Upper bed not level?

[Thomas5999Zww]

Hi all,

Question regarding the upper bed.

At the moment my girlfriend and I are on holiday with the VW Cali 6.1 for the first time. We tend to sleep in the upper bed, with our heads at the lower at (so at the back of the van).

Last night we noticed that our heads are significantly higher than our feet at the front of the van when in the upper bed. As if the bed is not completely level/horizontal and more of a slide. Is this normal? Maybe we just didn’t notice before.
We could find any signs that might indicate sacking of the bed. The van itself stands pretty level according to the in-build mechanism that is shown on the screen.

 

[dspuk]

The four corners of the mattress and base sit on points level with the van so whatever your van level situation is, the upper (and lower) beds should be the same. Easiest way to check the upper would be to use your phones in-built level to check.

 

[Andy C Berks.]

The mattress at the back end of the van is double thickness as it doesn’t have the froli springs all the way to the back - check that the under piece of foam mattress is seated properly as sometimes that can get out of position if the mattress has been moved.

Provided the frame of the bed sits level all around the top of the van when viewed from below then it should be ok. Do your phones have a “spirit level” function on them that you can use to check ?

Maybe it’s the slope on the roof making it seem like it’s sloping. I suspect you will find most people on here sleep the other way around, we do, and I think that’s the way it was designed for, hence no springs under the feet.

 

[flymartin]

You can check the van level through the camper control panel too. The bed upstairs is always the same level as the 4 wheels.

We definitely sleep with head to the back of the van upstairs - at 192cm I can’t swivel round to get my feet down that end without bending my spine to a painful degree, taking up the entire width of the bed to swish my legs round, or doing an incredibly challenging press-up manoeuvre on the way up! And given that I need to get up once or twice in the night, crawling head first down to the back end is the only option for me!

 

[Thomas5999Zww]

Thank you for the helpful replies.

I checked with my phone as you suggested. The app indicates that it almost entirely flat. However it of course only measures a small section.

Maybe I’m going mad and is it the slope of the roof . if I look to the side windows of the pop up tent, the distance between the botten of the window and the mattress is slightly sloped. However I doubt this is even noticable.

 

[RoB5urf]

I'd never considered sleeping with my head at the rear. Doesn't it feel claustrophobic?

 

[Thomas5999Zww]

Funny, for me it was the natural thing to do .
I think it’s far easier to get in and out. Especially when getting out in the middle of the night.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Funny, for me it was the natural thing to do .
I think it’s far easier to get in and out. Especially when getting out in the middle of the night.

We have had our van for over 8 years now and have tried both. We always go back to sleeping with our heads to the rear of the van. The other way round leads to kicking each other in the face trying to get out in the middle of the night. Also losing the pillows .
I suppose everyone is different and you do what suits you.Nothing is cast in stone when it comes to a California.

 

[dspuk]

We have had our van for over 8 years now and have tried both. We always go back to sleeping with our heads to the rear of the van. The other way round leads to kicking each other in the face trying to get out in the middle of the night. Also losing the pillows .
I suppose everyone is different and you do what suits you.Nothing is cast in stone when it comes to a California.

Similar. When both sleeping up we tend to sleep head to the back due to the need to slip down at 2am for the old man loo break. Sleeping the other way leads to a knee in the face for one of us. The narrow end though can feel claustrophobic and give the illusion of being tilted back. On my own I sleep end nearest the cab, it's more comfy generally, but invariably end up with a pillow lost through the night. I'll come up with a fix for it one day.

 

[DevillBelgium]

On my own I sleep end nearest the cab, it's more comfy generally, but invariably end up with a pillow lost through the night. I'll come up with a fix for it one day.

There is an Easy fix for this.
Use the child safety net.
This will help you with pillows faling in the middle of the night.
Downside is that is is more difficult to get out, but not impossilbe. ;-)

 

[dspuk]

There is an Easy fix for this.
Use the child safety net.
This will help you with pillows faling in the middle of the night.
Downside is that is is more difficult to get out, but not impossilbe. ;-)

Yeah, CBA with that thing in the way when trying to get down.

 

[RoB5urf]

Well who knew? So people sleeping with their head at the "wrong" end! You must to employ some weird wriggling/shuffling technique to get out? For me, I like the other end because I store my kindle and what-not next to the hatch and have access to the comfort light switches.

 

[chockswahay]

Sleeping the other way leads to a knee in the face for one of us.

Haha! I have said this before....... my wife would consider herself lucky if she only got my knee in her face when I have to make that night time visit! Close up and personal? not a pretty sight

Banter apart...... yes I agree it is all a bit of a compromise....... but most things in a Califonia are.....

 

[66tim99]

end up with a pillow lost through the night. I'll come up with a fix for it one day.

The storage net (part of the storage pack that includes the small under bench drawer) is great for stopping pillow-loss, for propping something to obsure the badly designed yellow lights telling me I'm plugged in, the fridge is on and the heater is on (should be on a button press), and also for storing water bottle, phone, book, earplug case etc. I just stretch it out so its flat when I go to sleep...catches the pillow well

 

[wildslammer22]

Yeah, CBA with that thing in the way when trying to get down.

I have a double sleeping bag with a hood which keeps the pillows in place. It’s a game changer! The other option is Velcro - whether you choose to Velcro your pillow to the mattress or your head to the pillow is up to you. The latter might provide some protection from late night toilet break related head injuries

 

[Mr T]

Similar. When both sleeping up we tend to sleep head to the back due to the need to slip down at 2am for the old man loo break. Sleeping the other way leads to a knee in the face for one of us. The narrow end though can feel claustrophobic and give the illusion of being tilted back. On my own I sleep end nearest the cab, it's more comfy generally, but invariably end up with a pillow lost through the night. I'll come up with a fix for it one day.

In my Ocean I would partly close the hatch a little, stops the pillow disappearing.

 

[dspuk]

In my Ocean I would partly close the hatch a little, stops the pillow disappearing.

Now THAT'S a good idea!

 

[Mr T]

Now THAT'S a good idea!

Just be aware that if you put too much weight on that end of the bed it’s harder to slide the hatch in and out.

 

[Viktorgeorge]

The storage net (part of the storage pack that includes the small under bench drawer) is great for stopping pillow-loss, for propping something to obsure the badly designed yellow lights telling me I'm plugged in, the fridge is on and the heater is on (should be on a button press), and also for storing water bottle, phone, book, earplug case etc. I just stretch it out so its flat when I go to sleep...catches the pillow well

I had no idea what I was ordering with the storage net (the small drawer I understood), I only discovered afterwards how very useful it is for all the reasons you give - plus for holding the collapsed and carefully folded bellows in place, after dropping the roof, whilst I close the sliding hatch.

 

[sbmcd]

I'd never considered sleeping with my head at the rear. Doesn't it feel claustrophobic?

Always head to the front

 

[Paul G - 2022 Ocean]

If people sleep with head to the back up top, you’d hope that VW would put light switches and a USB PowerPoint there to make it more versatile. With head at the cab end though I’d say there’s only comfort for one person to be up there.

 

[66tim99]

If people sleep with head to the back up top, you’d hope that VW would put light switches and a USB PowerPoint there to make it more versatile. With head at the cab end though I’d say there’s only comfort for one person to be up there.

It is tricky for the second person to get up top and into position feet towards the rear of the van, but once up there there’s plenty of room for 2

 

[Paul G - 2022 Ocean]

It is tricky for the second person to get up top and into position feet towards the rear of the van, but once up there there’s plenty of room for 2

That is true. But if one of you needs to get up in the night, especially if lost your flexibility of youth, then it is a challenge. For that reason I’ve only ever slept up top by myself.

One thing we’ve never tried is to sleep downstairs with heads at the cab end, if it was necessary due to sloping, to see how easy it is to get up in the night without disturbing the other person too much, because downstairs is narrower than upstairs. Has anyone else tried sleeping that way?

 

[Justinitus1972]

There is an Easy fix for this.
Use the child safety net.
This will help you with pillows faling in the middle of the night.
Downside is that is is more difficult to get out, but not impossilbe. ;-)

Or pull the blind half way closed, I’m sure I read that on here somewhere.

 

[66tim99]

That is true. But if one of you needs to get up in the night, especially if lost your flexibility of youth, then it is a challenge. For that reason I’ve only ever slept up top by myself.

One thing we’ve never tried is to sleep downstairs with heads at the cab end, if it was necessary due to sloping, to see how easy it is to get up in the night without disturbing the other person too much, because downstairs is narrower than upstairs. Has anyone else tried sleeping that way?

Yes I have, and had no problem. I prefer sleeping in the double glazed cocoon, away from clicking heater, and control panel lights, but I can sleep well that way round