Club 80-90 Forums

A question to those with families.

The past few overnight expeditions in the van with the wife & child have been lovely. Charlotte and I have been in the Pop-Top & our daughter had been placed on the rear cushion with the rear seat remaining in it's upright position, forming a decent size cot-bed with a protective shield/barrier against Millie rolling out (best point out that Millie wasn't walking at that time!)

Well, now Millie is not only walking but running & fidgeting like a lunatic when she sleeps.

Charlotte and I have a month away planned & I was wondering how best to safely store Millie while she sleeps.

We thought of a couple of options (We're getting an awning to accompany the van):

Millie sleeps in a Travel Cot-bed in the Bedroom part of the Awning & Charlotte & I sleep in the Rock & Roll bed in the Van.
Allows us to make tea while Millie sleeps & she's familiar with the Travel-Cot. She's not too far away in terms of distance, but I do get a feeling she's exposed somehow, whilst Charlotte and I are in the safe steel van.

or..

We sleep in the Awning & Millie sleeps in the Rock & Roll bed in the van.
I'd feel that Millie was safer in the Van, but because she's such a wriggler I'm worried that she'd fall out of the bed, crawl over to the handbrake, start the engine, drive off etc.

or..

We sleep in the Rock & Roll bed downstairs & Millie sleeps in the Pop-Top bed. This sounds like the most insane, but we thought of rigging up a mesh/net across the opening that's left when the bed's set up so that if Millie does wriggle around she's still trapped in the Pop-Top & the netting would stop her from falling out. She spent some time up there a while ago with Charlotte and she seemed quite happy.

Does anyone with a family have any other suggestion for where to put a 1 1/2 year old wriggler? I personally reckon that us in the awning & Millie in the downstairs bed is the safest option, but I do know she's familiar with her travel cot & there's no way she's getting out of it to cause trouble.

I'm sure we'll work it out when we're away, but I'd be interested to hear an opinion from someone with more experience.

Or you could always sleep in the pop top, with your daughter in the travel cot downstairs?

I must admit I didn't think of that. If I took the Buddy seat out & set it up as outside Loo, then there'd be plenty of space. Thanks, Dubstar.

Do you know I think Charlotte and I spent so long talking about ever increasingly complex solutions, that a simple one wasn't even considered.
Typical!

what about the wardrobe?

_wendy_ wrote:what about the wardrobe?

Wardrobe?, with its own sleeping arrangements ??
Unheard of

I have been pondering similarly, although my wriggler is now almost 11! I have the rock and roll bed to sleep in, and last year on the few occasions we managed to get away, my daughter slept 'up top' in the rear section of the pop top (basically sleeping on the rear 1/3 of the original roof ) Now she is getting too tall to fit up there (last year she could lay diagonally, and just about fit!) I was looking at the hammock sold by Just Kampers, but cannot see how I would fit in my van, but really haven't a clue on what is 'standard' in terms of the set up of my van, or if there are any other options to having her in the bed with me, which is probably ok just now, as there is just the two of us, but, ever hopeful.... it would be good to have somewhere else for her to sleep if I ever need space in my bed for someone other than me!

A couple of solutions we have used with our growing family in the past..

1) When daughter was 'cot sized', I made a fold out cot that fit on a cut down table leg between the two front seats. The sides folded out and clipped together, the base attached onto the table leg, and that fitted into a housing mounted on the floor betweent he seats. Benefit was that we could draw the curtain at night and have a bit of 'our time/space'.

2) When growning older (both daughter and me!), I made a parcel shelf that was held on four legs and fitted over the engine cushion. This had a fold out side to stop daughter rolling off, and was high enough to us to put our legs under when the r and r bed was out. Daughter could then be put to bed without the r and r bed being made, and an elasticated curtain could be hung across the van.

Hope this helps as both ideas mean that sleeping arrangements are contained within the van...sometimes useful!

im a bit of an evil mum really because we dont bring the baby of the family away with us she stayss at home with my mum but on the few occasions that we have we just normally throw her in bed with us, but i was just speaking with phil and he has decided to pull his finger out of his behind and make a bunk in the front for the little one, so maybe that is the way to go

Billybus, why dont you add a piece of wood and make the top bed longer, put it on hinges with a support at the sides so it rest safely then it'll fold out, add some cushion and bobs your uncle.

BillyBus wrote:I have been pondering similarly, although my wriggler is now almost 11! I have the rock and roll bed to sleep in, and last year on the few occasions we managed to get away, my daughter slept 'up top' in the rear section of the pop top (basically sleeping on the rear 1/3 of the original roof ) Now she is getting too tall to fit up there (last year she could lay diagonally, and just about fit!) I was looking at the hammock sold by Just Kampers, but cannot see how I would fit in my van, but really haven't a clue on what is 'standard' in terms of the set up of my van, or if there are any other options to having her in the bed with me, which is probably ok just now, as there is just the two of us, but, ever hopeful.... it would be good to have somewhere else for her to sleep if I ever need space in my bed for someone other than me!

Is yours a Westy? Mine is and when I fold out the other piece of the bed it's long enough for me to sleep on-5'10". Although to be fair I could sleep upright in one of the front seats. With the window open. In the rain. Sober.

We have put x2 8 inch boards in high top so my kids can climb up in to the roof and just slide them out making the bed longer! Cab bunk bed in the front for the other son! Dog under the rock and roll

Hi... we had this one when our two were young. If you're getting an awning the this is how we did it:
We got the multicoloured Graco travel cot (slightly smaller than the average). We took the passenger seat out (small clip on the runner by the door) and put it in the awning. Then I made a board slightly larger than the base of the cot out of some old ply, put a leg on it (just one in the middle at the front near the glove box) and the whole lot sits on the seat base. I put some 90deg edges on the 4 corners so the cot can't slide around and I had to cut a little notch with a jigsaw to acommodate the gearstick but it works a treat. Jo stuck some velcro to a piece of material as a curtain (stuck to the headlining carpet) and the kids had their own little room in the van! Ours are just old enough noew to go in the pop top but we did this for the best part of 4 years and it was fine.
If you need any more info just ask or if you live near Shrewsbury you can have the piece of ply as I no longer need it.

I've just noticed this for sale on the JK website if anyone has a spare £60 lying around:

http://shop.justkampers.com/product_inf ... s_id/10905

Fit, sling the loved one up in the Pop-top & leave her up there.

I'm sure I could rig up something cheaper with chickenwire & string...

Millie seems a little more aware of herself & has now stopped throwing herself around as much as she did.

We spent a weekend in Cornwall & Millie seemed OK downstairs in the r'n'r bed whilst Charlotte and I slept in the Pop-Top.

When it got really windy one night we still had enough room to all snuggle up downstairs, so I reckon we should be OK for our month off after all.

I can understand your concern for your first childs safety, which i'm told is to be expected (by our lass ),,,,,,so to play it cool keep rigglers low to the ground ,ie next to the Mrs,,,,,,,,,, and your good self on top (in the roof) coz all things being equal ,it is the safest place to be with the knowledge you won't be getting your knob out anyway....

Regards

Fritz,,,,,

It is supposed to become easier when they get older, along with a couple of brothers and sisters to show them how it is done......

Regards

Fritz,,,,,

It is supposed to become easier when they get older, along with a couple of brothers and sisters to show them how it is done......

For God's Sake, I can't show this thread to the wife now, she'll start getting ideas!

One little Minx is bad enough, trying to rip the gearstick out of it's socket whenever we park. Any more & I'll have one at the steering wheel while the other works the pedals.

My wife remembers when she and her brother used to sleep in the r'n'r bed at night while her Mum+Dad just kept driving. They'd wake up to a new dawn in a completely new place.

Mind you that was the 70's & their Bay wasn't exactly fast.