What's it like sleeping in over cab?

We're thinking of moving from our camper van to a motorhome with an over cab that we 2 adults can sleep in.  How do you find sleeping in the over cab?

Why specifically the overcab?

I can think of lots of reasons against it, particularly when it's so quick and easy to make the double or single beds in vans like ours.

Unless you have a particular reason it might be worth broadening your question to compare the two methods.

Just a thought.

in short, not as good as not sleeping in the overcab!. Sleeping one is just about ok but I would not recommend it for two adults. Low ceiling to bang your head on, having to climb over a partner to get to the ladder to get down, maybe tolerable for one night if no other option but not on a regular basis.

Lots of better options available, tried it in a previous van..... not for me I am afraid.

I didn't think any AS overcab was capable of taking the weight of two adults, children yes.

Our previous Broadway EK over cab bed had never been used for sleeping by the previous owner other than for storage. On only one occasion with our adult daughter (whilst our son in law was away training) did the three of us get away for a long weekend near Bridport. Our daughter slept up top on the first night then I on the following two nights. We found it most comfortable and not at all claustrophobic due the generous headroom on this van. Climbing up the near vertical ladder is the easy bit but trying the decent is somewhat of a tortuous procedure. Without going into a very lengthy account, perhaps it is more useful to state that in our experience only suitable for one small perhaps medium  adult with agility or two children where there is plenty of width. Great fun though.

I slept like a log in the overhead cab area (09Nuevo)for  3years touring .
No need to now as the Sigma beds are over 6 feet in length and don't require the front seats to make up single beds.
Boaby

Gromit wrote:Why specifically the overcab?

I can think of lots of reasons against it, particularly when it's so quick and easy to make the double or single beds in vans like ours.

Unless you have a particular reason it might be worth broadening your question to compare the two methods.

Just a thought.

Because our current vehicle is 5.3 metres and we don't want to go much longer than that at the moment, not over about 6 metres.  We don't need to compare methods, because we're used to making up a bed from the lounge components.  We like the idea of not having to do this daily.  Historically we've used the campervan just for music festivals but now we're looking to go away from much longer streches.

I did think of hiring a motorhome with a decent overcab area, but 1-2 nights is not the same as hearing the actual experiences of people who have slept up in overcabs over a period of time ...

Thanks for the comments everyone.

It does seem that one has to pick the right overcab.  I don't think we'd consider one without a window, and I need
to get a handle on a minimum overcab internal height.

Paramedic:  thanks for the Broadway mention, that's another one to add to the list of possibles for us to look at.
The ladder ... hmm, that aspect doesn't sound very appealing!

burlingtonboaby:  great, the Nuevo was on our list.  Presumably it has a window, and you found ventilation and temperature
alright?

You will find more on this topic if you put designs in the search box and look through the autosleeper designs thread.

oldfred wrote:You will find more on this topic if you put designs in the search box and look through the autosleeper designs thread.

 
Great, very interesting thread, thanks!

Not so much my experience of sleeping in the over cab bed, but sharing a van while someone else was sleeping up there !

My first Motorhome was a big sturdy tag axle Bessacarr with the over cab bed and the kids slept up there, whilst me and my wife used the island bed at the rear. 

Every time one of the kids turned over during the night, the small movement was magnified due to the height from the suspension and the entire van would rock. 

Ken.

Good and bad points. We have had a Chausson Flash 03 for 5 years (our first and so far only motorhome until the AS Broadway FB arrives in the Spring) and have always slept in the over cab bed. It is big and comfy and has very good headroom. As heat rises it is always snug and it is nice to have fresh air close by from the ceiling vent. We really love sleeping there. The problem for me is that, not being in the first flush of youth, I can see that the laddder is going to become an issue in the next year or two, especially as a medical problem means several trips to the onboard facilities are required each night! We thought we might as well go for the new van now and have good use of it before time finally catches up with us. My personal view, based on personal experience, is that an overcab bed can be great IF you are young and fit enough to use the ladder and in a model with good headroom. I will miss it when we change but know that for us changing is the right move. Hope this helps.
Keith

Stretto Boy wrote:The problem for me is that, not being in the first flush of youth, I can see that the laddder is going to become an issue in the next year or two, especially as a medical problem means several trips to the onboard facilities are required each night! We thought we might as well go for the new van now and have good use of it before time finally catches up with us. My personal view, based on personal experience, is that an overcab bed can be great IF you are young and fit enough to use the ladder and in a model with good headroom. 
Keith

Hi Keith, Totally agree with the points you highligted as an elaboration to my earlier post. Indeed it is the issue of the ladder when attempting to get down from the over cab bed for those frequent, erm (age related) nocturnal visits to the bathroom. An adult with the stature and agility of a 'powder monkey' and of course children are best suited to sleep up top on a regular basis. The effort and dexterity required to alight from the over cab would most certainly disturb others sleeping below as you might grunt and groan to initially find the first foothold of the ladder. That only occasion when I slept above did require my wife to help me guild my foot onto the ladder. The difficulty experienced scored about six out of ten even for my somewhat slight build of 5 ft 8 ins and 60 kg. I think this four berth arrangement needs careful consideration before purchase to mitigate the sales pitch, "yea, sleeps four, with two up and two down"

marc4242 wrote:Thanks for the comments everyone.

It does seem that one has to pick the right overcab.  I don't think we'd consider one without a window, and I need
to get a handle on a minimum overcab internal height.

Paramedic:  thanks for the Broadway mention, that's another one to add to the list of possibles for us to look at.
The ladder ... hmm, that aspect doesn't sound very appealing!

burlingtonboaby:  great, the Nuevo was on our list.  Presumably it has a window, and you found ventilation and temperature
alright?

Our Nuevo EK ES wasn't fitted with a side window in the Luton cab, however had a HEKI 2 lift up clear vent in the roof, reading lights at both sides and yes a ladder to get up.
I managed to climb up and down without any problem, I'm a big lad and the ladder took my weight.
The wife made up the single bed on the drivers side, leaving the small table set up  with two single seats, our wee BT slept under the table , plenty of room to move back and forward to the rear kitchen/WC area .
Boaby

Just spent 8 months touring Spain/France in ours, did the same last year, and we are about to go south again to 'do' Morocco! Overhead suits us, both fairly small, bed made up all the time,not dragging all the extra length a made up back bed entails. 
Would like a 'garage' for the stuff we put up on the bed while travelling, and are thinking of replacing bikes on back with a back box - this however may add to the problem of the back axle being overweight, not something most people with their back beds and garages seem to worry about it seems!

My wife and I took delivery of a Windsor last month and happily sleep in the overcab bed. As we did for the past 12 years in an Ace Milano. Headroom is fine for us. Luckily, we're both of normal height. 5'4" & 5' 3". If you're abnormally tall (!) you might find it difficult to stretch out in a Windsor. We keep the bed made up all the time, so just watch your head going in or out of the cab!
At 66, it's been a long time since I thought of myself as a powder monkey! But, neither of us has any trouble using the ladder.
As with all things in a motorhome, try it first!

I snore and hubby is a light sleeper needing earplugs. I tried sleeping up top. I am short and had no trouble getting up and down despite being in my 50's. Hubby said he didn't hear me at all, even when I had to get up once in the night. No window but I didn't feel claustrophobic just cosy.

We owned a large Rimor Superbrig for a few years and I loved the over cab bed. Plenty of room to stretch out and my own windows for ventilation. I suffer from a bad back having injured myself in a motorcycle accident and I found the over cab one of the only bunks I could get a decent, pain free kip.

Sorry for the delay in replying ... Stretto Boy, Keith thanks for that information.
We have pretty much firmed up on our requirement as sub-6.5 metres and with an
overcab.  We've discounted fixed beds and drop-downs as either too long, or if
short too much impact on the living space, and the only drop-downs I've seen
are beyond our budget.  I find it slightly concerning  your age related comments
as I'm only *just* younger than you! :} 

We thought the Nuevo ES I think it's called (extra sleeping?)/ Lancashire were
awsesome until we found out that the overcab is 45cm high.  I can't see how the
person frontmost in the luton is going to get out in the night without waking
the other person up and in my wife's case I think she'll miss the ladder and go
splatt on the floor (which I've said not to, as that will wake me up).  So, we're
just trying to get a shortlist of possible together.  Dealerships have been
disappointing so far as most vehicles seem to be over 7 metres.

@Burlingtonboaby and jwells :  if I'm right that the ES is only 45cm didn't / don't
you find it difficult even to turn over?  We really like the Nuevo ES, it's pretty
much spot on for us apart from the luton internal height.  We haven't tried one
though, just seen them.

@Paramedic:  there's only likely to be 2 of us in the vehicle, so the only issue
is how the 2 of us get on with the overcab.  It doesn't, to put it mildly, seem the
easiest thing to use, the ladder.  We will definitely try sleeping in an overcab
before we buy.

@Leytonexile:  thanks for the Window mention, I'll add it to the list.  I don't quite
know where these mentions of powder monkey are coming from, wasn't that a napoleonic
era things, we're none of us quite that old are we?  "C1 licence, is that all?  In my
day, we could command a 12-pounder".

@sqwifeve:  thanks very much for the comment on the window.  We've been ignoring vehicleswith lutons if they don't have windows or hatches, so perjaps we ought to reethink that.

@KimF.  Thanks for the Rimor mention.  I hadm't even heard of Rimor actually, I'll have a look for them.

Marc

Hi Marc
Thanks for coming back, my wife didn't sleep "up high" as she would say. Plenty of room up there for one big lad, very cosy for two wee ones.
Ladder, not a problem, as long as the top hooks are firmly located in the metal catches.
The ES means, Extra seat I'm told , I think the idea of trying the Luton area first before you buy is a good idea.
Boaby

We have owned motorhomes since 1983 and until we bought a 2013 Nuevo ES a year ago I would not even have considered going up a ladder at night to sleep in a Luton. It's great, sleep like a log with my Wife sleeping comfortably on the made up single bed on the near side of the MH. Our last van was a much bigger vehicle with a big rear lounge but I no longer wished to drive such a big vehicle. We needed to downsize and we are glad we did. Best wishes.

Hi Marc, don't be too put off by my age-related comments. I am grossly overweight and unfit! I think that even I would have been good for about another three years or so. Also, a medical condition means several trips to the facilities during the night (which disturbs management) and we thought we might as well get more use out of the new bus we had planned and buy it earlier. If you are in decent health and reasonably fit (you don't have to be Usain Bolt!) I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Well, my wife finally did what I should have done ages ago, and when we were viewing some Motorhomes, actually tried going up the ladder and laid down (this was in a Nuevo btw).  Then she came out backwards and she made the whole process look so awkward that I couldn't wait to show her my agility / how it should be done.  So then I too found out just how difficult it is.  I would imagine 2 adults sleeping up there and one tries to get out in the night and you'd never speak to each other again / inadvertently have sex / go splatt on the floor / any combination of the above.

So, now we're looking for vehicles between 5.6 and 6.7 metres, anything *but* a fixed or overcab bed!

I sleep "up top" in the Pollensa quite regularly. There is enough space for me, certainly not two. I feel safer when I have the mesh erected. I don't use the ladder. It is possible to hoist myself in Frontways supporting myself on the vertical rest behind the drivers seat. I am just under 90 kilos and do my feel that the assembly will not collapse. Will be doing this again in summer when we do a week's camping in Scotland next summer. Bit of pain for middle of the night loo trips though.