Lil Snoozy jack knife sofa - Fiberglass RV
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Old 07-27-2014, 12:06 PM   #1
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Name: Sally
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Lil Snoozy jack knife sofa

We are shopping, so please excuse all my questions about various kinds of eggs!

So, the Lil Snoozy is looking good. And DH and I don't like to climb over each other in the middle of the night, so we are looking for something with two beds. (1) But I'm wondering how long a bed that jack knife sofa is when folded out. I'm 5'9" and would like a bed of 6' minimum. I'd be happy to stick my feet out under the big bed if necessary.

(2) Where does the table and post go at night?

(3) Surge Activated Brakes?? How / does that work? Every other camper seems to have electric brakes.

(4) Do the cushion covers have zippers?

(5) For a TV - do they set up the wiring for you? (I want an window on the "entertainment" wall, so am thinking of a TV mounting (small TV) attached to the side of that cabinet that is kind of in the middle of the counter top.)

OK, well, I should probably be asking them instead of you'all! But if you know the answer, it's appreciated!
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Old 07-27-2014, 12:57 PM   #2
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Hi, Sallye!

I'm not the expert with these answers, but I have a few thoughts to add. The jack-knife sofa is a pretty short bed - I think it is around 60" or so. But, Lil Snoozy does make a model with twin beds, which may be of interest to you.

Or, maybe you can help me to convince them to start making an island-double-bed model. That is my dream camper. I emailed them a concept floorplan a while back, but didn't hear anything (email is generally not the best way to communicate with trailer companies). If they don't start making such a model, I plan to buy an empty shell and make my own.

Surge brakes are common on boat trailers, although most RVs do have electric brakes. I believe this is because electric brakes are cheaper for the manufacturer. Snoozy does have an option for electric brakes if you prefer.

I didn't answer all your questions, but hopefully that gave you a start.
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Old 07-27-2014, 01:17 PM   #3
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brakes

So if surge brakes are more expensive, are they better? From what I understand, they use them because it eliminates some wiring with the hookups. I'm more interested in safely than cost. I'll gladly pay a little more if a thing is safer.

The bed - that's what I was afraid of. But from the pictures of that storage area under the big bed, they could easily add a compartment there that is as wide as the sofa bed and about 10 or 12 inches deep and at the right height so that I could put a 4" cushion in there for my feet. I plan on some sort of sleeping bag bedding anyway for anything I have to put away every day.

I'll ask them.
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Old 07-27-2014, 01:22 PM   #4
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Surge versus Electric.

The advantage of electric brakes to me is that you can activate electric brakes from your tow vehicle, handy if the trailer begins to sway. I don't believe you can activate surge brakes from your tow vehicle.
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Old 07-27-2014, 03:24 PM   #5
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In my experience, over 50 years, jack knife sofas are definitely not comfortable. We had a 2011 stickie with a jack knife and it was horrible.
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Old 07-27-2014, 03:34 PM   #6
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the jack sofa is for company ( uncomfortable therefore they dont stay long ) kidding I 5 10 to short I have slept on it not to good
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Old 07-27-2014, 04:05 PM   #7
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We had a Jackknife sofa in our motor home and it was as comfortable as the Queen bed and as big.

I think it depends on the type.
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Old 07-27-2014, 04:10 PM   #8
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McDenny has a great layout: About the trailer | Wandering Our Way
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Old 07-27-2014, 04:18 PM   #9
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twin bed

We have the twin bed model they made in 2013 Denny Wolf made a twin bed model also go look up lil snoozy under Denny and go into his blog and see how he did his .
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Old 07-27-2014, 06:13 PM   #10
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no worries!

I'm not worried that the sofa is uncomfortable. Looking carefully, I realized that if I top the sofa with my air mattress (or maybe a real mattress), then my feet can stick out into the main bed. DH can sleep diagonally in the big bed, and I can sleep with my feet on the main bed. Not ideal maybe, but I usually sleep curled up into a ball anyway.

Or, maybe I could just get them to mount the sofa on a taller box! We are both fairly tall. The table would need a longer pole too.
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Old 07-27-2014, 06:17 PM   #11
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As a former Snoozy owner, I can verify that the jack knife sofa is very comfortable to sit on but miserable to sleep on.
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Old 07-27-2014, 06:18 PM   #12
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The jackknife sofa sits over the fresh water tank and there's
no room to put it any lower unless they've changed things.

EDIT: Didn't see you wanted to put feet ON bed.
was thinking you wanted to put feet under bed...........LOL
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Old 07-27-2014, 06:21 PM   #13
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Sofa up!

No, I want to raise the sofa, not lower it. That way it will be level with the other bed, which is my goal. But, adding a mattress on top might work better anyway.
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Old 07-27-2014, 06:29 PM   #14
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Perhaps you could dispense with the sofa and have a thick
square cushion made for it and use the back cushion on top
of the seat cushion when using for a bed.?
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Old 07-27-2014, 06:32 PM   #15
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Talk to the folks at Snoozy about what you want. I bet they can come up with a good solution.

I think someone even had one made with two twin beds up front, running side by side with a night stand in between. Or at least I saw a drawing.
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Old 07-27-2014, 08:16 PM   #16
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You've convinced me!

You've convinced me. I'll forgo the sofa altogether and put in a folding bench with a bottom cushion and a back cushion (plus a little back wedge). That way I can make it just the right height so my feet can stick out into the big bed.
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Old 07-27-2014, 08:43 PM   #17
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twin bed

Go look up mcdenny he had them make a smaller bed 36 in across and a 30 in couch where the jacknife couch goes or look up twin bed model like mine
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Old 07-27-2014, 09:06 PM   #18
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Well,

Well, I want something larger than just a twin bed. We travel with two little dogs, and despite being little, they do take up room. I'd like a 3/4 or full size bed. After all, HD will get the "big bed!"
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Old 08-06-2014, 09:34 PM   #19
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Sallye, I'm not sure you ever got an answer to your question about hydraulic trailer braking systems. I'm not an expert, but I can give you the basics. Built within the trailer hitch, there is a hydraulic master cylinder. Then there are hydraulic fluid lines to the brakes where there are slave cylinders. When towing, the trailer behind you has motion inertia. If you step on the brakes to slow the tow vehicle, the faster motion of the trailer essentially tries to push the tow vehicle a bit. This compresses the master hydraulic cylinder in the tongue, which forces hydraulic fluid to the slave cylinders which activates the brakes. Once the trailer brakes slow the trailer down enough to match the speed of the tow vehicle without pushing, then a spring built into the tongue pushes the master cylinder back out - releasing the pressure off the hydraulic fluid, releasing the brakes. It's a pretty delicate balance, but essentially the trailer brakes itself anytime it starts to push against the tow vehicle. No need for brake controller in the tow vehicle, 7-pin receptacle, electrical wires between the tow vehicle and the trailer, etc. It generally works great unless: 1) you are constantly and drastically changing the weight carried on or in the trailer, or 2) you have long, steep downhill grades where the trailer is constantly pushing the tow vehicle and there is no way to let up on the brakes to dissipate some of the heat being generated between the brake linings and the brake drum. I would imagine more expensive hydraulic trailer brake systems for "big boy" trailers have fixes for both of the above, but I doubt if that's the case with the Lil' Snoozy system given the relatively light weight of the camper. But that would be a good question to ask them. Note that without electric brakes, you also don't have a way to manually brake the trailer if trailer sway is a problem (probably not going to be a problem with a quality camper like Lil' Snoozy). I hope my explanation is somewhere near correct (if not, someone more knowledgeable please make corrections), and I hope it makes sense - mostly.
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Old 08-06-2014, 11:32 PM   #20
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I think Dale's post on surge brakes is right on. I would only add that with backing up...up a incline they will be giving you some braking power. Most I've seen will allow you to put a pin in the coupler to keep it from moving to apply the brakes. I had this set up on a car trailer I used to haul the buggy and bikes to the desert and never had a problem even dropping 3500' in 11 miles and 86 sharp curves...but who was counting . Surge brakes on utility, cargo or boat trailers afe fine but they don't often travel the long miles that TT's do. Just my 2 cents worth.
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