Question for bunk over cab, class C owners

[emeraldmom]

My parents have a class C RV with a large bunk over the cab. This work out great when it is both of my parents, myself, and my two boys, almost 9 and 12. The parents take the bedroom, the boys take the bunk over cab, and I take the couch, so we don't have to put the dinette down.

Here's my problem. I worry (slightly neurotic) that at some point one of the boys is going to fall out of the bunk. I've tried a bed rail, but it doesn't really work because of the cut out to get into the cab. What I've been doing is tucking the curtain just under the edge of the matress, hoping that if one of them did roll, the slight resistance would be enough to make them roll the other way. I used to freak out about it more when they were really little, but I still worry a bit.

Does anybody else have this problem, and what do you do about it? It seems to me like there are a lot of little kids that sleep in that spot, so I don't understand why the RV industry doesn't make something for this.

 

[YodaGirl]

We had a class C when I was growing up; we also had a TT that had an open bunk like the Class C.

My parents had the same issue.

We never used it to sleep on; it was always used as storage.

That probably doesn't help you any, but it at least lets you know that you're not alone in your fear.

 

[mrzrich]

Has your child ever rolled out of bed at home? Well, maybe when younger, but has it happened in the last year?

Healthy sober people really don't roll out of bed that often in life. Even a strange bed that they aren't used to.

Just sayin.

 

[parrothead365]

Two words....velcro sheets. Never had a problem with ours. son was 4 or 5 and used the bunk until we traded it.

 

[Bamzmama]

I have the same concern! We found something that works....if you have a dinette and are not using it as a bed, take the back support cushions and line them along the edge of the bunk, then wrap the bedding around them so they don't slip off. This has worked beatifully for us!

 

[big kahuna1]

If they do roll out of the bunk it won't really hurt. And trust me, after the first time, it won't happen again.

 

[disney4dan]

My parents made us sleep under the truck. If it was raining and we misbehaved, we slept on top....

My kids have the same concern about the bunks in the bunkhouse part of the new trailer. The old trailer had bunks that were set in beside the bathroom, so they were more like a cave.

The good news is, the lower bunk on the new trailer is a full bunk so if one of the kids falls off the top bunk they will land on the mattress below, so the 18 year old is on the bottom. He's less likely to lose his temper and get angry if that happens!

But I like the ideas posted here about the tucked in velcro sheets and putting cushions on the side.

 

[goofyrabbit]

My son used to sleep in the top bunk until he was 11. We were at Disney for Easter and he will never forget it. He fell off the bunk and hit his elbow on the sofa bed. He was a little sore but he won't forget it. So now we have to make the up the dinette bed. We tried have him sleeping in all different directions, tucked sheets but I was just up all night thinking he was just to fall with the sheets wrapped around him.
Sorry I don't have a suggestion.

 

[Jarrshel]

I've noticed on the newer C's they have a piece of wood in the mattress to cover the opening . On our Itasca we have a panel that slides over the opening then you pull the mattress over. We bought 2 bed rails that worked great.

 

[Main Street Matilda]

I had the same concern with my kids, ages 6 and 10. They were small enough that they could sleep lengthwise (head facing the front of the RV - feet towards the back) and that seemed to work fine. The area was too short for my oldest to do that, but he slept on the couch and so it all worked out.

 

[YodaGirl]

Just use caution if using tucked in sheets to keep them in place.

Children can suffocate if they get scooted down under their sheets and get their faces stuck.

Lucky for me, my mom found me in the nick of time.

 

[John VN]

We used a cargo net stretched across the opening and anchored to the cabinets on each side, but that was some 24 years ago.

 

[BRDof3]

I've noticed on the newer C's they have a piece of wood in the mattress to cover the opening . On our Itasca we have a panel that slides over the opening then you pull the mattress over. We bought 2 bed rails that worked great.

My folks had a Class C several years ago, the only one I've ever camped in. Their bunk also had a plywood piece that slid forward when you were driving. You folded the mattress over and it gave the driver an opening. When we parked we'd slide the plywood back in place and fold the matterss back.

If your doesn't have a wood slider, it wouldn't be hard to make. That would let you use a bed rail in the middle of the bunk.

Unfortunately, it does happen. 2 of our kids have elevated beds in their bedrooms, both with bed rails. Since they have a solid rail to stop them they do have a tendency to sleep up against it. When we bought our TT all the kids liked sleeping in the top rear bunk. However, the 2 with elevated beds have both fallen out in the middle of the night. It kept happening, I think their home beds have kept them from sleeping away from the side of the bed. I found a tuck-in bed rail at a garage sale, and we've been using it ever since.

 

[rebelstand]

DH will never sleep with me again in a Class C overhead bunk. My parents had one and the last two trips we made with them every time he went to roll over I would grab him (in my sleep) to stop him from falling off. DH wasn't very dear the entire weekend and resembled a certain dwarf.....

 

[advfhorn]

we stacked my 4yr old's luggage by his chest on the outside of the bunk and it stopped him from falling.

 

[KristinU]

Our DS is 10 and sleeps up there and I slept up there a couple of weekends ago when I took some girlfriends for a weekender. What we do is just roll up an extra quilt or something and put it near the edge, not as much as a barrier but more as a reminder when he (or I) get up in the middle of the night that it is not just a step out of bed.

I like the cargo net idea if I had smaller kids or a sleepwalker.

 

[yoopermom]

Thank you for reminding me of when I used to take our Class C to WDW with DS and our dear old beagle (who adored DS). The dog would insist that I lift his fat carcass up into that area, so he could sleep with DS. The dog *always* slept on the outside edge, so there was never a worry about DS falling out. (Even though my back hurt for weeks afterwards from lifting the dog up and down!)

Terri

 

[KristinU]

Thank you for reminding me of when I used to take our Class C to WDW with DS and our dear old beagle (who adored DS). The dog would insist that I lift his fat carcass up into that area, so he could sleep with DS. The dog *always* slept on the outside edge, so there was never a worry about DS falling out. (Even though my back hurt for weeks afterwards from lifting the dog up and down!)

Terri

Awww too cute! I hope you snapped a pic of that at some point.

Actually our DS always wants to sleep on the jackknife sofa since he stands a better chance there of one of our two dogs sleeping with him. No heaving a black lab or two up into the cabover, and neither of them are interested in trying the ladder

 

[Disneybown]

This was always a concern of ours also. We have the same set up as you I believe and a bed rail just won't work. Three of our 4 children sleep up here when we camp but I put them with their heads all lined up at the front of the motor home, so all of their feet are towards the edge. This way no one can roll off, does that make sense? My first instinct was to lay them sideways but I was just too worried someone would fall off. Now all I worry about is if they tumble down if they stumble getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. (I'm a Mom, I will always find something to worry about).

 

[John VN]

Could go to local hardware store or Home Depot/Lowes and purchase 3/4" or 1" PVC pipe, elbows and tees, then make a simple railing that has an opening where needed and extends under the mattress so it can't come out.