 6ft 8ins. The other bed is 6ft 0ins on the Rimini and 6ft 4ins on the 550. So both beds are 4ins longer which is brilliant for someone like me who's a few inches over 6ft tall, although 6ft 4ins of the Rimini would do.

 

What's even better is that both 550 beds are 2ft 4ins wide as opposed to 2ft 3ins on the Rimini. Although this begs the question why Bailey haven't provided such long beds in the U3 or previous Riminis and Cadiz models.

 

BUT, BUT, BUT

 

I'm flummoxed by the fact that the lounge benches up front are each actually 2ins wider than the single beds up the back. What that means is that the lounge gangway is a miniscule 1ft 8ins wide. In our current Quasar the gangway is 2ft 1ins and the S2 Rimini has a stonking wide gangway of 2ft 4ins, a whole 40% more foot/dog room. They've made the front benches 2ft 6ins wide when they're only 5ft 2ins and 5ft 10ins long, so hardly any use as single beds. Leaving 1ft 8ins to fill with backrests, if you make up a double, means each back cushion is just 10ins high and if you look at pictures of Pursuit lounges you'll notice the back cushions look niggardly in height. For most people this means sitting in a Pursuit lounge is made uncomfortable because the seat cushion is too wide for thighs and the back cushion ends just above the waist.

 

Contrast this with the S2 Rimini with its 2ft 4ins gangway and therefore back cushions of 1ft 2ins height, which look luxurious in position and extend well up to near shoulder blade height and allow you to sit back supported and comfortable.

 

Now most things on the Pursuit range are driven by cost reduction as it's a starter range, but I can't figure out Bailey's logic in this case. Surely it would have been easier to build the rear beds at 2ft 6ins and the front lounge at 2ft 4ins which would be more sensible for regular use and cost no more?

[donb]

I tend to agree with you, I liked the Pursuit beds but it came out after my gt65 Rimini. We do find our beds are very high, probably due to the water heater being under one side and the table the other, I don't have a problem but the wife sometimes needs a leg up, he he, into bed. We are totally used to the narrow gangway and even at 6ft and 15st I am OK with the bed. I also liked the Lunar but the bed was too short for me and to dark finishings.