Used Class A with bunks (or not. . .)

[Ted E]

Consider a class A with an electric drop down bed above the cab, such as Forest River FR3, Fleetwood storm or Thor ACE. All are around 30 feet and great for Family's or couples after the kids have left the nest.
Cheers,
Ted

[trs80]

Personally I would not get another trailer for a couple reasons
1. I can go a lot farther without my 3 kids sitting way too close to each other right behind me in an crew cab.
2. even with toad ...setup in a campground is SOOOO much easier, especially if its raining, I can start the gen and wait it out if need be, leveled and slides out.
3. boondocking - getting on down the road and just stopping at a rest stop or walmart ...with the kids having been put to sleep hours up the road is nice.
4. my wife is happier ...no stopping for bathroom breaks, can make lunch in route, kids can have separate spaces, etc.


I would not do a C because you lose the two front seats while camping ...and they always felt a little more cramped to us ...which when it rains is important.

Price - we are in the process of trading in our Georgetown 351DS (which we love by the way) for a diesel ..and I can tell you, if the trade in price is any indication ....you budget should buy you a very nice 2012-2014 Gas unit.


....but I would up your monthly payment and go ahead an buy the diesel now. We went from trailer to class a gas to now looking for diesel with bunks. ....for us it is for: quieter ride, less heat, more space, better suspension (longer trips), more storage, better MPG while towing, and (for my wife) a washer/dryer. We avg about 50-60 nights however and are moving to diesel because we are starting to do longer trips vs long weekends in region.

[purduepete97]

Did a bit of Class A research this AM before work and found the website below. Had to laugh out loud. Notice where the "exterior kitchen" is located? Apparently it is on a trailer behind the RV!!

[TravelingTim]

We went from a 29ft travel trailer to a Bounder 36h. It is just over 37 feet, has bunks, and a bath and a half. We have spent 27 nights on the road since April and are quite happy with our Bounder. We wanted a bunkhouse with the intention of the bottom bunk being the dog bed. Sadly, we no longer have our dogs but we love the bunks and would have a hard time going backwards.

When it is just the two of us we use the bottom bunk for storage and a place to keep the laundry basket. My mother is with us right now so she has the main bed and dh and I are using the bunks. On our trip out west to visit the kids, our granddaughter and son used the bunks. Even though we don't always travel with extra people we have made great use of the bunks.

The bunks are on the slide with the wardrobe which makes the bedroom BIG! As soon as dh saw the floor space in the bedroom he said he was finished shopping.

There is a lot of debate over gas vs. diesel. We have no complaints with the Bounder being gas. My only issue is that the chassis is rated for 22,000 lbs and coming out of the factory we are close to the limit. We travel light, don't keep the fresh water tank full, and dump the black tank every two or three days when in transit.

We love the Bounder bunkhouse.

[99Foretravel]

Originally Posted by purduepete97

Thanks all for the great feedback. So far, nobody's tried the convert a "couples" Class A into a bunkhouse route. That should probably tell me something. . .like it isn't a great idea.
Don't really care about gas vs diesel. Will do some research on the models mentioned and see what turns up.
Pete

I converted the double closet in our Class A to a set of bunks and it was a very simple job...

Take off the doors, grab a sheet or two of plywood and a couple of piano hinges... Mount and block as your build demands. Stained to match, have privacy curtains and work great for our kids. Adding a closet rod back in and rehanging the doors would take all of an hour...

A few pics are posted here:

http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=25129.0

[Blastvalve]

(LSC9901's Son in Law here, 1st post)

PerduePete, can completely relate, we have young boys and the Bunk floorplan was great for not having to constantly make/remake beds every day and also leaves the front of the unit open for hanging out after bedtime, especially on those rainy nights.

Keep digging, there are ones out there, but it can take a bit to find them and you will probably have to make a bit of a drive. I found it was easier to run down the model's I was interested in via online research, and then search RVTrader/Craigslist that way. (Having a father in law cruise the web for you helps as well!)

Searching generically for "bunks" seemed to yield a LOT of hits, and about 50% of them simply referred the sofa or the dinette as a "bunk". I seem to recall finding a couple in the OH/WI area in my searches, which I know is not right next door to you, but not too far away in the grand scheme of things.

Happy to chat more if you wanted to PM me, I think I have looked at the links for every bunk model on RVtrader in the country over the last couple months!

From my end, a happy ending as we purchased a 2008 Itasca Sunova 35J about 10 days ago. 1st shakedown cruise was this past weekend and can happily say that the unit passed with flying colors. (The kids that normally get up at sunrise both slept until 8am, that alone was a A+ in my book!) Aside from the shakedown, she also received her 1st modification, Max Air vent covers.

[wildtoad]

Pete, We went looking for a bunk model Class A a year ago when the wife thought it would be a good idea to take our great nephew with us. We wanted a short Class A, wanted new, and wanted quality. We looked at the Winnebago 31be, the Newmar Bay Star 3004 and its smaller brother Bay Star Sport 3004, and one other manufacturer. Regardless of why, we chose the BSS 3004 and are happy with that decision.
We have yet to use the bunks for bunks, but do use them for storage, and a place to put the dog crate. When it's time to use the bunks as designed, other decisions will have to be made. What you need to think about is you trade the ability to have permanent sleeping space for space to put your stuff. So when you are looking and making your decision, look for where your kids will store their clothes, electronics, personal items.

[wnytaxman]

Your transition sounds vaguely familiar as we traversed the same road. Started with a used C then a no-slide Coachmen A, then an Itasca gasser with bunks and finally to our current rig which is a diesel with bunks. There are a number of rigs out there but you will have to decide if it is diesel or gas and what sort of amenities you want in the rig. Under the Forest River brand you will find Coachmen, Berkshire, and Charleston. Even Entegra now has a bunk model, although I would say they have a lot to learn about bunk rigs.

Now we have gone from the C to the A and now our girls are in college. Used the rig once two years ago because we were too busy looking at colleges. Then once last year because we were too busy getting the twins ready for college. Now this year we have used it once because of, you may have guessed it, the girls' college schedules as one is on semesters and one is on trimesters.

Now if you think this is a tale of woe, it is not. We loved the bunk model and had a blast in it. My girls are now 19 and one has been in 46 states and the other 48 states. I wouldn't trade the memories for anything. Now our current decision is do we get another bunk model for the grand kids or do we get what we would want to travel in without kids along.

I can tell you that Buffalo RV has two 2012 used Berkshires on the lot and maybe with your trades the numbers may hit. Just a thought for you. Look around there is stuff out there and be patient which isn't easy when you look at your own kids and realize they don't stay as kids for long.

[purduepete97]

Thanks all for the great advice. I truly appreciate it. So nice to gain knowledge from others' experiences without having to spend (or misspend) a lot of $$$.

I think I'm going to stay in browse and learn mode for the next 8-12 months. If something super comes along, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it (translated: I'll work on talking the DW into it&#128521. Otherwise, I'll get serious next summer/fall so we can try to upgrade before our summer of 2018 national park trip out west.

Pete