One of the issues is twin beds vs a double bed.

For us puller owners, this often morphs into the rear bath versus side bath issue, as a rear bath mandates twin beds.

There is no doubt that a rear bath is a very efficient use of space, so could be a major advantage in a coach shorter than 28 or 30 ft. There seem to be a lot of 28 ft rear bath coaches.

I have seen a few 28 footers with a crossways double bed that looks pretty space-efficient.

We previously owned an SOB with a corner bath. The main drawback of that is that there is no walk space on either side of the bed. This means that one partner must climb over the legs of the other if he/she wants out of bed first. It is not a major issue if the same person is the one who gets up to use the john and also arises first in the morning.

We are not fans of twin beds/rear baths for the following reasons:

1. We like to sleep together.

2. Sleeping together is much much warmer in winter, particularly with a Travasack or double sleeping bag. (It took all my will power to keep from using the Army term for sleeping bag)

3. Sleeping on one bed allows our Endless Breeze to cool both of us on hot summer nights.

4. Twin beds expose both sleepers to cold walls and windows in winter. A corner bath exposes one of the sleepers to a cold wall/window.

5. A rear bath means that overnight guests traipse through the bedroom to use the john, disturbing my beauty sleep.

6. A rear bath means a rear holding tank, which can affect handling when full, particularly on twisty downhill roads. When this is combined with a motorcycle on the hitch or a trailer, it gets magnified. We have found that the farther up the mountain, the fewer dump stations there are.

7. The dog likes his bedtime cuddle between us on a double bed.

8. A double bed allows a nightstand on each side. This is useful if you have a cat that requires that she sleep on a heating pad on a nightstand. If you use a CPAP, a nightstand is a good place for it.

9. A rear bath has a smaller rear window than a rear bedroom coach. The larger window makes for a nicer view down the hall if you are in a scenic spot. A rear bedroom is brighter, due to three large windows. However that can also be a disadvantage. We use a Fresnel stick-on in the lower part of the window, and the view from the living room can be stunning at times, particularly at sunset if aimed that way. The larger rear window also makes the rear view mirror more useful, particularly for backing a boat down a narrow ramp.

10. Side or corner beds are harder to make up in the morning.


The advantages of twin beds that I see are:

1. A rear bath is space-efficient, which can be important in shorter coaches.

2. Sleeping apart is good if one wakes the other a lot, either by snoring, sleeping habits or getting up earlier or often. If one retires earlier in the evening, twins can also be better.

I am sure others will will think of more.

Our Barth came with twin rear beds, side bath, a dinette and two swivel chairs. The dinette made into a single bed. The living room was immediately converted to a jackknife couch on one side and two bolted-down swivel chairs with the standard drop top table between them. I now wish I had made the table with a leaf that could be added. We leave the table up almost all the time, dropping it only when guests sleep on the couch. We have since learned that making the table top longer would be better.

Our rationale for the living room was that the dinette would be used for eating only briefly, and the swivel chairs would be used much more often. The swivel chairs and table served as well as a dinette for eating, and are much more comfortable for other activities. The couch has the major advantage of allowing one person to lie down for extreme relaxation or relief of back pain. Somehow, a couch is better for guests than a dinette, as well.

We gave the twin beds a fair try, and it was two years before I gutted the bedroom and made the new bed, water tank, replumbed, etc.

In longer coaches, the usefulness of a dinette is less of an issue, as having one does not force a compromise in the living room.

Susan prefers a passenger side kitchen, as it is not in view as we sit in the passenger side bucket chairs after dinner enjoying the wine and music before cleanup.

Gaucho beds: One of our previous SOBs had one. It was good for visiting small people and was used for storing flat things like maps and long things like fishing and hunting gear. I often consider finding one and putting it in our Barth. I didn't know how much I liked it until it was gone. The present owner is considering trading, so I may ask him for it.

Please add your opinions, observations and experience.

Since I am in Barth acquisition mode I find Bill's observations timely and of great value to me. I have little or no motor-home experience to help guide me so I look forward to others views as well. I have been a tent camper and really had very little interest in trailers and motor-homes with their generators and tv sets. I admit to owning a Thames Dormobile and a VW Westphalia camper, last year of the fully enclosed air cooled motor, but they were little more than tall station wagons, and a long way from even the smallest Barth.

I would add to the twin bed advantagesa) Useful if two guys, or girls for that matter, wanted to use the coach for a fishing or hunting expedition, no need to mess with the couch. (b) a bath being fairly deep takes up a lot of space in the middle of an already narrow coach tending to divide the coach sooner, both physically and visually. (c) the twin bed area can be used almost like a second lounge with some large pillows up against the wall, and has a decent amount of floor space.(d)after a days hike, cooking all the meals,cleaning the dishes,washing and ironing the clothes, rounding up the empty beer bottles and washing out the mugs, most wives just prefer to sleep anyway.(e) the mattresses are smaller, therefore the bedbugs can't grow as large.

Great thread, one I've looked forward to for a long time. We have the standard 28 floor plan, slide down couch behind the driver, making a comfortable bed for 2,[we added 2 inches of memory foam, super], kitchen, walk through twin beds, rear bath. This is a good setup for a couple, and works really good for 4 people if they know each other well. The rear terlit might be a tad intimidating since we replaced the bifolds with curtains, but if you all know each other well enough it shouldn't be a problem. Gotta eat now but looking forward to some more input here.

We were looking specifically for twin beds. I like sleeping with the wife, but we wanted a coach my grown sons and I could use for golf vacations. I love them too but didn't want to sleep with them.

Nick

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cagle:
....we wanted a coach my grown sons and I could use for golf vacations. I love them too but didn't want to sleep with them.

Nick

Anyone old enough to remember a bundling board?

Yeah, they had conveniently spaced holes in them--have to keep the species going, you know.

Duel use is planned and intended for the Barth. First for family trips with the wife but also guys week at the races. Priority went to the double bed layout as no way was I ever going to get in the same bed with an inebriated race buddy...
Small window in the rear is an issue but if it becomes a problem, there is always the rear video camera route.

I can always cuddle up at home with the wife and will gladly buy plenty of blankets for those cold nights.

I was wondering just how much extra length is taken up at the foot of the queen bed layout? 18" to 24" is my guess, anybody measured?

quote:

Originally posted by izomage:
I was wondering just how much extra length is taken up at the foot of the queen bed layout? 18" to 24" is my guess, anybody measured?

You also need to know how long is the queen bed. Most RVs have beds only 75" long but some have a 80" bed which is the standard length for home style queens and kings.
Nick

There is about 12" of space at the foot of the rear queen in ours. And about 16-18" on the sides. Now, that space is not across the whole foot of the bed since the door opening is 2 feet or so of the width.
There are sales brochures with floorplans for most Barth models on this site somewhere i think.
Don

The mattress is 72" long by 60" wide.
THe clearance at the foot is 12".
The clearance on each side is about 15-18"

I've never seen anyone note that the rear twins are not actually home style twins. Suzy bought new sheets and found the fitted ones are too big. After much T&E she got them just right by cutting out the middle and serging them back together. One little seam up the middle but they fit perfectly.

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
I've never seen anyone note that the rear twins are not actually home style twins.

Ran into the same thing with the Regency. Beds are 4 or 5 inches narrower than residential. Makes buying linens a mess.
Nick

To continue to flesh out this subject there is the issue of length. The 28 Regal twin bed rear bath seems to offer a nice front lounge, good galley area, roomy sleeping compartment, and a spacious bath. Put a Queen bed in a 28 and you must have to give up something. 32 footers have more wardrobe room and pantry real estate but the lounge, bath, and sleeping accommodation seem little improved over the 28 Regal. Go up to 34 feet and you usually get a separate dinette and nice large window, which I think is a handsome addition to livability and convenience. Is a 34 footer that much more difficult to drive around in than a 28 or 30 ? Then there is the front entrance or mid entrance debate. I originally thought the mid entrance was the only way to go but after due consideration I now prefer the front location, but can easily live with either.

quote:

Originally posted by izomage:
Put a Queen bed in a 28 and you must have to give up something.

I'm not sure I agree. Now, my 28' Breakaway is a DP, and the engine's under the queen bed, but I don't see how 2xtwins would save room. The bath on mine is smaller than the rear baths on Regals, but I reflect on the house I owned before this one. 3,600 sq. ft., 3-1/2 baths. All the bathrooms were tiny - sink, toilet, shower, and linen closet. Surely with that space, cramming bathrooms in to save space made no sense.

The builder stopped by one time to give me the history of the house (designed by a physician). Although designed in the mid '50s, the house had many features far ahead of its time. But I asked the builder why the bathrooms are so small, and he told me he asked the doctor the same question. The response was, "How much time do you enjoy spending in the bathroom?"