Making the bed

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Devon Sue

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We are just about to take delivery of a Wildax Europa, with two long sofas that make up to 2 singles or a huge double. Our last 2 vans had drop down beds that stayed made up, what tips do people have for space saving and comfy alternatives to putting on a bottom sheet every night. Happy to carry on using the double duvet from our current van, but double bed sheet will be far too small and be rather a faff to tuck in. I'm thinking about mooching around Dunelm to look at lightweight mattress toppers to slip inside a second duvet to spread across the bed, but any recommendations gratefully received.
 
Duvalay with zipped on sheets were what we used, great quality .
 
We have single beds. For each bed we use a double duvet folded in half. You sleep on the bottom half and cover yourself with the top half. It's almost like having a bed with a mattress topper.
 
Two on Tour said:
Duvalay's for us. (y)
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Duvalay’s all the way for us too!
Three minutes and your in a comfy, warm bed.

We never mess about with sheets, mattress toppers, quilts or blankets - the Duvalay has it all and rolls out easy.
Never been cold or uncomfortable.

Hope it helps.

Trikeman.

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In the caravan we used to just have a bottom duvet and a top duvet when we made up the double bed .... minimum fuss, extra comfort.
 
duvalays for us too. we use the 2 sofas as single beds and leave the duvalays rolled out during the day and sit on them.
 
I have a Duvalay but I have detached the memory foam from the duvet! I felt really constricted in a Duvalay, I hated not being able to put my feet out the end and if I turned over I got a draft on my back.
So I would suggest a mattress topper in a cover and a quilt on top.
 
If by duvets you mean continental quilts, be very, very careful

They probably won't work after Brexit:)

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Just fit a single fitted sheet over each sofa, all colours, singular or put together sofas. Leave them on during day with blanket over sofa like we all do anyway and just get your quilt out at night, job done
 
Devon Sue said:
We are just about to take delivery of a Wildax Europa, with two long sofas that make up to 2 singles or a huge double. Our last 2 vans had drop down beds that stayed made up, what tips do people have for space saving and comfy alternatives to putting on a bottom sheet every night. Happy to carry on using the double duvet from our current van, but double bed sheet will be far too small and be rather a faff to tuck in. I'm thinking about mooching around Dunelm to look at lightweight mattress toppers to slip inside a second duvet to spread across the bed, but any recommendations gratefully received.
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We have a Wildax Europa and love that humongous king-size bed. We bought a cheapo feather mattress topper from either Lidl or Aldi (can't remember which) and put it in a plain white duvet cover. So, instead of messing with a separate topper and base sheet, we just lob it onto the bed and then stick a duvet on top. The topper in its duvet cover (as well as the top duvet in its cover) fit into one of the under seat lockers with room to spare.

Having an 'under-duvet' as well as an upper makes for a toasty experience: we often do sub-zero camping.

The other good thing about the Europa is that you can have two single beds very quickly by just hingeing up the two back rests and slapping a couple of sleeping bags down.
 
PS Hope you enjoy your Europa as much as we have ours over the past five years!
 
We used sleeping bags on our make up singles. Now sheets and duvets on our twin beds.
 
MyrtleGuru said:
We have a Wildax Europa and love that humongous king-size bed. We bought a cheapo feather mattress topper from either Lidl or Aldi (can't remember which) and put it in a plain white duvet cover. So, instead of messing with a separate topper and base sheet, we just lob it onto the bed and then stick a duvet on top. The topper in its duvet cover (as well as the top duvet in its cover) fit into one of the under seat lockers with room to spare.

Having an 'under-duvet' as well as an upper makes for a toasty experience: we often do sub-zero camping.

The other good thing about the Europa is that you can have two single beds very quickly by just hingeing up the two back rests and slapping a couple of sleeping bags down.
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Is a double big enough for the underneath layer or do I need king size top and bottom?

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We use a normal double duvet on top of the mattress and a king size over us.

Works well.
 
Liked Duvalays but storage takes up nearly all our shower space, plus it’s a pain taking the sheets off to wash.
Prefer summer and winter tog double duvets, one to lie on and one on top, alternate according to season.
 
We have singles with duveleys and fitted sheets inside and throws over the top,so we sit on the seats as normal.
 
Devon Sue said:
Is a double big enough for the underneath layer or do I need king size top and bottom?
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You really need king size -- allows a little bit of the 'under duvet' to be trapped under the fold-up seat backs to stop it moving and, as far as the top duvet goes, helps avoid any duvet-hogging arguments :-)
 
Thanks @MyrtleGuru , do you have any other useful tips, being in a panel van will be a new experience for us, we have had a 6 metre Adria with drop down bed and large external locker, and are about to move on from a 7 metre Burstner gin palace with drop down bed and a full width garage. My OH has decided that he does not want to renew his licence with C1 again when it is due in November and as the Burstner is plated at 3850 it has to go. We only really started looking 2 weeks ago and have been lucky to pick up the Europa as it was a cancelled order due to bereavement, it may still be on their website. It has a humongous spec, all the toys anyone could want.

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Devon Sue said:
Thanks @MyrtleGuru , do you have any other useful tips, being in a panel van will be a new experience for us, we have had a 6 metre Adria with drop down bed and large external locker, and are about to move on from a 7 metre Burstner gin palace with drop down bed and a full width garage. My OH has decided that he does not want to renew his licence with C1 again when it is due in November and as the Burstner is plated at 3850 it has to go. We only really started looking 2 weeks ago and have been lucky to pick up the Europa as it was a cancelled order due to bereavement, it may still be on their website. It has a humongous spec, all the toys anyone could want.
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I think the Europa is built on a Renault Master base vehicle, one of which I have, but mine is a self build.

The Renaults are a great vehicle and lovely to drive, BUT they do have one very annoying problem (assuming that they haven't fixed it yet). The sliding door sensors which warn if you have left the door open when you drive off are absolutely useless! Many people have had the same problem - the sensors lose contact and you get an annoying series of 5 beeps every few seconds and the cab light come on. This can drive you absolutely mad after a few miles - trust me!

Ask the dealer if he knows if this has been fixed, if not, and you get the same problem it is an easy fix which although it disconnects that particular warning is far better than putting up with that awful noise continually. You just have to be careful to shut the side door before driving off.

Renault may have fixed it by now, mine is a 2012 model, if they haven't they want shooting! Let me know if you need the 'fix'.
 
Devon Sue said:
Thanks @MyrtleGuru , do you have any other useful tips, being in a panel van will be a new experience for us, we have had a 6 metre Adria with drop down bed and large external locker, and are about to move on from a 7 metre Burstner gin palace with drop down bed and a full width garage. My OH has decided that he does not want to renew his licence with C1 again when it is due in November and as the Burstner is plated at 3850 it has to go. We only really started looking 2 weeks ago and have been lucky to pick up the Europa as it was a cancelled order due to bereavement, it may still be on their website. It has a humongous spec, all the toys anyone could want.
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They certainly are well specced vans. As this was our first proper van -- we previously used tents, either transported by bicycle or slung in the boot of a car or van -- it was quite a luxury for us. But I am guessing if you have downsized from something bigger then the experience will be quite a bit different.

As far as the base vehicle goes, it is a very nice drive. The cab seats are very comfy. Ours is an auto gearbox (or robotized for the pedantic). Only one thing about the base vehicle annoyed us: it came fitted with eco tyres which had poor grip on anything other than tarmac (like grass or gravel). That combined with the auto gearbox led to some frustrating times trying to negotiate slippery surfaces. Newer versions of the Renault Master have options like Grip Xtend and all-weather tyres, but it all depends how the base vehicle was specced when ordered.

One thing to note is that, for a relatively short vehicle, the wheelbase is long. That is both good and bad: it means the ride is nice and smooth and the weight is nicely distributed with no rear overhang, but that the turning circle is relatively large and you can't fit in a parking space that would allow a short wheelbase with a long overhang. To be honest we have found the pros outweigh the cons on that front.

I would imagine that for you storage will be the main thing to get accustomed to with no garage or external locker. For us the storage at the back is plenty good enough, though, for chairs, hook-up cables, hoses, buckets (collapsible), water carrier (collapsible), vehicle spares (bulbs, tools and so on), emergency stuff like recovery mats, folding shovel, etc. You can tell we don't stick to sunny beach holidays :-) Internal storage is good -- we use every nook and cranny. We still haven't found a good use for the very skinny cupboard next to the fridge! We have a bike rack fitted to the rear door, which could also take a luggage box (altough limited to, from memory, about 35kg). If you have a towbar (we don't) that would also offer more storage options.

OH always complains about having to drop to the knees to see in the fridge and lower cupboards, but I regard that as a replacement for yoga classes.

Wildax are always improving the spec so ours, being nearly five years old, will likely be a bit different from a newer model but here goes with our experience.

12v power

We have two 100Ah leisure batteries and a 120W solar panel that were fitted from new. We use 12v adapters for everything and don't use an inverter. We tend to stay places for a few days at a time. We have never run out of battery power e.g. 4 or 5 days static in the UK in May without hook-up poses no problem whatsoever.

Gas

30-litre underslung, refillable LPG tank

We can easily do 3 to 4 weeks without a refill even when doing a lot of off-grid camping in the winter.

Water

The 100-litre fresh and waste water tanks are plenty big enough.

Shower/toilet room

One of the deciding factors when we chose the Europa was to have a washroom big enough for a proper shower so we didn't need to rely on campsites and it fits the bill well. The only things we have added are a soap dispenser and a shower head with a trigger (so that we can save water when off grid). The cupboard in the shower room is plenty big enough for all our toiletries.

Freezing

In general it is a pretty well-insulated van. We once had the water supply to the shower room freeze up (kitchen was still ok). We turned the heating off at midnight and went to bed. During the night the external temperature dropped to -20 C (we do a lot of sub-zero camping). There was no damage and it thawed quickly but now when we know it's going to be extreme, we leave the heating on very low. The boiler is under the bed, so not vunerable when occupied. The water tanks have heaters to prevent freezing, but that's only useful when on hook-up.

Fridge

Fitted with a 3-way fridge that works equally well on 12v (only while travelling), gas or hook-up. It is not massive, so we tend to remove the ice box in favour of more fridge space.

Sleeping

The bed (if you make it up as a king-size) is massive and we sleep better in it than at home! It is very quick to set up as two singles, but setting it up as a king takes a bit more effort and, after 30 days, starts to feel like a bit of a chore. It's nice when cold to get tucked up in the massive bed and stick a DVD on the TV.

Entertainment

It came with a 16" Avtex HD TV, which sounds pretty small, but when you pull it out on its mount it is close so plenty big enough while watching either in bed or seated. Also fitted was an active aerial on the roof, so no need to fiddle with pointing the aerial in the right direction. We get terrestrial TV fine in the majority of places. We added an amp and decent speakers as well as a mini PC that we connected to the TV, so we can access our music and video collection and use iPlayer, etc.

Can't really think of much else. I suppose if we have lived together in it for over a month at a time without killing each other, then it must be pretty good :-)
 
Robmac said:
I think the Europa is built on a Renault Master base vehicle, one of which I have, but mine is a self build.

The Renaults are a great vehicle and lovely to drive, BUT they do have one very annoying problem (assuming that they haven't fixed it yet). The sliding door sensors which warn if you have left the door open when you drive off are absolutely useless! Many people have had the same problem - the sensors lose contact and you get an annoying series of 5 beeps every few seconds and the cab light come on. This can drive you absolutely mad after a few miles - trust me!

Ask the dealer if he knows if this has been fixed, if not, and you get the same problem it is an easy fix which although it disconnects that particular warning is far better than putting up with that awful noise continually. You just have to be careful to shut the side door before driving off.

Renault may have fixed it by now, mine is a 2012 model, if they haven't they want shooting! Let me know if you need the 'fix'.
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Ours was registered in March 2014 (so probably actually a 2013 model) and we don't have that problem. Does take some welly to close that door, though, especially if you park uphill!
 
Thanks for your very detailed reply, @MyrtleGuru, I'll have to be ruthless with leaving out things taken out of the Burstner as we won't have anything like the same space or payload, there was loads we took just because there was room, quite a bit of which has not been used. 2 king size duvets will be on the shopping list from Dunelm then we can either use them as bottom and top as doubles or 1 each as singles doubled over like a sleeping bag if we can't be bothered pulling the bed out.

We'll have to look out for you, although we certainly won't be heading anywhere likely to get 20 degrees below! Where are you based? Do you ever get down Devon way, much milder here although it is blowing a hoolie tonight
 
Devon Sue said:
Thanks for your very detailed reply, @MyrtleGuru, I'll have to be ruthless with leaving out things taken out of the Burstner as we won't have anything like the same space or payload, there was loads we took just because there was room, quite a bit of which has not been used. 2 king size duvets will be on the shopping list from Dunelm then we can either use them as bottom and top as doubles or 1 each as singles doubled over like a sleeping bag if we can't be bothered pulling the bed out.

We'll have to look out for you, although we certainly won't be heading anywhere likely to get 20 degrees below! Where are you based? Do you ever get down Devon way, much milder here although it is blowing a hoolie tonight
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I've seen the ad for yours now (a black one?) -- very well specced. And I see the design has been much finessed over the past five years.

You will spot ours, if you see it on the road, as it is Solent green and I doubt there is another in that colour (Renault don't even do the colour now). I got the impression that some of the Wildax staff were less than impressed by our choice of colour (although they were perfectly polite about it, of course)! Our aim was to fit into the landscape, as much as you can in a van.

In the UK we can mostly be found in the flatlands of Lincolnshire & Norfolk (although there are some hills if you look hard enough).

Our last trip to Devon was for a cycling holiday many years ago, before which I said "It's not that hilly is it? We'll be fine" I was just slightly wrong, of course, although it was a grand ride down, as they say.

The -20 C was in January, high up in the mountains of Spain. We were expecting sub-zero temps that night, but the very sudden and severe drop took us by surprise. We have actually experienced -20 C in a ridge tent on a glacier on another occasion (we were well prepared for that) -- that wasn't quite as comfortable as the van, though!
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MyrtleGuru said:
...You will spot ours, if you see it on the road, as it is Solent green and I doubt there is another in that colour (Renault don't even do the colour now). I got the impression that some of the Wildax staff were less than impressed by our choice of colour (although they were perfectly polite about it, of course)! Our aim was to fit into the landscape, as much as you can in a van.
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I think that's a great colour for a van.
 
Having read all of the hassle people go through with beds I am so grateful we have a fixed king-size over garage bed - just flop the duvet back, climb in and cover oneself - bliss. In morning flop duvet back over to look sort of tidy.

Same with drop-down king-size, which we use occasionally when we give Mum or guest the fied rear bed.

You have all convinced me to never have a MH without a fixed big double bed, so thanks for the lesson.:D Not that we are thinking of changing our Arto(2003) after 10years.

Geoff
 
Hello everyone I’m going to ask a daft question but this is something I’ve been pondering for a while. By the way houdini I love your summer/winter idea. My question is how do you leave/store bedding when not in use. We are soon to be newbies and I’d welcome suggestions. ?

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