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Old 09-21-2008, 06:58 PM   #11
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Also keep in mind the benefit of heat dissipation with the penthouse top. We camp in the desert with our dogs quite a bit and we can pop the top, open all the windows to allow for cross ventilation, start the fan, fill the sink with water, and have little concerns as long as the outside temp is reasonable. Our dogs are our kids so we don't take any chances though if we think it's going to be too warm.

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Old 10-20-2008, 08:43 AM   #12
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Futher questions for the PH top and bed for a RB Ford.
I read in different posts that one can store the beading on the bed when the PH is closed and also some added a foam over the bed.
Above mentionned: 41" bed width and the 36"1/2 between lips

Which brings me to ask you for some additionnal dimensions:
How thick is the SMB PH bed?
What is the available space above the bed when PH is down? Min, Max.
What is the height between the lips and the edge where the bed sits?
What width do you have between the edge where the bed sits and the PH bows?

Lots of questions, thanks in advance for the answers.

Designing is tough especially without a model to see!

Andrew
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Old 10-20-2008, 08:55 AM   #13
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I don't have the exact measurements but I keep a 1" memory foam pad (slightly folded back to clear the tie down hole in the back of the van), a down pillow, and my 20 degree North Face sleeping bag up there. No problem closing the top but the middle does arch up off the gutters slightly.
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Old 10-20-2008, 11:59 AM   #14
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My PO had a sheet of insulation between the bed and PH, a little less than 1.5" thick, but it didn't compress. I took it out in order to put all my Reflectix insulation pieces up there- I keep the 2 top pieces on the front PH bed section and all the miscellenous lower window sections below.

Getting around and cooking lunch etc. with the top down isn't that bad- We are 6' and 5'11 and I can see the value of being able to stand up at all times, but the tradeoff isn't that bad, you just have to learn to move a bit differently when it is down. Before the Reflectix I used to keep the top down on cold trips, so I've camped multiple days without ever having it up.

Sometimes it's not worth the trouble, mainly because of how slow the power top is, and I'll just not bother- that could be put in either the pro or con column I guess.

Anyway the rails haven't been an issue, we stack things on them and use them to assist in getting up/down and in/out of the van. When on the 50 couch the curve of the van wall is more intrusive than the bed rails.
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Old 10-20-2008, 01:05 PM   #15
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OK, so this is a bit overkill, but it's hard to describe and it seems like the penthouse bed layout is a common question. So here goes...

Here are the measurements from my RB50 (looking down on the penthouse bed):



There is quite a bit of extra room for elbows and heads beyond the mattress in the rear area. This unpadded area beyond the rear mattress is just fine for pillows:



I use "eggcrate" foam for both mattress sections, but I only store the piece I've cut out for the front mattress section on the bed itself. I find that there is no room to store anything above the rear mattress section when the top is down -- so I store the rear piece of foam somewhere else. If I do try storing anything above the rear mattress section, the top doesn't completely close. The mattress sections themselves are 2.75" thick, of which 1" is wood (leaving 1.75" of built-in padding).



There is more room (an extra 1.5") above the front mattress section because those two rectangular penthouse roof support pieces don't hit it like they do for the rear mattress section. (See the white padded rectangle with a metal handle on the roof in the photos below.) Here's what the front mattress section looks like with the top up & down:

Ã
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Old 10-20-2008, 01:12 PM   #16
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By the way, my wife and I always sleep upstairs in the penthouse bed except when we're trying to "stealth" camp in cities or parking lots.

-- Geoff
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Old 10-20-2008, 05:51 PM   #17
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Lactic, Jage, Geoff, thanks for the quick feedback and taking time for the measurements sketch and pictures.
Now I have a full overview of the upper part of the van !
Regards,
Andrew
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Old 10-20-2008, 07:49 PM   #18
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I think there must be a couple of different version of the Electric PHT, because ours is not slow. It goes completely up or down in what has to be less than 30 seconds.

We leave a sheet on a 1.5 in memory foam pad on top of the PHT mattress, and in between the two are two single wide waffle/ridge sleeping-bag pads. We fold up an addition sheet and store it and two small pieces of memory foam also on top of the matters setup. These last peices are set so that they will fit between the two hinge points for the PHT support bars.

We store a think blanket and a small single person blanket on the shelf that is the bed extension at the back of the van. When we need to use the blanket we put the two strips of memory foam in that spot to keep the pillows level with the rest of the bed.
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