Larger Sleep Zone

[Susanm34]

Need some helpful hints on how to "expand" our sleeping area. Currently the 2 benches and fold down table are at the rear.
Has anyone modified, to make the "bed" larger? Any ideas at this point would be great!!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Susanm34

Need some helpful hints on how to "expand" our sleeping area. Currently the 2 benches and fold down table are at the rear.
Has anyone modified, to make the "bed" larger? Any ideas at this point would be great!!

This was done by using the original table as an extension between the cabinets. It was like having a king sized bed,and also had the advantage of not having to to "crawl over" to get up in the night...
It was done for demonstration purposes since we find the larger bed in the deluxe to be adequate.
Heck... everybody else seems to want to sleep lengthwise in the 5ers, so why not in a 13?
[we also made a "side dinette"which doubles as a stove cover.

[KevinWA]

if i recall corecttly there is someone doing this project now? fold out from the table, to allow tenthwise sleeping. nice idea.

[Susanm34]

Originally Posted by floyd

This was done by using the original table as an extension between the cabinets. It was like having a king sized bed,and also had the advantage of not having to to "crawl over" to get up in the night...
It was done for demonstration purposes since we find the larger bed in the deluxe to be adequate.
Heck... everybody else seems to want to sleep lengthwise in the 5ers, so why not in a 13?
[we also made a "side dinette"which doubles as a stove cover.

I have concern about the cabinets on both sides-for leg room. Do you have any interior photos of the side dinette???

[Darnelle]

We do as above -- bed extension and an extra piece of foam in the "walkway" so our heads are under the large window and feet toward front of camper. Makes into about a queen-size bed. We have a 16', but did the same in our 13' because it's ever so much more comfortable. During the day we remove the extension, but leave the dinette in bed mode the way Scamp intended.

[Susanm34]

Originally Posted by Darnelle

We do as above -- bed extension and an extra piece of foam in the "walkway" so our heads are under the large window and feet toward front of camper. Makes into about a queen-size bed. We have a 16', but did the same in our 13' because it's ever so much more comfortable. During the day we remove the extension, but leave the dinette in bed mode the way Scamp intended.

I am going to have to show my husband this-this would be alot simpler than what he is talking about doing-ours is a 16ft Scamp. He was considering removing part of the cabinetry to make "foot room" by putting the bed like this! I dont want to lose counter space or cabinet space-lord knows I have tons of storage as it is! I cant figure out where the dinette is located in your trailer--not sure how we would work that out???

[Darnelle]

Originally Posted by Susanm34

I cant figure out where the dinette is located in your trailer--not sure how we would work that out???

I agree, I wouldn't want to lose one bit of precious counter or cabinet space! Plus it doesn't need to be near that much work.

I'll try to explain our layout: 4 person dinette in rear makes into what Scamp calls a full-size bed for 2. (In reality it is a 3/4 bed and a very tight fit for 2 adults plus a dog who refuses to sleep elsewhere.) Side dinette is in the middle of the camper on the street side (we leave that in dinette mode); sink, stove, etc. in middle of camper on curb side. Closet and "bathroom" (we don't have the bathroom, just the same space with a porta-potty) in front. "Walkway" in the middle of the camper.

Regarding the bed extension: It fills the space in the walkway pretty much completely from side to side (an inch or two gap for ease of use does not impact use). It extends toward the front of the camper only as far as needed for the tallest person. Place foam (thick enough to match the height of the rest of what you're sleeping on) and custom-made sheet on top (we prefer regular bedding, not sleeping bags). The crack between the bed extension and the rest of your bed is not felt because that's under your legs and, relatively-speaking, that's not where your weight presses. (I put a lip on the outside of the bed extension to keep the foam pressed against the other cushions.) Now, you are sleeping with your heads under the large rear window and your feet are in the walkway and there is so much room for your bodies that it feels like a queen-sized bed! Our 96-lb Dobie can sleep under the side window and next to me!

Remember, your feet don't need near as much room as your shoulders and you don't need to sleep completely parallel to each other. Place your feet close together in the available space on the extension and then angle away from each other a bit so there is room for your shoulders.

Also, keep in mind where your gas heater is located -- if the bed extension or any of the bedding is too close for safety use an electric ceramic heater instead. In our 13-footer the bed extension was over the gas heater grill, but in our 16-footer the heater is toward the front of the camper and nowhere close to our bedding.

Good luck!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Susanm34

I have concern about the cabinets on both sides-for leg room. Do you have any interior photos of the side dinette???

The leg room is really no problem since each of us is smaller below the knees than elsewhere. We did this mod just for a demonstration experiment for what can be done. We don't normally use it since we have a 54" wide bed to begin with. It is however luxuriously comfortable.
Notice I used quotes when I refered to the "side dinette"
It is our stove cover which we modified to lock into the drawer.
It allows for more counterspace when using the stove and with the addition of a small stool, it can be used as a "side dinette" with one person sitting on the bed. here are a couple of pictures...

[Susanm34]

Originally Posted by floyd

The leg room is really no problem since each of us is smaller below the knees than elsewhere. We did this mod just for a demonstration experiment for what can be done. We don't normally use it since we have a 54" wide bed to begin with. It is however luxuriously comfortable.
Notice I used quotes when I refered to the "side dinette"
It is our stove cover which we modified to lock into the drawer.
It allows for more counterspace when using the stove and with the addition of a small stool, it can be used as a "side dinette" with one person sitting on the bed. here are a couple of pictures...

I showed my husband all of your pics and concept-that has set off a ton of ideas! Thank you so much for sharing all this with us! We are taking one step at a time with our Scamp, since we've only had it for a month. I'm still basically cleaning stuff up-the great thing about this purchase, is that we got it for a steal, everything works in it, and all the original parts are still with it!
We did get the dorm size frig and A/C put it-my husband used the space where the old original Frig was at, and that set up works like a dream!
Last weekend we cooked bacon and eggs in there on our first camping trip!
Any additional info or tidbits you want to throw in, or experiences, do's dont do's, please share!!

[Susanm34]

Originally Posted by floyd

The leg room is really no problem since each of us is smaller below the knees than elsewhere. We did this mod just for a demonstration experiment for what can be done. We don't normally use it since we have a 54" wide bed to begin with. It is however luxuriously comfortable.
Notice I used quotes when I refered to the "side dinette"
It is our stove cover which we modified to lock into the drawer.
It allows for more counterspace when using the stove and with the addition of a small stool, it can be used as a "side dinette" with one person sitting on the bed. here are a couple of pictures...

Hoping you can see the photo I attached to this-otherwise, I posted some on my profile here of the inside-I think we are going to attempt to construct a new table, and an extension to make the bed lengthwise, as yours is!