Help please first night dilemmas

[TimboG]

So we have just bought a converted T5 . It’s a short wheel base and we took it for a test run overnight at Bolton Abbey . Lovely site and had an interesting experience in the van. We tried the bed in the top up to start with ! We are both short (5’7 and even shorter ! ) and there was only just enough length to accommodate us . Is that usual ? Do adults actually sleep up there ? Over 5’10” I cannot see how . Or have we been conned ! We moved on to the lower rock and roll bed and that was better. Secondly it was a wet rainy night and we had to have a heater running for a while . Anyway there was a lot of condensation build up . Again on such a night is that usual ? I do hope you will reassure me but have a feeling you may not be able to !

 

[WelshGas]

So we have just bought a converted T5 . It’s a short wheel base and we took it for a test run overnight at Bolton Abbey . Lovely site and had an interesting experience in the van. We tried the bed in the top up to start with ! We are both short (5’7 and even shorter ! ) and there was only just enough length to accommodate us . Is that usual ? Do adults actually sleep up there ? Over 5’10” I cannot see how . Or have we been conned ! We moved on to the lower rock and roll bed and that was better. Secondly it was a wet rainy night and we had to have a heater running for a while . Anyway there was a lot of condensation build up . Again on such a night is that usual ? I do hope you will reassure me but have a feeling you may not be able to !

1. Cannot say if your conversion is similar to a California, but some adults do sleep up top but we favour the downstairs bed.
2. One of the most important points when sleeping is VENTILATION. Without adequate ventilation you WILL GET condensation. 2 Adults sleeping in a confined space breath out about 1 to 2 pints of water - your condensation on any cold surface.
You can get ventilator panels you clip into the partially opened cab windows or fit Cab window wind deflectors so that the windows can be left open 1-2 cms, on the downwind side, and use the heater to keep warm if needed.
How much ventilation? you'll learn in time.

 

[TimboG]

So we have just bought a converted T5 . It’s a short wheel base and we took it for a test run overnight at Bolton Abbey . Lovely site and had an interesting experience in the van. We tried the bed in the top up to start with ! We are both short (5’7 and even shorter ! ) and there was only just enough length to accommodate us . Is that usual ? Do adults actually sleep up there ? Over 5’10” I cannot see how . Or have we been conned ! We moved on to the lower rock and roll bed and that was better. Secondly it was a wet rainy night and we had to have a heater running for a while . Anyway there was a lot of condensation build up . Again on such a night is that usual ? I do hope you will reassure me but have a feeling you may not be able to !

Thanks so much WG. That is so helpful.

 

[Bellcrew]

Both beds in the California ocean are over 6'5" long, the top bed is wider and more comfortable than the lower bed.

 

[WelshGas]

Both beds in the California ocean are over 6'5" long, the top bed is wider and more comfortable than the lower bed.

Wider yes, more comfortable a matter of opinion, claustrophobic yes, able to make a cuppa in bed No, more difficult to get up and down Yes. So it's all a matter of personal choice.

 

[Bellcrew]

Wider yes, more comfortable a matter of opinion, claustrophobic yes, able to make a cuppa in bed No, more difficult to get up and down Yes. So it's all a matter of personal choice.

The OP made the comment that his conversion top bed was very short, just pointing out the California has a great top bed, it would be slightly claustrophobic if one slept head to the rear I suppose.

 

[MattBW]

We almost always sleep in our pop top and I am closer to 6ft but find it fine. Perhaps your roof bed is shorter, it will depend on the conversion.

Condensation is quite normal, 2 or more people breathing inside will build it up but can be resolved with some ventilation as mentioned above. Are there any vents in the poptop roof? Maybe crack a window slightly.

 

[flying banana]

i'm not sure how big conversions are upstairs , i think they vary. sleep with your feet to the sharp end. also a cheap way of some good ventilation is some heko or dubflecta wind deflectors on the doors. then you can open your windows an inch. they keep out the rain and from outside the windows look closed. I got some heko ones off ebay and think they are a must have.

 

[2into1]

The OPs details say they have a high top, suggesting its a hard top.
It is very difficult to get a full length bed in a SWB hard hightop as the access over the front seats is usually built like a spoiler for aerodynamic reasons. Hence why you see ‘smurf’ tops, which allow a full height area over the front seats.
It’s probably just designed for kids - if it is a hardtop.

Not sure how the polyroof California’s did it? We don’t hear much about those these days.

 

[TimboG]

The OPs details say they have a high top, suggesting its a hard top.
It is very difficult to get a full length bed in a SWB hard hightop as the access over the front seats is usually built like a spoiler for aerodynamic reasons. Hence why you see ‘smurf’ tops, which allow a full height area over the front seats.
It’s probably just designed for kids - if it is a hardtop.

Not sure how the polyroof California’s did it? We don’t hear much about those these days.

Not a high top I’m afraid . Classifying it when I joined the club was very difficult because it’s not a California but a conversion . It’s got a pop top but doubt the bed could be much longer given gap you need to get up there . Just wondered if it was because of short wheel base ?

 

[MattBW]

The California is a short wheel base too so it shouldn't be a problem.

Is there by any chance a sliding board in there? My old T25 has a sliding board which you can position to make the bed longer.

 

[westfalia]

Any pictures ?

 

[2into1]

Just wondered if it was because of short wheel base ?

One of the big differences with competing pop top roofs is the amount they lift at the rear. The Cali roof is about 12" at its lowest point whereas some cheaper roofs are simply hinged at the rear, so the first 18" of the bed are unusable unless you have the world's smallest feet.
Photos of the external of the roof will help.

 

[TimboG]

The California is a short wheel base too so it shouldn't be a problem.

Is there by any chance a sliding board in there? My old T25 has a sliding board which you can position to make the bed longer.

I bet that would work actually .

 

[TimboG]

Any pictures ?

Here you are. It is sort of hinged but there is some height . Maybe not 12” but not flat to the roof either .

 

[Nick Stubbs]

Looks to me like the tent bit is a bit shorter than the cali tent, the acesss hole is as good as over the fron the seats

 

[westfalia]

Here you are. It is sort of hinged but there is some height . Maybe not 12” but not flat to the roof either . View attachment 44629

Yes i see what you mean about the length of bed.
The front bit of the tent is coming straight down, on many other conversions they
tend to be angled more from the top to the windscreen.
I think your roof conversion would be fine on a long wheelbase as the bed
would be quite a bit longer.

When you're up in the bed, i take it that the entrance hatch is open?

I know its not ideal but would it be possible to have a board cut and a small
mattress pad so that you can fit it in place once upstairs - no scrap that idea,
a metal grid would be better to allow a bit of heat up.

You say you took it for a test run, how new is it, any chance of a return?
If not, i think you will have to try and mod the upstairs so you can get the full use
from it.
Its a nice looking van too

 

[WelshGas]

Here you are. It is sort of hinged but there is some height . Maybe not 12” but not flat to the roof either .

The California pop top seems longer and higher.

 

[westfalia]

It could be worse.

 

[SailSki]

That’s like a room I had in a chalet in the alps for 2 weeks some years ago. 2m /6’7” tall and I could only stand up properly at the tiny window by the sink. Everywhere else was a head smash....

 

[Elly Swanson]

The OP made the comment that his conversion top bed was very short, just pointing out the California has a great top bed, it would be slightly claustrophobic if one slept head to the rear I suppose.

We sleep heads to the rear as it facilities getting down to the loo easier in the small hours. Just need to do a kind of gentle snake shuffle to clear enough roof space to sit up. Always makes me chuckle getting back into bed as shuffling back in makes your knickers/pj trousers roll down .

 

[WelshGas]

We sleep heads to the rear as it facilities getting down to the loo easier in the small hours. Just need to do a kind of gentle snake shuffle to clear enough roof space to sit up. Always makes me chuckle getting back into bed as shuffling back in makes your knickers/pj trousers roll down .

If you wear this, the reverse will happen.

 

[Elly Swanson]

If you wear this, the reverse will happen.

View attachment 44641

If you wear this, the reverse will happen.

View attachment 44641

not half as funny!

 

[Elly Swanson]

If you wear this, the reverse will happen.

View attachment 44641

Love the pattern. Is it yours WG?

This would be great for camping. I have something similar in lightweight denim and use it as a kind of dressing gown.

Don’t think it’s as funny as your pants rolling down though. You can’t beat a bit of pants humour when camping .

 

[WelshGas]

Love the pattern. Is it yours WG?

This would be great for camping. I have something similar in lightweight denim and use it as a kind of dressing gown.

Don’t think it’s as funny as your pants rolling down though. You can’t beat a bit of pants humour when camping .

But as you shuffle down , to get up, it would ride up ready for action.