Hi, I am Mary in Bend

[Mary in Bend]

Just another retired person (couple) wanting to get a small RV. Comfortable mattress (2 ~39 inch twins ideally), flush toilet (will install a bidet) are priorities. Would prefer to cook outside due to smells with electricity an option. Inside double sink, fridge, and dinette or table and chairs would be great. Husband is handy and likes projects!

Looking forward to learning here!

[Jon in AZ]

Welcome, Mary!

Have to say, 39” twins is a tall... err, wide... order in any RV, especially a smaller molded fiberglass one. 30-32” is considered a generous width for an RV twin.

The Casita Independence is a twin bed layout, and the Casita Liberty can be easily modified to make decent sized twins. Oliver, Escape, and Bigfoot make larger molded fiberglass trailers with twin layouts.

Many other trailers can have two single beds if you think beyond the traditional side-by-side layout: one on a gaucho and one on a dinette, for example. Most smaller trailers are going to require converting at least one of the beds to a dinette when you need an inside place to eat. If you want dedicated twins AND a full-time dinette, galley, and bathroom, you’re looking for a pretty big trailer.

Best wishes in your search for a trailer that meets your needs!

[thrifty bill]

Twins in a Casita Liberty are 22 inches wide, maybe 23 max. The Independence beds are wider, still much less than a standard twin. As I recall, the Independence twins are 30 inches wide.

I am not aware of any molded FG trailer with 39 inch twins. Most of the molded FG trailers are short in overall length, and most "make up for this" by being narrower too! The combination of narrow and short in length means lots of compromises. But for this compromise, you get awesome durability.

You might be able to convert a 25 foot Bigfoot. It is both the longest FG trailer currently available, and its wider too. The BF 25 has a twin option, still the twins are only 36 inches wide. The BF 25 also has a double sink and a dry bath.

If you want to play around with layout options, for a 13 foot trailer, mark out an area in your living room, 10 feet by 6 1/2 feet. Within this rectangle, you need to fit a side door, a center aisle way, kitchen, dinette, closet, and so on.

With a trailer such as my Escape 19, make the rectangle 16 feet by 6 1/2 feet.

Consider most residential bedrooms are MUCH larger than the total square feet of these trailers. And within this space, you need to fit a bathroom, kitchen, and more.

For this reason, people that want many of the comforts of home on the road often go with a large fifth wheel or a class A motor coach. I have friends with a 43 foot motor coach. I call it a "mobile condominium. It has three slide outs, a full size residential refrigerator. It even has TWO bathrooms. When they arrive at a destination, they have all the comforts of home. The kitchen in their rig is bigger than the kitchen in my home.

With this larger size, they cannot camp in many State and National Parks. Driving down the road is more work, etc. Every RV option has its advantages and disadvantages. Molded FG is not for everyone, and my friends would NEVER consider it.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

Twins in a Casita Liberty are 22 inches wide, maybe 23 max. The Independence beds are wider, still much less than a standard twin. As I recall, the Independence twins are 30 inches wide.

Sounds about right. I’ve seen quite a few people modify the narrow Liberty twins to be wider by cantilevering the mattress over the aisle. I think that actually works better than the Independence because there’s more foot room between the cabinets at floor level (for a dog, for shoes, for accessing the storage...) I mentioned it because there are a lot more used Casita Liberty models out there and the OP said her husband likes projects.

But they won’t be 39” wide. 2@39”” is 78”, which is the entire interior width of a Scamp or Casita with no room for an aisle.

Speaking of which, that aisle is a space waster in a small trailer. Two single beds in an L-shape or front and back is more space-efficient. When my wife and I are alone in our 13’ Scamp, she takes the 44” rear dinette for herself and I get the 26” single bed on the front gaucho. You can get the same thing, plus a larger galley and a small wet bath, in Scamp 16 layout 4. A Bigfoot 17G has a 42” gaucho bed and a 44” dinette bed along with a galley and wet bath.

The Liberty can also be set up with a full width bed across the back and a “half-aisle.” Our camper van has that arrangement, and it looks strange but works really well. Only your legs rest on the narrow part. There’s plenty of width at the head end and the intimacy of a shared bed, combined with the convenience of an aisle for those nighttime potty visits without disturbing your partner. You also gain some storage space under the half-bed.

There are lots of ways to get separate beds in a small trailer if you get creative.

[PatrickTXFL]

A 7 foot wide trailer would put the 39 inch mattress so close no usable room between so looking at most likely 8 wide trailer if you want 39. A walk around queen is probably doable in a 7 wide trailer. You are looking at trailers in the 23-24 overall length size trailer to get that. We looked at a used aluminum built that was a 16tbs twins that made into king, but twins were more like 30-32 range.

[Mary in Bend]

Thanks for the creative ideas, insights and info! I have already started following up!