Looking for the ideal family motorhome!

Of course, the dinette can always be used as a second bed. Many manufacturers offer kits to turn the seating area into a bed! However convenient this may sound in theory, in practice these solutions offer little satisfaction. There are two ways to turn the seating area into a bed:

A longitudinal bed = A kit where you turn the driver's seat, lower the dinette table and with some extra cushions you can make a cot for one person. In this constellation the length is maximum 1.70m and then your feet are already against the steering wheel. Other brands offer more elaborate sets that make a bed over the width. The advantage of this solution is that in this direction a bed can sometimes go up to 1.90m in length and it can therefore accommodate an extra adult, but keep in mind that the made-up bed blocks the passage to the outside.

Whether longitudinally or transversely, such systems are usually (too) expensive for the solution they provide and take up a lot of space in your suitcase if you have to dismantle and store the beds during the day.

A solution that we recently discovered is much more convenient is the Campsleep(for sale in our shop). By making good use of the two seats of the steering cabin, you can quickly and easily create an extra children's bed there! In this way you retain your seating area, as only the steering cabin is used. During the day, the Campsleep folds up easily and you store it in your suitcase.

For years there has been a variation of the normal 6m campervan where the 2p bed at the back is replaced by double bunk beds. These campervans stay nice and compact, but for the convenience of four fixed berths, you sacrifice a lot of precious living/storage space. The sleeping space at the back, the free space above the beds as well as the trunk space are the weak points here. But they have also found a solution for this! The double bunk beds are now usually retractable and/or removable so that your campervan can evolve with your family situation or travel situations. For example, most brands allow you to remove the lower beds to create extra luggage space. You can also slide in one of the two upper beds or even remove both of them. This way, there is more room to sleep when travelling with only two or three people. You will find this flexibility in our Adria Twin 600 SPB Family, Twin 640 SPB Family models, Dreamer D53 or Knaus Boxstar Family.

To keep it livable for four people on colder days, the manufacturers offer solutions with raised roofs. Indeed, besides the normal Ducato with an external height of 2.58 m, there is also a raised version (H3) with an external height of 2.88 m! This 30cm extra height works wonders for the interior space. It also gives the designers more options for installing extra beds and sophisticated solutions. The higher interior height creates, among other things, the possibility of fitting an additional pavilion bed in the ceiling above the seating area. This allows you to divide the rear with a normal double bed and an additional trunk space underneath. An additional advantage is that the sleeping areas are separated and you have more comfort and privacy as a family. Examples of such layouts are the Dreamer Campervan XL or the Boxlife 630. Some brands work even more creatively with this higher Ducato by offering layouts with a double pavilion bed above the seating area and bunk beds in the rear! Take a look at the very well thought-out Dreamer Camper Five (homologated for five persons) or the Dreamer Select Family! Both are real gems of campervans! They are well thought out and full of practical solutions for you and your family.

If you want more living space, a polyester roof can be a solution. The motorhome manufacturer builds a high-quality double-walled polyester roof on a Fiat Ducato with normal height. The main advantages of this polyester roof are the greater sleeping comfort for the double bed above the seating area, more headroom and freedom of movement (even with the bed made up) and even better insulation for your campervan. The disadvantage of this roof is the price tag and the empty weight. Examples of these high-tech campervans are the Knaus Boxstar XL and the Westfalia James Cook HD.

For some years now, the pop-up roofs known from the smallest camper vans have also been available on camper vans. A fun, adventurous and multifunctional solution that creates an extra double bed by folding up the pop-up roof. This pop-up is built into the top of your motorhome. It offers a very practical and convenient solution when you are travelling with your family and as an added bonus, the kids love it! Also, if you are alone or a couple and want to take a lot of camping or sporting equipment, you can simply fold up the rear bed and use it as a trunk. Then you just sleep in the pop-up bed!

The biggest barrier is the price, as you can easily expect an extra €6000 to €7000 for a campervan model with pop-up bed! On top of that, a pop-up roof also takes its toll on the empty weight: count on at least 100 kg extra for this extra double bed. Despite the fact that extra insulation screens exist and that pop-up beds are increasingly equipped with extra heating, the bed in the upper tent is not ideal in extreme weather conditions. In the end, you usually lose all the lighting possibilities in the ceiling of the van, although manufacturers are coming up with more and more handy solutions. Motorhomes with pop-up roofs are now available from almost all motorhome manufacturers. In our brands you will find the brand new Adria Sport 640 SGX, the Knaus Boxlife 600ME and Boxstar street 600 with pop-up roof, the Bürstner Campeo Roadrunner, Dreamer D43 UP, the Westfalia James Cook AD...

Finally, Vanomobil is the first in the sector to offer a very surprising and simple solution: why not equip your campervan with a roof tent? You will have a nice and comfortable extra bed on the roof of your campervan. It is at least as comfortable as a built-in pop-up roof, and costs €2000 to €3000 less! You do have to climb into the tent from the outside of the campervan, but the extra advantage is that you can keep your roof hatches and lights in the ceiling. Besides, you buy a campervan to enjoy it for a long time and it will evolve with your family situation. Will the time come when your children no longer travel with you and you no longer need a roof tent on your campervan? Then you can simply take it off.

Vanomobil is distributor of this European, qualitative brand of roof tents: Autohome. We have already offered this solution to a number of customers, to the great satisfaction of parents and kids!

Be careful, there are many types of roof tents and not all roof tents can be mounted on the roof of a campervan. We are happy to help you choose the roof tent that suits you best.