Martin Stanford Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Good evening Many new camper vans are fitted with hydraulic beds that raise/lower and store on the ceiling when not in use. I have viewed hundreds of narrow boats and have not seen this set up in any of them. I would have thought this would be a perfect solution to save space and to avoid having to make a bed up daily. Is there a reason why this technology is not used on narrow boats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 7 minutes ago, Martin Stanford said: Good evening Many new camper vans are fitted with hydraulic beds that raise/lower and store on the ceiling when not in use. I have viewed hundreds of narrow boats and have not seen this set up in any of them. I would have thought this would be a perfect solution to save space and to avoid having to make a bed up daily. Is there a reason why this technology is not used on narrow boats? Headroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy D'arth Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 22 minutes ago, Martin Stanford said: Good evening Many new camper vans are fitted with hydraulic beds that raise/lower and store on the ceiling when not in use. I have viewed hundreds of narrow boats and have not seen this set up in any of them. I would have thought this would be a perfect solution to save space and to avoid having to make a bed up daily. Is there a reason why this technology is not used on narrow boats? Inertia in design. Acceptance of what most users want and what is saleable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) 35 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said: Headroom. I wouldn't have thought that the average camper van had more headroom than the average narrow boat so I don't think that's it. 43 minutes ago, Martin Stanford said: Is there a reason why this technology is not used on narrow boats? Narrowboat builders tend not to innovate very much, but there's nothing to stop you doing it yourself if you know what you want and how to do it. It would obviously require proper planning and good design to make it work. Perhaps elevated hydraulic bed kits are available from camper van equipment suppliers. Edited February 22, 2021 by blackrose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 minute ago, blackrose said: I wouldn't have thought that the average camper van had more headroom than the average narrow boat so I don't think that's it. Most motorhomes have them over the cab area or dining area where the predominant activity is sitting. Either whilst driving or when the front seats are spun 180 degrees to face the dining table. In a narrowboat where passage along its full length is normally required it would requiring a degree of crouching as one passes through. I suspect that isnt deemed acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen-in-Wellies Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 It wouldn't be a straight lift up/down either. They would need to cope with sloping upper sides and a hook under the gunwhale to avoid wasting space in the narrow width. Not insurmountable, but more complex. The width at the ceiling is narrower, so a 4' wide double would mean crouching to get underneath as @The Happy Nomad says.You'd lose at least a foot of ceiling height, which most boats don't have to spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulJ Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 I can think of one nb that had a full size fold up bed. But it folded up the side of the boat not the ceiling on hydraulic struts. Very nicely done too.Had straps on it so you could leave all the bedding in place and just flip it down when you were ready for bed. Used it once or twice but just left it down the rest of the time as it saved me making the bed and it wasnt in my way anyhow ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
system 4-50 Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 My top bunk folds down to form a sofa back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 9 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said: Most motorhomes have them over the cab area or dining area where the predominant activity is sitting. Either whilst driving or when the front seats are spun 180 degrees to face the dining table. In a narrowboat where passage along its full length is normally required it would requiring a degree of crouching as one passes through. I suspect that isnt deemed acceptable. Not necessarily, it depends on the width of the bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 minute ago, blackrose said: Not necessarily, it depends on the width of the bed. OK. 8 minutes ago, PaulJ said: I can think of one nb that had a full size fold up bed. But it folded up the side of the boat not the ceiling on hydraulic struts. Very nicely done too.Had straps on it so you could leave all the bedding in place and just flip it down when you were ready for bed. Used it once or twice but just left it down the rest of the time as it saved me making the bed and it wasnt in my way anyhow ? Conversely Swift introduced a caravan with exactly that arrangement. You could fold it up to the wall, made up, leaving loads of space during the day, which is at much more of a premium in a 7 metre box than it is in a 57ft nb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulJ Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 4 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said: Conversely Swift introduced a caravan with exactly that arrangement. You could fold it up to the wall, made up, leaving loads of space during the day, which is at much more of a premium in a 7 metre box than it is in a 57ft nb. This was done in a 48ft cruiser stern Nb -so not masses of cabin space but gave you a really nice big empty area in the front cabin if you wanted to do something that you couldnt otherwise do on a dinette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtwin Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 I suggested this to a builder (can’t remember which) at the Crick Show 3 years ago. It would require more headroom than available as standard and that may be the real issue (unless, of course, you were short of stature?). Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Bigtwin said: I suggested this to a builder (can’t remember which) at the Crick Show 3 years ago. It would require more headroom than available as standard and that may be the real issue (unless, of course, you were short of stature?). Ian Or didn't require a boat that would go under lots of bridges or through lots of tunnels. Edited February 22, 2021 by The Happy Nomad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machpoint005 Posted February 23, 2021 Report Share Posted February 23, 2021 I haven't done the sums, but in general it's not a good idea to have too much weight high up in a boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Featured Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now