Part V: How to choose your bed, sofa, or hybrid for your camper!
This is the final in a series about our own campervan conversion. We’ll talk about the reasons we made the choices we did, pros and cons of decisions, and hopefully provide some advice for your own adventure!
We faced a major decision in the design of our camper. Where would we sleep, where would we sit, and how could we make it as comfortable as possible without sacrificing space? We went back and forth on this decision, visited several online and in-person shops, and did much research about what other travelers do. Ultimately, we reached a decision we are happy with.
There are two main ways a campervan’s sofa/bed situation can be designed. You can either have a permanent bed and a separate seating area, or you can have a bed that converts to a sofa. We chose the hybrid. From Amazon we purchased this sleeper sofa.
There are several reasons we liked it.
- It was very lightweight so there was no issue moving it around.
- It has 3 different positions depending upon our needs.
- We could use it as a sofa and thus have more walking room inside the camper during the day.
- We could fold it out at night for a bed.
- It came with 2 extra pillows. (Added comfort)
Overall, it is fairly comfortable. Not likely something you’d want in our house to replace a bed, but with our padded camper floor we didn’t have any issues sleeping. It is narrow, so we both snuggled plenty and our cats often slept on top of us. But when you are out traveling in your camper you often sacrifice comfort for a richer and more adventurous experience.
You also could build a platform to raise this if you wanted to. That is not the direction we ended up going, though.
Other Options Aside from the Sleeper Sofa
After reading this, you may have decided that doesn’t work for you. Many who travel in a camper prefer to have a permanent, raised bed with storage underneath. While that does take up more of your “living” area, you are in a camper, after all, and are out to explore! So do plenty of research and discussion before committing to decision. But so as long as you have the time and money, most anything done to your camper can be changed later. It’s hard to tell until you are actually on the road.
This is the final post in our Campervan Conversion series. Learn how to complete your camper with our other entries!
Part I: Choosing Your Camper
Part II: Walls, Floors, & Utilities
Part III: Storage & Shelving
Part IV: Decor
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