My wife and I decided to spend our last eight-night camping trip using the front dinette as our second bed. A couple of years ago, we decided after 18 years of marriage to sleep in two bedrooms because of getting up more at night, snoring, and just sometimes having a night of light sleep.
My first experience of sleeping in the front of our Bambi was in our driveway, just spending one night on the dinette bed to see what the experience would be like. I set up the bed, covered it with a folded quilt, and used a sheet and thermal blanket for my covers. The next morning I analyzed my experience and realized that using the front bed was very doable. The cushions were hard, though, so my wife ordered a two-inch covered latex foam pad for the bed. This helped immensely.
After eight nights of camping, using the front dinette as a bed, what we found was that it took about five minutes to either break the dinette down to the bed or to convert the bed back to the dinette. The various components of the bed: the 2-inch latex mattress, the folded quilt used as the bottom sheet, the top sheet and blankets, and the pillows were stored in the back or rear bed area when the front area was being used as a table and not a sleeping area.
Our first experiences of sleeping in the rear bed area together were that sharing the rear bed area was definitely possible, but there were definitely some space issues and some concerns by both of us of not disturbing our partner during the night. By having me sleep in the front area and having my wife sleep in the back area, the small space of the little Bambi 16-foot trailer seemed to be expanded greatly.
By the two of us sleeping front and back of our Bambi 16, we were both able to read a bit before going to bed, yet also do it according to our personal physical readiness for sleep. I could read later than my wife, or I could choose to go to sleep earlier while she was still reading, and there was no conflict on whether the light was on or whether she was active and I was not. And if we woke up during the night, we could read without disturbing one another.
In terms of space, by each of us having an individual bed, we were able to stretch out more and roll over more easily, to change position during the night without worrying about disturbing our partner. We could also add or remove blankets, fluff our pillows, or generally just be more relaxed and natural with the sleep process.
Our experiment with using both beds in our Bambi 16 was a success. Our sleeping habits at home are now more natural naturally mirrored when we are camping. Taking the extra five minutes to make the bed in front and then in the morning to return it to the dinette is time well spent. Ironically, by bringing the extra sleeping items needed for the front bed—the extra latex mattress and the extra blankets—we were able to expand the Bambi‘s living space, if not actually then at least subjectively. By taking five minutes in the morning and five in the late afternoon, we were able to both have an extra bed yet still keep our kitchen table/office space. We use Starlink for our internet connection, so now my wife has a mobile office wherever we travel.
Our nighttime experience was not one of close quarters and elbows and knees, even with our cordial intentions, but one of expanded sleeping space. Especially for longer periods of living together in the Bambi, which we intend to do, providing for ourselves the best environment for a good night's sleep is essential. The classic little trailer design of a rear bedroom, front dinette, and everything else in between we have found to be a very livable space. We intend to continue sleeping by utilizing both rear and front space. It’s a viable option for us, and we recommend for others, too.
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