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Biggest overcab bed question


beatnic

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Hello folks,

We own an '84 18ft Sunrader that we really love. However, the problem is that my husband is 6'5 and neither of us are teeny so we end up sleeping separately.. me in the cabover and he's turned the dinette into a (basically) permanent bed for himself. We're both comfy but lonely, lol. Anyone know which Toyota has the largest over cab bed? Can't seem to find any info other than 48 x 77 mentioned here and there. I'm saying they are all the same size and he says there are different cabover sizes.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

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Cool! Where did you find the brochure? I'll look here in the files section? Thanks. We were trying to think of a way to extend the width of the bed area... we thought if we could find a rear kitchen model then we could maybe modify the cab over bed to stick out further into the coach area with the help of some bracing along the wall or some brackets or who knows how. I wonder if they made an Odyssey with a rear kitchen?

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The Odyssey rear dinette Mesa model has 2 facing sofas in back that make into a king size bed. The Dolphin has some similar models that will come close. Unfortunately the Sunrader is I think the narrowest of the toyhomes. Older Sunraders, 78 79, did have a sleep front to back set up and those were king size beds too but almost no living room and no pottie

Linda S

Cool! Where did you find the brochure? I'll look here in the files section? Thanks. We were trying to think of a way to extend the width of the bed area... we thought if we could find a rear kitchen model then we could maybe modify the cab over bed to stick out further into the coach area with the help of some bracing along the wall or some brackets or who knows how. I wonder if they made an Odyssey with a rear kitchen?

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My mom owns an Ixtasa and last summer we built a sliding extension for her overhead bed that allowed for her Sister and brother-in-law (both tall 6' plus Germans) to sleep front to back. The extension slides out when needed. I tried to talk mom out of it, mainly because the door was now semi blocked, but they (my aunt and uncle) seemed to absolutely love it. A Sunrader of course has not only the door issue, but the bathroom closet in the way for something like this to work.

You might have enough comfortable width to just work around the bathroom now that the bed is reconfigured to sleep front to back. I have no idea how wide bathrooms are, but probably pretty wide. Personally, I don't like beds that have to be folded up or put away, but this might be the only viable solution other than selling the rig, tho sounds like your mind is already made up to start shopping for a new camper tho.. which might be for the best.

Rule #1 of campers:

Always, always, always, have a comfortable bed that meets your needs! Everything else is secondary.

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1993 Winnebago specs for the Warrior 321RD show the cab bunk @ 52"x80". Extending the shelf by 8" would let you use a Queen, but it would partially block the (already narrow) door, if you have a door right behind the cab.

Standard Mattress Sizes

  • Twin--39 x 75 inches (or 99 x 190 cm)
  • X-Long Twin--39 x 80 inches (99 x 203 cm)
  • Full--54 x 75 inches (137 x 190 cm)
  • Queen--60 x 80 inches (or 153 x 203 cm)
  • King--76 x 80 inches (or 198 x 203 cm)
  • California King--72 x 84 inches (or 182 x 213 cm)

Queen RV (Most RV's) 60 x 75" (152.4 x 190.5 cm)

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My mom owns an Ixtasa and last summer we built a sliding extension for her overhead bed that allowed for her Sister and brother-in-law (both tall 6' plus Germans) to sleep front to back. The extension slides out when needed. I tried to talk mom out of it, mainly because the door was now semi blocked, but they (my aunt and uncle) seemed to absolutely love it. A Sunrader of course has not only the door issue, but the bathroom closet in the way for something like this to work.

You might have enough comfortable width to just work around the bathroom now that the bed is reconfigured to sleep front to back. I have no idea how wide bathrooms are, but probably pretty wide. Personally, I don't like beds that have to be folded up or put away, but this might be the only viable solution other than selling the rig, tho sounds like your mind is already made up to start shopping for a new camper tho.. which might be for the best.

Rule #1 of campers:

Always, always, always, have a comfortable bed that meets your needs! Everything else is secondary.

We'd love to know how your Mom's bed works... we were actually discussing that option in a rear kitchen setup. It definitely wouldn't work in the Sunrader but in a rig with the door in the back it could be workable. I agree that the bed is the most important thing because if you wake up sore and tired what's fun after that? Would you be able to share how they worked out the slide/bed thing? And also, could you help us find a larger, rear kitchen toyota with a 6 lug axle and low miles for a really great low price in like new condition?? Just kidding. Unless you know of one, of course, lol.

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I assume all 18' sunraders have the same floor plan (Door next to cab behind passenger seat, bathroom directly behind drivers seat, fridge on top of driver side wheel well, stove next to door)? So a slideout for the overhead compartment might not be very practical. A foldout type bed in the rear might work, but that stove kinda gets in the way. If the passenger side wall was free, then a bed that folds out to rest up against the fridge might give some decent width (I measured my sunrader ~ 58" from wall to wheel well). My overhead bunk is ~76" with the insulated walls so 4" short of 80 is pretty big if that's what you're shooting for.

Camper Rule #2: (kinda goes with #1)

The best camper beds are made of a single mattresses, not sections.

So this would be tough in the rear of a sunrader to pull off when not in use. I owned a Chinook camper and replaced the sectional bench bed with a futon mattress. These things are a bit heavy and impractical, BUT, I just couldn't bear the cushions anymore and wanted something complete. The beauty of the futon mattress, is that by design half of it can be propped up against the wall when not used as a bed. In the case of the Chinook, half way up the wall just happen to intrude with part of the window, but not enough to really matter. It would also require a few tugs every so often to hitch it back up the wall, as it would tend to slide down after awhile, but it was an amazing sofa/bed.

As for my mom's bed, its nothing more than a sheet of plywood with some handles routered out to have something to grab on and pull with. Some 3" ABS pipe and 2 "t's" were glued together for 2 legs that get propped under. They're pretty light and just ride in the overhead atop the blankets when not in use.

Beds are really important. I know someone who went to the extreme so he could have a bed that was always made up. This was a seasoned camper too! Somebody who spent literally 20+ years in the same camper folding out the bed every night and folding it back up that morning for months at a time. Finally he just had enough and this is what he ended up doing:

boots_meghee003.jpg

boots_meghee005.jpg

Gluck whatever you end up doing. Even if you can manage to just add a small section on the overhead so you can sleep diagonally might work too.

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I have a sunrader and an odyssey. parked side by side, the sunrader looks like it would fit inside the odyssey.

the sunrader, IMO is the best toyhouse out there.....if you are 6 ft or under. i am 6 ft and my head rubs the ceiling if i stand straight. the cabover bed is also kind of tight. 2 can sleep there, but they better like each other.

the odyssey is relatively cavernous. you hubby will still have to bend a little, but not much. there is about 6'3" headroom, maybe a tad more. the cabover bed also has more room, but, i do not know the mattress size. mine is a front kitchen. the nice thing about it is the couch is directly across from the captains chairs and i am planning on losing them for another couch so I can have the king size bed like the rear lounge odysseys.

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1993 Winnebago specs for the Warrior 321RD show the cab bunk @ 52"x80". Extending the shelf by 8" would let you use a Queen, but it would partially block the (already narrow) door, if you have a door right behind the cab.

FWIW, the Warrior 321RL doesn't have the door right behind the cab, so it would be easier to extend the bunk. I'm considering it myself...

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Making a drop down or slide out is an interesting concept! Since I have a full size and I know there is enough room to add 6 more inches it could - is a good idea. If you used a fold up shelf you would somehow have to make that extra 6 inches of mattress hinged like the shelf or something else. Hmmmm

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For me the front edge is going to have to fold upward somehow because we tend to store a bunch of stuff on that bunk when moving. maybe just an extra strip of mattress along the front edge. ^ inches is really just some more elbow room and not really butt support.

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My brain is starting to remember some stuff!! When we bought our gulfstream the prev owner had a fold up 8 inch wide board (actually a piece of oak) along the front edge of the cabover bunk. I never could figure out why until now. He must have had another piece of foam that sat along that edge and made the bunk into a queen size. I still have that board. Here is a pic of the board in place before I took it out. It was hinged and had slide locks on each end to keep it in the up position

post-1-077842000 1296109547_thumb.jpg

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Our 1990 Odyssey rear dinette Mesa model does not have 2 slide out beds, only one , but the over the cab is 58 x 80. 58 in the middle and 56 maybe 56 1/2 at the ends. One thing is the front roof slopes down real quick. The wife says she's ok with it. We have stayed in it 27 nights so far and alls well. At 6'5 it might be a tad tough getting in as our bath on one side and the closet on the other make for a smaller opening to the Master Bedroom. I was thinking about finding another set of slides and making another couch so I can make the huge bed in the back. If anyone knows where I could find either the slides or a whole slide out couch near Maryland would be great.

Have a great day !!

GP

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And also, could you help us find a larger, rear kitchen Toyota with a 6 lug axle and low miles for a really great low price in like new condition?? Just kidding. Unless you know of one, of course, lol.

This one isn't too far from you. It is NOT an '88. And it's still a Sunrader (i.e. narrower) and it might not have the rear axle upgrade done. But it does have a rear kitchen.

http://annarbor.craigslist.org/rvs/2184616522.html

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