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Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:16 am

After our first couple of trips, we were still trying to figure this one out. Mrs. Baxta & I like the side-to-side room up top, but the length is a problem for me. I'm not a giant by any means, 6'2", but I can't sleep with my head hanging off of the edge. Down below, we've slept with our heads at the rear hatch and my feet over the edge. It's a little cozy (ie: really tight!) down there, and more than 2 or 3 nights in a row gets me rather stiff & sore. I'll be investigating a memory foam solution for the longer trips that we're planning for this summer. (Bonnaroo and 10k Lakes are both out, though, unfortunately...)

For blankets, we've got a fitted bottom sheet and what I call a 'lumberjack' sleeping bag (I'm a backpacker, and 5 lbs for a sleeping bag just seems ridiculous to me...) that we lie flat as a blanket. We've also got a little fleece blanket for Mrs. Baxta's feet.

Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:03 pm

Oecophylla wrote: I think the most impressive bit about all of the above is the fact that y'all drive Vanagons and still manage to all have wives. Granted, I'm a wee youngster compared to most folks on here but still, impressive nonetheless. They make those "She left me because of this van!" bumper stickers for a reason... :wink:

Classic..... took me 3 before I found one who loves the Westy. I think I'll keep her. (she's even learning to drive off road!)

Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:06 pm

Baxta wrote: Mrs. Baxta & I like the side-to-side room up top, but the length is a problem for me. I'm not a giant by any means, 6'2", but I can't sleep with my head hanging off of the edge.

Some have made a board that spans the width of the van to use as a bed extension. Just flip it into place once you are upstairs. Could be covered with foam and cloth etc. Just a thought.

Sun Feb 08, 2009 3:55 pm

Quote: If it wasn't for my wife, I'd be sleeping under the stars out of the trunk of my car. The vanagon was my concession. :lol:

Ditto for me! I used to tent camp in the CJ and then discovered that I could sleep in the back of my Subaru. Hal is as close to an RV as I will ever get, and I only agreed to that once I: a. found this community, and b. learned that there is a vibrant aftermarket supporting these things, and c. learned that I can swap the engine out. Course I have not done so yet....

That being said, I REALLY like the westy! The top bunk is the most comfortable bed that I own, and the bottom is a close second. I sleep in the top when it is just the son and me as he loves the aforementioned "tree house" aspect, and on the bottom when the wife is along as she won't sleep up top. Eventually I am going to need to manufacture a "bunk extension" as it is a little short for me so I sleep crooked. This will be a problem when the little boy is less little! :D

As for bedding, both mattresses get covered with fitted twin (I think, may be full) sheets and then the insulation layers vary depending on the temp. I have a variety of weights of down sleeping bags that we use, mostly unzipped as quilts unless it is really cold and we need to "mummy up". Sometimes in the summer it gets warm enough to just use a sheet, with a fleece blanket to pull on when it cools off.

Two years ago for spring break a cold front moved through and we wound up sleeping with the top down and Tanner on the floor to stay warmer--my friends retreated to a hotel. I recently purchased the Go Westy tent fly which made a BIG difference to the comfort level on our Thanksgiving trip to Carlsbad Caverns. Most cold fronts in this part of the world seem to be largely wind events and having that fly kept Tanner from freezing up there. Yet another Go Westy product that I would highly recommend.

However, the last word in westy bedding has yet to be created. The wife found a bunch of fleece and flannel fabrics featuring moose and bears and the like at a quilt shop in Durango (best quilt shop ever!!! as they have a pool table for the guys :lol: ) with which she intends to make the official summer quilt for Hal....

Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:44 pm

JPrato wrote: My wife and I usually sleep in the bottom bunk. We have a piece of memory foam cut to size in an old duvet cover that goes down first. Next is two old cotton sheets seamed at the bottom. Finally, we top it off with a quilt. We use a Mexican blanket that's always draped over the back seat as an extra if it's chilly out. You can't feel the spaces between the Westy pads with the memory foam and it rolls up to fit in the closet for storage. It's easier to wash sheets after a camping trip.

Forget about where you scored the memory foam, where did you score the Cessna 140!!! Nice!!

LOL, I also use memory foam from Costco!

Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:17 pm

Thank Prflyer, the Westy is my wife's toy. You can see it in her avitar (Cprato). The Cessna is mine. I put it together from a pile of parts a few years ago and got my license in it. The are both fun to play with!

Check out this link for the Cessna rebuild http://www.eaa504.org/joe_prato.htm

The Westy now occupies the garage space, sleeping quietly for the winter.

Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:25 pm

JPrato wrote: Thank Prflyer, the Westy is my wife's toy. You can see it in her avitar (Cprato). The Cessna is mine. I put it together from a pile of parts a few years ago and got my license in it. The are both fun to play with!

Check out this link for the Cessna rebuild http://www.eaa504.org/joe_prato.htm

The Westy now occupies the garage space, sleeping quietly for the winter.

Props for the rebuild, now I have reading material! Thanks, looking at 150's here in PR they are plentifull and fairly cheap , a good example will run around 15k,

Hey were did you get your memory foam? Our friends are looking for the same thing I did, but the Costco route is too expensive for them

Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:31 pm

-20 mummy bag for me, on top of egg crate pad on bottom bunk. my first lady(black lab) Stella Blue is fortunate enough to have an old sleeping bag to nestle down in. brrrrrrr!

Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:34 pm

Whats not to like about a westy? Where could the complaints possibly come from? Are there women out there who hate convenience and comfort? Maybe a hotel is the only thing good enough for those precious coloured nails?

I think it says a lot about a relationship if one person loves a vehicle and a partner cares enough to complain about it. In those cases i say dtb.

If you dont read dan savage you will have no idea what dtb means..the rest of us know.

Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:40 pm

Baxta wrote: the length is a problem for me. I'm not a giant by any means, 6'2", but I can't sleep with my head hanging off of the edge. Down below, we've slept with our heads at the rear hatch and my feet over the edge....

(Bonnaroo and 10k Lakes are both out, though, unfortunately...)

i have same problem with top bunk. i'll be fitting a board up there for an extension once its warm enough to pop.

10kl isnt the same without the boys there(cheese), and BONNAROO!? way too many people, and way too over hyped.

baxta, you're from bc... 4-20 yonder in vancouver :D see you there!

Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:09 pm

Prflyer, we got our memory foam from JC Penny. I think it was the 2" thick firm, in the full size and we cut it down to fit.

http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=44784&a...044784.jsp

A 150 is a great machine, cheap to fly, probably a little better performance than my 140.

Tue Nov 03, 2009 8:19 am

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_...ku=5646062

i was thinking about getting one of these queen sized sleeping bags for 2 people. it seems so simple and a good idea for me and the wife. also a 1.5" topper like pdxwesty said. today i shop for these. we will go camp this weekend on the washington coast and it will be chilly up top in the top bunk.

Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:43 am

I got a Columbia double sized sleeping bag for the lower and two of their singles for the top. That double fits perfectly on the lower bed. I like it with or without wife. Warmer with wife. I always leave one of the singles spread out on the upper bunk when it is closed. Acts as a sound baffle and emergency sleeping arrangement in case I forget to bring one. Living in snow country, you never want to be without one. Likewise, I carry a couple of MRE's in the van as well. Tasty, and bring back such happy memories. If I can only find a way to carry water that does not freeze when I park the van. I suppose I could mix it 50/50 with Vodka as an antifreeze.

Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:42 am

We sleep in a double sleeping bag that has a summer and winter side and has sheets stitched together and tied to ties at the foot and velcro attachments on the side. We also us a double thermarest that is 2" thick went sleeping above. It is 4 feet wide and about a foot longer than the bed so it keeps our pillows from always falling down.

Lately, my wife prefers that we sleep on the bottom bunk which is more of a pain because we always have to move all of the camping gear to the front seats, but, as you all know, it's whatever makes her happy. At least if we sleep down below, we don't have to take the Thermarest.

Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:44 pm

Wife and I sleep up top love it. I have a hook for the elect. lantern for light. Sheets and sleeping bags open like comforters, pillows, sleep like a baby up there. The dog gets the downstairs bunk. All of it stows away and lives in the van full time. The boogie bus is allways ready to go.

Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:20 pm

Up top was too tough on the back til I got a 1" memory foam at Target. Tried a 2" at first, but it made the top too difficult to close. Just fold the 1"er in thirds, stash it in that rearmost recessed area and go.

Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:42 pm

Baxta wrote: Mrs. Baxta & I like the side-to-side room up top

Just FYI: The upper bed mattress is the same width as the lower bed. There's a few inches on each side between the mattress and the canvas, so there is more elbow room upstairs.

Anyway, we use 2 layers of eggcrate foam, downstairs with sleepingbags zipped together, and a thick Mexican blanket over all for the cold nights. The kids sleep upstairs and they love it.

Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:24 pm

I sleep up top with our middle son and the wife sleeps below with the youngest daughter. The teenager gets a tent, which he prefers anyway since Mom snores ;-)
I kinda hate to have the eldest outside so been thinking of rigging a front cot for the youngest...maybe come spring. OTOH, the teenager is driving and camping with the family isn't cool and he never wants to go anymore anyway...

Next trip though, the daughter insists its her turn to sleep up to with Poppa. Cool enough. After this next summer though, the two younger kids will be old enough to get up to, down from, and share the top bunk so I can snuggle with the wife downstairs.

I'm 6'2" as well. Don't mind downstairs with my feet overhanging but upstairs needed a solution so I made the extender. Easy pine board cut with notches in two corners for the popup support bars. Wife then covered it with some spare materials and stuffed it like a pillow. It works just great giving the extra critical foot length to the top bed and stores behind the fold when the top is down.

It's a slight hassle moving it to get down, but slight and well worth being able to stretch out at night.

We bring as many house pillows as we can and the spare/guest blankets. We have two sets of old queen size sheets in the bus, a couple blankets, and a sleeping bag under the back seat. But we usually camp when it's fairly warm so haven't had to bundle up much at all so far.

Hey....I used to have a Mexican blanket around here somewhere (that was permanent to my former bus). Where'd that go...? Probably donated...the wife never did like it...at least she likes the bus!
KM

Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:46 pm

i took a nice flannel sheet to a seamstress and had it altered to fit the mattresses in my van (same size top & bottom). during the summer, i use the sheet and maybe a blanket and sleep up top. for camping in the snow the top stays down and the bed consists of a fleece hat, merino wool base layer, down mummy bag, and of course a bottle of whiskey! nothing in the world beats waking up to the sound of avalanche control explosives...... dammit where's the snow......

Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:36 am

In the summer months we sleep on a custom designed water bed paired up with an air ride adjustable suspension. I've valved up the system to work in conjunction with the water tank. When parked, a pump moves the water from the water tank into the mattress. When we drive, the water is moved back into the tank. I'm currently working on a heating system, so we can sleep even more peacefully, on heated water. I've learned the hard way (frozen bed) that this system doesn't work so well during our Canadian winters.