Hi there,

Well it looks like I've finally got the missus on side. She has at last relented and said that yes, we can get a van. I've really got a soft spot for Splits so I'm after some inspiration. How do I go about getting 2 adults and 2 kids (6 and 9) on beds/bunks in a solid roof/non pop top split? The best idea I've had is a Devon/Pitt style bed for the adults and a cab bunk and a similar bunk across the rear boot area. I plan on having no wardrobe or high level units in the rear.
If anyone has any other ideas, or if you squeeze this many people in a Split to sleep please let me know!

Cheers, Scotty

4 in a solid roof split would be very cosy whatever conversion you get. Maybe consider a roof tent or awning

Most of the time we tow the puck,but on occasion we do all sleep in the split, as you said, my daughter sleeps in the cab bunk, my boy sleeps above the engne and we do have a pitt style interior so a nice big bed for me and the other half, the only difference is we don't have wardrobes over the back so it's full width, hope this helps.

Have you bought your bus or are you still looking, have you thought about a raising roof with two bunks e.g. a Devon with a Martin Walters pop top, we have one and the nice thing about them is you can sleep the two kids up-in-the-god's you can stand up to get dressed and you can store things up there when the bunks are not being used e.g bedding I go up there to get out of the way and read I have also slept up there! very comfy and Im 12 stone.............

We have a solid top with a Devon interior and we can get all 4 in it. The boys go on the cab bunk and bench seat but they are getting a little long for it so we have moved to a roof tent which they love, but only as they are old enough to get up before us and go and play!

We sleep in our van all the time, daughter over the engine, the lad on a bunk over the cab and an home made Devon style for us two . Very cosy. It used to be a struggle with the camping gear/ clothes etc so got an awning and it perfect.

We sleep 4 in ours exactly as you have said, one child over the engine (not literally) and the other over the cab area.

We still need a drive away awning though to put our 'stuff' in otherwise there wouldn't be room for the 4 of us in the van. Now my eldest is 10 and a tad too tall for sleeping accross the width of the van... so I'm thinking about options. I may even aquire a bell tent and stop sleeping in the van

Thanks for the replys guys. I would really like to all be able to sleep in the van, so it's good to see that other family's are managing it. I reackon I'll need an awning or pop-up/day tent next to the van for all the 'stuff' like outside chairs, outdoor table etc.
Another reason for asking this question is my intergral garage is a tad on the small side. A solid roof van will fit only if its been lowered a touch. Good excuse I reckon!

Any more ideas or camping set-ups are most welcome, always searching for inspiration.

Cheers, Scotty

Hey Scotty,

Good luck with finding the right bus, you won't look back once you have.

I've had mine since about 1997 and we've been through festivals, adventures, breakdowns and now family!!

We've got two young boys (1 and 3) so looking to do similar to you with a hard top van and a devon (ish) interior. We've had one sleeping over the engine bay on his cot/toddler mattress before now, but that was when we only had one. I'm now looking at getting something like the below for the other to sleep in the cab:



Anyone know where to get one of these for a split as the above is on the JK website and says it only fits bays??

We've also just bought a Khyam driveaway XC for the summer, it's massive so it'll be nice to have a bit of room to spill out in to next time we go away

And on a side not has anyone got any recommendations for someone to fit and or supply seat belts in the midlands area?

Cheers

goose wrote:Hey Scotty,

Good luck with finding the right bus, you won't look back once you have.

I've had mine since about 1997 and we've been through festivals, adventures, breakdowns and now family!!

We've got two young boys (1 and 3) so looking to do similar to you with a hard top van and a devon (ish) interior. We've had one sleeping over the engine bay on his cot/toddler mattress before now, but that was when we only had one. I'm now looking at getting something like the below for the other to sleep in the cab:



Anyone know where to get one of these for a split as the above is on the JK website and says it only fits bays??

We've also just bought a Khyam driveaway XC for the summer, it's massive so it'll be nice to have a bit of room to spill out in to next time we go away

And on a side not has anyone got any recommendations for someone to fit and or supply seat belts in the midlands area?

Cheers

The bluebird custom one fits splits as the poles are telescopic. I hang my front pole off some wire rope tied to the safaris but you can fix the brackets supplied, you just need to angle them down the length of the pillar (I've not done it, but I have seen it).

Here's our 2 boys in there while 3 and 1, we continued with that until last year when they were pretty much kicking the crap out of each other all night, and now the eldest sleeps on a blow up airbed behind the bulkhead (we can take the seat out and put it in the awning). We now have another on the way so I'm going to move to a devon/ pitt style interior and go back to 2 in the cab bunk and one over the engine bay, plenty of room



When they get older, I suspect they'll move into the awning (or I will more than likely!). My daughter (16) also comes away with us from time to time and she sleeps in there now, although I'm having to rethink the configuration inside to get all the bloody seatbelts in...

I'm not sure I could put a pop top in mine, but I could happily buy one done already, it does make sense if you missed biology at school and keep having kids

^^^WHS^^^
Got our cab bunk from bluebird custom. Does the job great.

I recommend the repro westy cab bunks 66 SO42 on here is selling! got one last year and its really good and fitting intructions he gave for brackets made it a doddle

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=83106&start=45

Been managing ourselves with a 5 and 2 year old in a tin top panel van, rock n roll bed at back, cab bunk for older one and up till now a travel cot on floor between bulkhead and r&r bed. Prob going to struggle with cot soon though although have had small airbed down on floor there before instead. Its a squash but doable and got to keep moving things about all the time and been using pop up tent for outside storage. Awning on wish list for this year

I feel your pain, we have two young kids, when we where looking for a van they where 5 and 3 in our first trip out we hired a Dormobile split with Devon interior and the first night the kids slept in the bunks in the roof... but they didn't like it and to be fair they where quite high up. Second night I had one on the cushion over the engine compartment and one in the front hammock over the front cab and they slept fine and we ended up using the bunk beds as storage holders! and to be honest the whole pop top roof thing put us right off when we looked for our own van, on one windy night the van was shaking like crazy so had to put it down so it would have been a mare if the kids hadn't had the other positions.

So when I bought my tin top split I was lucky enough to find a 64 Devon interior to go in it

We also have a tin top Early Bay which has a Westfalia Interior with Rock N Roll bed, I'm not going to lie.. its super comfortable and a really good lay out but its only good as a three birth with the pop top, we have a Westy hammock/Cot and when the kids where younger both slept together in it tops and tails.. but they are that bit older now and camping at Stanford was a nightmare and we ended up having one in the bed So The Bay is no up for sale and I'm going to concentrate on getting the Devon Split finished!

Full length rock and roll bed to sleep 2 adults and 1 kid (just) with 1 kid in westy cot bed over the driver's cab. I also have the rear facing bench seat which can sleep 1 small kid. Cozy

We use the bunk from bluebird customs,works a treat and I bought an extra set of brackets to fit in my other bus which I had at the time, had it for about five or six years and still as good as new, it's handy in the day if you are not leaving the camp site to leave in position to put stuff in and make a bit of space in the rest of the bus.