The end of the Rock n Roll bed?

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It has struck me that the rock n roll bed may be dropping out of favour after 40 years!

Over the years, rear seat design has changed so much in pursuit of safety, that they have become much less suited to sleeping on. Harder foam, more sculptured shapes, head restraints etc all help safety but work against sleep comfort and ease of use.

I had a year 2000 Reimo van with a crash tested variotech RnR seat that was still essentially 2 wooden boards topped with simple and thick upholstery foam for comfortable seeping.

Those modern models which still sleep on the seat surface (current Cali for eg) almost all seem to need mattress toppers to make them comfortable enough for sleeping. Carrying such a big 'extra' in such a small van (even a zonesleep) is a big handicap.

Other seat manufacturers (RIB for eg) have opted for sleeping on the 'back' of the seat in the search for safety AND comfort. One sculptured and firm side for seating, with a flat softer side for seeping.

Increasingly though, many conversions seem going even further; just using the seat as a base to carry a separate upholstered panels which sit on top (Westfalia VW Joker, Hymercar VW, Westfalia Jules Verne (on small Merc), the new vw models from auto-campers).

All of the new designs seem to steal already precious storage space, to the extent you wonder where all the bedding and clothes fit.

I wonder if the need to achieve safety and comfort could mean even small campers will get bigger with every model (like the Mini).

I personally think the RIB design is the way to go. Keeping the seat multi-purpose is key to the efficiency a small van requires.