Critique my floorplan

[flying kurbmaster]

I understand the permanent bed thing however if you make it to retract, it doesn’t mean you have to retract it every night. On those special days when you got your best prospect coming over for dinner you open up your bulkhead swivel the seat fold away the bed, you don’t want to have your intentions too obvious. One other thing you should consider is area for food prep, you could make something that folds out that can also be used as your desk and or table, or not when you want more walking space when pacing back and forth after a hard day of frustrations or when dancing to your favorite tunes, or jamming on your guitar.

 

[Sofisintown]

Did you account for the wheel wells?
One is where your fridge is supposed to be, and the other under the desk-bed corner.

 

[gizmotron]

I understand the permanent bed thing however if you make it to retract, it doesn’t mean you have to retract it every night. On those special days when you got your best prospect coming over for dinner you open up your bulkhead swivel the seat fold away the bed, you don’t want to have your intentions too obvious. One other thing you should consider is area for food prep, you could make something that folds out that can also be used as your desk and or table, or not when you want more walking space when pacing back and forth after a hard day of frustrations or when dancing to your favorite tunes, or jamming on your guitar.

I'm getting lost here. It looks like this might be aimed at me and my "continued Going Boondocking" thread. I have planned for a Murphy bed but then changed to a fixed bed with storage underneath and removable shelf space above for food prep, cooking, and music equipment. It just does not show up in my quick drawing. Hahaha! on the obvious joke.

 

[Sofisintown]

So, here is my critique:
Set everything square, and you will not have to jump over hurdles to get from point A to point B.
Elevate the fridge over the wheel well on a platform and you'll be good.
There is more garage space under the bed and the desk.
Bigger fridge, longer desk, and floor to walk on instead of crawling over things.

Too conventional, I know, but there is a reason people adapt certain solutions after everything has been tried 50 different ways: Efficiency.

 

[kklowell]

I think your angled design actually looks crowded, and therefore awkward. I'm in agreement with Sofi's ideas, which just looks easier to live in to me.

 

[Firebat45]

you don’t want to have your intentions too obvious.

Haha, that's a great point, but I don't anticipate that situation coming up.  Happily single and no desire to change.  I really like the Lagun table idea.  There's no reason the desk needs to be permanent, I use a laptop.  I never even thought of a removable/swinging desk in the back (I did plan for one for the passenger seat up front). 

Did you account for the wheel wells?
One is where your fridge is supposed to be, and the other under the desk-bed corner.

I did actually account for them.  The fridge would have been above, and it would have slightly protruded into the back of the desk footwell, but I didn't expect it to be a problem.  

Too conventional, I know, but there is a reason people adapt certain solutions after everything has been tried 50 different ways: Efficiency.

You make a strong argument with your layout.  It does look cleaner and simpler for sure. I could even shift the kitchen area down and have the door opening near the front of the slider, as someone else mentioned.

I am not a big fan of the tiny walkway, but I suppose it's more functional than crawling over the bed.  I'm looking at an elevating bed platform now, I can live with that because it doesn't meant disassembling and reassembling each day.  It would give a lot more walking space, cargo space if needed, and allow for a great desk area.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

My OCD would cause my head to explode trying to build a design like this! It's bad enough the side walls on your van aren't straight. And then add triangles to the mix? It would normally be a struggle trying to make everything straight and even. Not shooting your design down, I just think it would be a lot of extra work for too little gains. Take my opinion with a grain of salt though, I'm spoiled with a step van where everything is exactly straight and right angled! But if this is your path, go forth! Make sure you document it and share with everyone!

 

[eDJ_]

It's always refreshing to see new ideas presented here.   Some Nomads may have adopted long time standards and the limits of their finances may drive that.  After it is "Cheap RV Living" here.  But for those who can indulge the luxury doing things differently it benefits many of the rest of us.

I understand your height is a key parameter in this design.  ALSO -40 degree (F ?)  nights part of the year will drive having room for insulation and space for heating equipment & distribution network. (where the space in those triangles could prove to be a benefit. 

If you were to panel off the area behind the sink & stove in the door well and apply insulation to it,  that may be of benefit.  Of course this may require a small window above the sink & stove to access the door latch so you can slide the door open.  But at least the side door opening will be smaller and not allow your heat to evacuate so quickly during the winter.

Having the large bed in the center may make for more warm and comfortable sleep.  Sleep is critical to good health and stamina and if you are working this will be important. 

Sofish makes a good point about wheel wells which are always a pain,  but I'm thinking this could be worked around by the height of the bed & desk..even the fridge. 

So thanks for offering some new ideas. They are stimulating at least.   :thumbsup:

 

[RoamerRV428]

your design fits what you need but like Plethora said, my OCD would be rampant on this design and another thing is MY BUTT ain't crawling over anything LOL

Love S's refig design and THAT one can be more tweaked for more space usage than the triangle design.

always remember one thing, you are living in this thing and believe me the key thing is efficient and ease of life....and crawling over and weirdo turns and more are just a rabbit hole you might not like in the bitter end.

but it is you YOU DO YOU as you need for sure and if you want triangles then you go for it.

Plus....what if at some point you want to cut the roof and make a 'stand up design' like opening or whatever and then your bed space invades that issue.....think future also ya know. Think 'standard' and if standard is not that great you can tweak around SO easy vs. being 'off into a triangle design' that can make any future changes more of a nightmare.

be cool to see how this all ends up tho!!

 

[Firebat45]

If you were to panel off the area behind the sink & stove in the door well and apply insulation to it,  that may be of benefit.  Of course this may require a small window above the sink & stove to access the door latch so you can slide the door open.  But at least the side door opening will be smaller and not allow your heat to evacuate so quickly during the winter.

My plan was to wall the entire slider off, and have a door-sized access panel that is insulated and removable.  In the winter, the panel would be in place and hold in heat.  Not going to do much open-door activities in the winter anyway.  In the summer, the panel can be removed and left open.  As for the slider, I was looking at the power opening designs, or just going to live with opening it from the outside only.  Again, it would only be in nice weather when I was planning on being outside, anyways.  Insulating for -40 is a challenge, for sure.

 

[StacyK]

If I’m understanding this correctly, you are a tall man and the standard roof Sprinter is 5’7” or so interior height. So what is the comparative value of a skinny interior walkway you’ll have to sidle and hunch your way through, and no walkway that means you have to crawl over the bed all the time? To me, the irritations would be about equal. So which one lets you maximize *and access* your storage space best? Which will make it easier to get stuff out from under the bed, or from the odd pockets of “leftover” space? And not that it matters... ?, but which approach do you like best?