EB 27 vs. 31 w/PH - rear or middle dinette?

Dia · 10-30-2013, 11:14 AM

Hi, all!

Me, again.

We're dithering between the EB27 and the EB31. The big difference is whether the dinette/bed is in the rear or sort of in the middle.

Who's got one of these and how are they working for you? With a middle bed, does the PH resident have to step on the downstairs sleepers to dismount? The middle position means we could get up and exit the van w/o climbing over the other person, and I like that the rear area could be left empty for storage and/or future mods. On the other hand, the rear bed feels more tucked away and private, and I think I might like having windows on all three sides.

I'm looking for unforeseen annoyances that we wouldn't discover until we'd lived with one of these plans for awhile, so if there's something about one of these traffic patterns that bugs you or makes you wish you'd gone the other way, please let me know.

Thanks!

Dia

Ford_6L_E350 · 10-30-2013, 11:32 AM

We have a rear dinette and are happy with it. The penthouse sleepers get up and down without disturbing the bottom sleepers.

The PH bed is long enough that the above should be true for a middle dinette also, but I have no experience there.

Mike

LenS · 10-30-2013, 11:55 AM

We have a "mid" dinette because the bathroom is in the back. It works out well for us. We only use it as a bed when it is really windy and not comfortable sleeping in the penthouse. If we were to use it as an extra bed it would block access to the bathroom.

What ever floor plan you are considering though I would recommend making a layout of it. Then you would know what overhangs what.

Dia · 10-30-2013, 12:52 PM

Thanks, Len and Mike!

Anyone else?

mikracer · 10-30-2013, 01:01 PM

I'm a little jealous of the dinette bed now that I've slept on the gaucho. One thing I would consider if going with a rear bed is the cabinet height if they're located in the middle of the van. I've seen some layouts with floor to ceiling cabinets in the middle of the van and it makes the van seem/look so much smaller.

BrianW · 10-30-2013, 02:57 PM

We have something like the EB-22 and PH (but no shower/bathroom, only cabinets there), with dinette basically centered over the rear wheels and two full-height storage cabinets in the back near the doors. The rear cabinets are not that wide, maybe 20" at most, and there is an additional 4" or so between them and the rear door for storing misc. stuff like bag chairs. You can kind of make out the layout in the photos I have in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9212&hilit=+captain%27s+chair

Anyway, my wife and I sleep downstairs, and our son sleeps upstairs. The up-top person does not bother the downstairs sleepers when getting up/down. The dinette, coupled with the recessed wall panels, makes for a very comfortable bed *if* you aren't that tall. I'm 5'9" and that's pushing it for sleeping width-wise on the van. I guess if you are taller and don't mind sleeping a bit curled up you'd be fine, too.

Rear or middle? Both have their advantages. If you are likely to use the dinette mainly for sleeping (i.e., leaving it made up as a bed mostly), then I think rear setup would be better as it won't be in the way. If you plan to leave the "extra" length of the EB open (no cabinets), then I don't see any downside to having the dinette a bit farther back, but not all the way. I kinda like our dinette placement that's almost in the back, but not quite.

Plus, we needed the middle space for a third captain's chair, so a van with it further forward was not an option.

Dia · 10-30-2013, 03:15 PM

The 22 is another attractive plan. (Heck, they're ALL attractive!)

Like you, we need passenger seating for more than two. We're staging our build (some of which will be homebrew), and we're planning on keeping a bench seat for awhile. We may never have full moho status, but that's OK by us and it's a lot cheaper than a full build out.

In previous vehicles, it's been nice to be able to sit on a rear bumper or tailgate, take off water shoes, grab gear, etc. and that would be harder to do with the bed all the way in the rear.

Re: height - is your bed standard, or do you have the optional recessed 73-incher? DH is 5'11" so sleeping crosswise might not work for us. Thing is, our couch is 69" and he sleeps fine there. We'll be making a mock-up on the floor for him to try to make sure 73" is enough.

The kid is 5'10" at age 13, so we may be in trouble there, too.

**BroncoHauler** · 10-30-2013, 03:31 PM

One thing to keep in mind is that some passengers don't do well sitting sideways. It may steer you to, or away from, certain models.

Herb

Dia · 10-30-2013, 04:21 PM

Yep. SMB says we can't have seatbelts for side-facing seats unless we qualify as a motorhome (shore power, fridge, bed, stove, potti), so nobody can travel in that dinette, and that's why we're planning to keep one of the van's stock benches for awhile.

larrie · 10-30-2013, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dia

Re: height - is your bed standard, or do you have the optional recessed 73-incher? DH is 5'11" so sleeping crosswise might not work for us. Thing is, our couch is 69" and he sleeps fine there. We'll be making a mock-up on the floor for him to try to make sure 73" is enough.

We have a dinette in our 89 Ford RB in the back. I am 5' 10" and just barely fit when I am laying on my back and using a small pillow. If you mock up the space remember the pillow will take up several inches. It addition if DH sleeps on his back he will actually taller/longer because a persons feet extend in that position.