This is one of those "personal" decisions. I will say, though, that I don't recall anyone wishing they had done the dinette instead of the fixed, though it is common for people with the dinette option to eventually start leaving the bed made because setting up the bed every night becomes more hassle than they want.

Another consideration: there is much less storage with the dinette, plus you lose even more finding a place to store the bedding during the day.

You can have your cake and eat it, too, by having a fixed bed with table that pulls out. I have drawers under the bed with a pull-out table above the shallow top drawer. We pull the drawer out with the table; the table rests on the drawer without need for further support.

 

Typically when people dont do a fixed bed they regret it. Especially in a 159 there is no reason you cant have a nice seating area and a fixed bed. You may have to sacrifice a indoor shower, which is just another thing most people find was a bad idea only after doing it.

 

We chose a raised fixed bed. We've had RVs with both and vastly prefer fixed to making and unmaking a couch-table every day. There are just two of us. We have swivel seats and a take-down table (Lagun) up front. A couch-table makes more sense if you have more than two mouths to feed. A fixed bed also has more dedicated storage space under it, and it's always ready for an impromptu nap. We designed to our priorities. Yours will be different. Lots of photos in Shiny's build thread.

 

Our “ Singular Primary” goal in our 1st build & our 2nd build was/is a comfortable bed that is always made.

So the builds were all designed around that goal. Any design consideration that would defeat this primary goal would get chopped out of the design.

 

I did a dinette. I have a 136. I leave it in bed mode when I'm alone, especially in the summer, and when I travel with someone It's in dinette mode. (There's a lagun table, but I mostly keep it just as sofas.)

I also have a shower/wetbath, which I LOVE. It has a rail in it for hanging clothes, if I have a trip that requires that.

I have storage containers under the bed that I bring if a trip meeds the extra storage.

Part time living means you can reconfigure as a trip needs, so it's nice to build it with possibilities. Also, as some one that doesn't have a steady traveling partner, I need options for when someone comes along. I have a blow up bed that goes over the cab for that.

 

I did a dinette. I have a 136. I leave it in bed mode when I'm alone, especially in the summer, and when I travel with someone It's in dinette mode. (There's a lagun table, but I mostly keep it just as sofas.)

I also have a shower/wetbath, which I LOVE. It has a rail in it for hanging clothes, if I have a trip that requires that.

I have storage containers under the bed that I bring if a trip meeds the extra storage.

Part time living means you can reconfigure as a trip needs, so it's nice to build it with possibilities. Also, as some one that doesn't have a steady traveling partner, I need options for when someone comes along. I have a blow up bed that goes over the cab for that.

View attachment 87538 View attachment 87539

Is that an air fryer? 😂

 

I’ll be going with the fixed bed like most people, to maximize the storage space. Having a dedicated garage can give you a more secure place to lock up some valuables.

You can padlock the rear doors from the inside, which adds a level of security in case someone breaks a window and gets into the van from the front.

The only thing more difficult than deciding between fixed bed or convertible bed, is what height to set your fixed bed. Bigger garage, tall enough to fit a bike, or more bedroom height in case you want to sit up in bed?

And then what if you win a million dollars, and could afford to do 2 chicks at the same time? What then?!!! (Office Space reference)

 

I’ll be going with the fixed bed like most people, to maximize the storage space. Having a dedicated garage can give you a more secure place to lock up some valuables.

You can padlock the rear doors from the inside, which adds a level of security in case someone breaks a window and gets into the van from the front.

The only thing more difficult than deciding between fixed bed or convertible bed, is what height to set your fixed bed. Bigger garage, tall enough to fit a bike, or more bedroom height in case you want to sit up in bed?

And then what if you win a million dollars, and could afford to do 2 chicks at the same time? What then?!!! (Office Space reference)

WOW 🤠 , you really said it.

 

Our dual couch/bed floor plan has worked out perfectly for us. I'm not sure we would ever consider a different design !
Our couches are 24" wide, and slide open to 30" beds with a, 11" aisle (or could be easily used with a filler to make a large king bed... we don't)
The best selling Class B's on the market use couch/bed floorplans. Our floorplan is similar to a Winnebago Travato G or Thor Sequence L. (note: I designed mine first!)

Why?

• no climbing up into bed
• no climbing over each other to use the facilities, go to bed at different times
• during most of our day, we like the couches... they are always ready for a quick daytime nap, and are perfect for dining - we've had dinner for 4 many times.
• the 2 couches plus front bench provide comfortable seating for 7
• plenty of storage under the couches. I have a Gazelle screen room, 2 Solostove fire pits, complete shower kit, Blackstone grill, space heater, toolboxes, bedding, and plenty of space for shopping trip storage. My 3 battery/inverter electrical setup is under a couch.
• wheel wells disappear
• bed setup is literally a 4 minute process for 2 beds... takedown = 5 minutes. We use a double folded sheet underneath us and a knitted quilt on top.
• room for a complete toilet/shower area, full length overhead cabinets, no head banging or "toes under a cabinet" involved
• trips to the Depot for wood/material of any size is easy... space for any materials up to 13' long x 18" wide.

I see our PM as a rolling living room, dining room, and kitchen (with nothing but a cabinet/counter space showing).

We prefer that it looks nothing like a rolling bedroom! (but certainly appreciate that it's "different strokes for different folks!")

 

Our dual couch/bed floor plan has worked out perfectly for us. I'm not sure we would ever consider a different design !

I am definitely coping your layout. It hits everything I need for father-daughter trips. Separate sleeping and a private toilet.

 

We copied Proeddie's bed design, for the same reasons he listed above. We are very happy with it!

We're in our 60's, not full-timers, and our travels do not include multiple bicycles / kayaks / surfboards (typically stored under a raised rear bed). We also have slightly dissimilar sleeping habits (I stay up later & get up earlier), so getting in / out without disturbing the other is important. Not to mention the middle-of-the-night trip to the "facilities"!

Bed setup & tear-down take only a couple of minutes each, and the clean uncluttered look suits us.

BrianB

 

I went with a higher fixed bed for the sole reason of slide out bike storage underneath. My other van had a slide out bed and I hated to make it twice a day (in & out).

 

Everyone has different priorities, so no one design fits all. But it sure is great to have so many DYI options! I also forgot to mention my back (3 compressed vertebra from near-terminal stupiditude) really doesn't like couches, but it's happy in my 6-way factory swivel driver's/dining/lounging seat.

 

I am too tall for a bed that sits cross wise, so this would mean using a couch type arrangement going NS.

The van that I had isn't around anymore, but my plan in general is that if there are more than 2 people in it - it is tent time.

 

That brings up another bed-related point: planning for extra passengers. We intentionally didn't, even though we have g-kids. Realistically, we just didn't foresee taking them along often enough to justify permanently compromising our two-person comforts. When we take g-kids camping, we take them in pairs and go to nearby campgrounds so their parents can drive them there and bring a tent. We have tons of fun and they love it.

 

I have a fixed bed, I wanted an innerspring mattress, and that doesn't work well with a dinette setup.
My prior class B had a fixed bed as well, but with a foam mattress.

I have a 159 ext, so I had the room, especially because I do not have a kitchen. I have a fixed bed and an evolution R smartbed that folds into a second bed. I also have an indoor fixed shower. I don't cook so my plan makes sense for me.

Its a very personal thing. I use my van as a place to sleep when I work out of town, so I am not in the van all day every day. If I was maybe I would have designed it differently but I still think a fixed bed is for me.

 

I have a hybrid of a transverse narrow twin sized fixed bed, with a convertible dinette of the same width in front of it. This way I have seating for two, but always have the one bed ready to go. I generally travel solo, so the dinette rarely gets converted to a bed, but when it does I have a bed that's larger than a double. My Nature's Head is under one side of the dinette, and my fridge/freezer under the other so none of the space is wasted. I'll try to post some pics later.

 

We're doing the same thing. A 32" x 72" permanent bed in the very back (with garage underneath), then a 30" dinette in front of that - which converts to a 30" x 72" bed. Batteries, inverter, etc. under one bench seat, and the Isotemp 20L + water pump under the other.

 

I actually have had both in different versions of the same van! I started with a very high bed because I needed maximum storage when I was traveling around the country teaching and needed space for my teaching supplies. I didn’t like the bed so high because it was hard to get in and out of, and I wanted more headspace. So in my next revision I lowered the bed (I wasn’t traveling to teach any longer).

I don’t have swivel seats and I didn’t like the dining options I had come up with. I was going to be living full-time in my van, not traveling as much, and wanted to have more space to work during the day and have real meals with guests. So my second revision was to take out the fixed bed and put in bench seats. I like this version the best.

As those with convertible beds have mentioned, it really only takes a few minutes to make the conversion. I was doing it every single day for months and it just became a routine like brushing my teeth. No biggie.

For that small inconvenience, I now have the ability to spread out my laptop and paperwork and hold zoom meetings, to seat four people for dinner, to have extra table space while cooking, and I like the welcoming look of it.

However, if I were to do a new build, I would use a Murphy bed. I saw this woman’s design after I had done my revisions and I think it looks like the best of both worlds:

At the end of the day, it’s always about what meets your needs best!

 

What helped you make a decision on a permanent fixed bed vs a couch and table that converts into a bed?

Feel free to share pics!

late reply but here’s another vote for fixed. I didn’t debate the fixed bed as much as the bed layout. i ended up with a fixed raised full bed side to side over a garage, but i added a convertible 3 rd bed, which doubles as bench, storage and dining using the swivels for seat and lagun table. the other option i strongly considered was 2 twin beds front to back from the rear that were storage and also water/battery inverter. my plan was to leave one of them permanently made up as a bed( sheets, pillows) and the other as my dinette area. but when i thought about how much storage i’d lose and that there’s be no ‘garage’ for bins, tools, and bikes etc. i opted for my current layout. the bench along the slider has a sliding top and insert, it’s the ‘3rd sleeping spot’ 25” by 72” or the size of a backpacking camping mattress. so if i bring a friend along on a road trip we don’t have to share a full bed. the bed is pretty high 34-35” from the floor so if your tall and will hate hitting your head when you sit up take that into account. i barely grazed the ceiling at 5’7” but the mattress pictured was a 10” coleman air mattress i already had. i will replace with 6” memory foam.

 

I'm going for a Murphy bed - can stay "made up" without taking up as much space...

 

interestingly, in other countries the vast majority of vans have a convertible couch sleeper. i think this is because the quality convertible couch/sleepers are not available easily in the US. and US consumers arent generally aware that they exist.

 

I considered something like this:
Custom Convertible Sofa Bed in a Camper Van | Meandering Explorers

But I needed the space for my water and electric -- and the kitchen, and the wetbath, and the dining area. Plus it would cut off the gorgeous view. There is no best answer, fixed Vs couch, just a best answer for you. It's all determined by how you plan to use the van and what's important to you.

 

We had a fixed bed, going north and south, I'm 6-3 and don't fit sideways. Our queen mattress is the most comfortable bed we have, love it. Our bed also the head and feet raises up. So it's like a recliner, great for chilling. Very easy getting in and out. I'm excited to start camping again, just to sleep in the van. Also with PM sitting higher in the back, its more comfortable with head to the rear, slightly raised. The stowage is crazy. We carry two folding ebikes, two inflatable kayaks, a gas grill, four chairs, rescue gear, firewood and portable potty also slides under the front.

 

We have the dinette and wouldn’t have it the other way

we don’t view making up the bed every night as any hassle at all. We roll up and strap the coverings, letting them hang behind the couch

Overall storage has never been an issue. Not even close. besides the usual travel items and clothes, i bring cameras, a drone, and a guitar. we both bring exercise gear. Bikes are carried outside.

i guess you could say we enjoy having our cake and eating it too. Every day of every trip

 

We have the dinette and wouldn’t have it the other way

we don’t view making up the bed every night as any hassle at all. We roll up and strap the coverings, letting them hang behind the couch

Overall storage has never been an issue. Not even close. besides the usual travel items and clothes, i bring cameras, a drone, and a guitar. we both bring exercise gear. Bikes are carried outside.

i guess you could say we enjoy having our cake and eating it too. Every day of every trip

I feel the same way. Even though I leave it in bed mode a lot, I love having the option. Sometimes I just get bored and need a change!

 

Oh I realized after I sent it that it came from Maggie so I also responded to her. Sorry for confusion and thanks for chiming in. Happy travels.

 

You are exonerated in my mind. I can't speak for Maggie.