The Little People

[blondchaser]

Don't know if anyone else is having this problem, but it appears caravan designers build them for little people. Big chaps like me find the doorway too narrow to allow easy entry and exit.

The height of the door aperture also leaves much to be desired.

 

Rant over.

[Steamdrivenandy]

I'm 6ft 2ins and 17 stone Bob, so I wouldn't say I was 'little' but I have no issues with door width or height.

 

Now the paucity of models with beds over a comfortable 6ft 4ins is a matter for valid complaint and you would have something to complain about if you owned a pre 2009 Eriba Touring where a crack on the head was a daily occurrence.

[Johnaldo]

On site last week in Cornwall I saw a van with what appeared to be virtually a full-size door, ie equivalent to an internal house door . .. I think it was an Adria.

 

John

[Ern]

There are some very large people about. The percentile man of Europe has become slightly larger (up from 65 to 68Kg which is about 10stone 10lbs) but most people are larger than that. If caravan and car makers increase their percentile man it will have an impact on a lot of things. Costs will go up. There have been a few threads on here about the small size of toilets, beds etc.

[Stevan]

All consumer goods are designed around an average size, catering better for taller people, makes life more difficult for shorter people. "One size fits all" does not properly fit anyone!

[Steamdrivenandy]

The trouble is that short people can fit in short and long beds but tall people can't fit in short beds. So if long beds aren't provided tall people are being discriminated against.

 

Mrs SDA is 5ft 2ins tall and sleeps in a 6ft bed in our van. She'd be comfy in one that's just 5ft 6ins long. I'm 6ft 2ins tall and ideally I'd like a bed 4ins longer than my height, just like my other half would be happy in. But no, I get 6ft 4ins, which is OK, especially when most vans maximum bed length is 6ft or 6ft 2ins, but not my ideal.

 

Anyone know of a van with one bed 5ft 6ins and another 6ft 6ins long?

[Glen and Les]

As "little people" (I'm not one by the way!) we choose to live in "little houses" for our holidays. Everything is down-sized for our convenience, including the convenience! However, the door on our previous Coachman VIP was wider than the one on our current Coachman Pastiche, so there are models with wider doors.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Glen and Les

[Glen and Les]

The trouble is that short people can fit in short and long beds but tall people can't fit in short beds. So if long beds aren't provided tall people are being discriminated against.

Mrs SDA is 5ft 2ins tall and sleeps in a 6ft bed in our van. She'd be comfy in one that's just 5ft 6ins long. I'm 6ft 2ins tall and ideally I'd like a bed 4ins longer than my height, just like my other half would be happy in. But no, I get 6ft 4ins, which is OK, especially when most vans maximum bed length is 6ft or 6ft 2ins, but not my ideal.

Anyone know of a van with one bed 5ft 6ins and another 6ft 6ins long?

I often wonder how taller people manage on the fixed beds (those that have a board at the bottom, as in single beds etc.). We've just moved to single bed layout - I'm 5' 7" and use the 6' 2" bed and Les is slightly shorter at 5' 5" and his bed is 6' 0". No-one ever sleeps with their head touching the headboard and we often find our feet pushing against the wood at the bottom. My guess is, if you're taller, the best option is to make up the front doublevand sleep across the van.

[pagan8c]

I am average height so no real problems with the bed. I agree the doors can be narrow but I have more or less sorted this by losing over 2 stone in weight and around 34 waist. I still weigh 141/2 stone so not small. Have you noticed that in the stores all the small sizes are at the highest hangers because my wife is 5'2" and finds it quite difficult to reach them. So it is not just the caravan industry but a lot of others don't know how to cater for different sizes. Where are these average 10 stone 10 lbs men because most I see appear a lot heavier to me.

[Ern]

Perhaps caravan beds should be designed so that are located end to end. The lanky one can occupy as much as needed and the little one can sleep on what's left. Alternatively, caravans could be made with no furniture and we could all go and buy the bits we want from a store like Ikea. "I'd like a large single and a small single bed with a large toilet and a reducing ring for my small wife please. Have I got enough money left for a sloping table?" Entrance doors could of coarse be double so that you could open the bit wide enough for your body.

[joanie]

we had a swift 10 years ago that had a door 3 inches wider than the last 2 caravans. OH is 6'2 but our son is 6'5 and if he spends any time with us in the 'van he sleeps in the make up one which is about 7' x 5'. How big are you ?

[John19]

On site last week in Cornwall I saw a van with what appeared to be virtually a full-size door, ie equivalent to an internal house door . .. I think it was an Adria.

 

John

 

I do remember that Fry's Caravans, near Driffield, East Yorkshire, could supply a caravan modified for wheelchair access via Avondale and after their demise via Adria. Maybe this is what you saw.

 

Sadly Fry's Caravans are no longer in business.

 

John.

[sunshinetours]

 

I do remember that Fry's Caravans, near Driffield, East Yorkshire, could supply a caravan modified for wheelchair access via Avondale and after their demise via Adria. Maybe this is what you saw.

 

Sadly Fry's Caravans are no longer in business.

 

John.

 

Adria do the Axcess models I believe which is accessible

[CPDavis]

I think the entire menswear range of clothing at M&S is designed for men of no more than 4' 8" with a waist size of 42" with the stance of Quasimodo.

 

Never had a shirt from them that I could actually tuck in.

 

Oh, sorry, wrong forum.

[blondchaser]

I often wonder how taller people manage on the fixed beds (those that have a board at the bottom, as in single beds etc.). We've just moved to single bed layout - I'm 5' 7" and use the 6' 2" bed and Les is slightly shorter at 5' 5" and his bed is 6' 0". No-one ever sleeps with their head touching the headboard and we often find our feet pushing against the wood at the bottom. My guess is, if you're taller, the best option is to make up the front doublevand sleep across the van.

Perhaps the wood is there to serve another purpose !!!!

[Steamdrivenandy]

Don't get me started on M&S trousers. A whole lifetime with 31ins inside leg measurement. Their 32's are too long and their 30's too short. One thing BHS did have was trousers with 31ins inside leg.

[John19]

Don't get me started on M&S trousers. A whole lifetime with 31ins inside leg measurement. Their 32's are too long and their 30's too short. One thing BHS did have was trousers with 31ins inside leg.

 

You need to take a more careful look at M&S sizing Andy. Unless there's been a change in the last few weeks, inside leg lengths have always ended in an odd number and waist sizes have ended in an even number.

 

John.

[Steamdrivenandy]

Ah, maybe it was the other way around.

 

Just checked

 

Yep my IL is 32" and M&S's 31" is too short whilst their 33" is too long.

 

Just shows that Icouldn't remember accurately because it's so long ago since I purchased trousers.

[Fireman Iain]

We want all mod cons in our holiday homes on wheels. As relative newbies we're still amazed at how much is packed into a caravan. Inevitably, there have to compromises of scale. I'm in no way a little person (6'6" and 17 stone) but manage very happily even though I can't stand up straight anywhere apart from under the roof light, and am considerably longer than our fixed bed.

[Black Grouse]

I'm 6ft 2ins and 17 stone Bob, so I wouldn't say I was 'little' but I have no issues with door width or height.

 

Now the paucity of models with beds over a comfortable 6ft 4ins is a matter for valid complaint and you would have something to complain about if you owned a pre 2009 Eriba Touring where a crack on the head was a daily occurrence.

Many of the berths in caravans couldn't legally call beds in domestic houses - where 6'3" (190. 5cm) is the legal minimum for a bedroom.