Redoing floor plan, need suggestions (86 Winn Chieftan)

moonlitcoyote · April 25, 2012, 02:29 PM

I have run into a snag with my floor plan. I have a 17month old that wont sleep anywhere besides a crib. So I was thinking of taking the full size bed out of the back room and putting a crib in there. Leaving us (parents) no where to sleep. So trying to come up with a way of replacing the table with a full size bed then possibly attaching some sort of outdoor screen room to the door of the winny to put a collapsable table in there for eating. The problem I see with the full size bed in place of the table is that a bed will extend too far into the walkway, so not sure if a futon or something would fit instead of an actual bed... I need ALL the suggestions I can get, if anyone can think of something that may help me. .....Not sure if this link will work, but it is the same Winnebago as mine and shows most of the interior. http://ballew.org/winnebago/86Chieftain.html

ClydesdaleKevin · April 25, 2012, 02:42 PM

A simple solution would be to find or even make a crib that will fit where the dinette table goes, between the benches. You can then store the table elsewhere, like under the bed, for when the baby gets older and out of a crib. If the crib isn't too high, you could even lay the table down between the benches, just like you were setting it up as a bed, but instead of the cushions, you could cut the legs off the crib so its a lot lower, and put it right on the table.

You could also remove the couch if you have one and store it, and put the crib in the living room. Its hard to tell from the pictures on your link, but that one appears to have a couch. They unbolt from the floor, and that would give you a pretty large area to put a crib, and still have your dinette for eating and your bed for sleeping.

Or the final option would be to sell the baby to wandering gypsies...

Kev

moonlitcoyote · April 25, 2012, 02:53 PM

Actually, this one doesnt have a couch, right behind the drivers seat is the table. Then the kitchen with closet. After that is the bathroom, toilet on 1 side shower on the other side and the very rear is the full size bed. ... I actually thought about doing what you suggest, but unfortunately this child will not sleep unless it is pitch black in his crib, thats why I was thinking of using the rear room for him.

ClydesdaleKevin · April 25, 2012, 03:04 PM

I was going to suggest doing what my grandmother used to do with us...put whiskey in his bottle with his milk...but I don't think that's legal anymore...

Hmmmmm...How about a heavy curtain that would block out the light around the dinette? Using a curtain rod track like the ones they put around front windows in RVs. You could use heavy blackout curtain material. I'm just trying to figure out a way you can still keep your bedroom. The track could be mounted to the ceiling, and then closed when you put the baby in the crib. If there is a window behind the dinette, you could cover that with a blackout type curtain as well.

Alternately, if you don't tow a car behind the RV, you could pick up a very small pull-behind camper, like those little canned ham types, and turn it completely into the baby's room. You could keep a baby monitor in there so you can hear the baby from the RV.

Kev

moonlitcoyote · April 25, 2012, 04:07 PM

The curtain on a track is an idea, any idea where I could get something like that?

LJ-TJ · April 25, 2012, 04:24 PM

So I don't know how tall a crib is but how about cutting the legs off it and turning it into some thing along the lines of a bunk over your bed. They us to have a couple of fittings that looked like a piece of pipe cut in half ( like a half moon)that mounded on the walls. They have them in some of the older trailers and the bunks were made of canvas like a hammock with a couple of pipes down the length of the bed through it. You could then buy some black out material and drape it over the hole crib. That way the crib will be up and out of the way. It would be high enough he couldn't climb out and still high enough for you guys to climb into bed. Hm?

LJ-TJ · April 25, 2012, 04:26 PM

Ah-ha here's a picture.
http://littlevintagetrailer.com/2011/06/61-shasta-compact-canvas-bunk/

Oz · April 25, 2012, 10:06 PM

As to the curtain on a track. The original Winnie set up was that they all had a track which ran across the ceiling behind the driver's compartment, along the sides of the cab side windows. There were rollers with curtain pins in them which attached to a heavy, vinyl curtain in either orange, dark green or brown. I had two of these for years in the basement. Nobody wanted them so, when we moved, I finally threw them away. A salvage rig would be a likely source to get this arrangement.

JDxeper · April 25, 2012, 10:22 PM

Curtain tracks and sliders a available through Mobility RV.
http://www.mobilityrv.com/

Alaskan Itasca · April 26, 2012, 12:04 AM

My girl was the same way, we took along a pack and play, folded down the dinette and set the pack and play on it and the baby slept great. If you don't have a pack play you can always get one and set it up in the house and get the baby used to taking naps in it so night time isn't a big deal.

The nice thing about the pack and play is it folds up in the day time and stores out of the way, and is just like a crib only a tad smaller.

ClydesdaleKevin · April 26, 2012, 09:16 AM

It was already answered, but just to reiterate, you could find a donor RV in a junkyard and pull out the curtain rod tracks. And new tracks are still for sale, LJTJ posted a link to where to get them.

His other suggestion, about a raised bunk, also got me to thinking. Is your bed in the center of your bedroom? And are there any systems under the bed, like water tanks, electrical stuff, etc., or is it just storage under the bed like ours? If its just storage, you could unscrew the bed frame from the floor, and move it all the way over to one side of the bedroom...which might also require unscrewing any nightstands in the way. Then you could put the crib on the other side of the bed. It might be a tight fit, but when the baby is out of the crib or able to sleep when its not pitch black, you could always move the bed back and put the crib on the dinette.

Kev

moonlitcoyote · April 26, 2012, 12:03 PM

My bed actually takes up the entire room. I didnt buy a very spacious RV for sure. After speaking with my husband, we are leaning towards a futon in place of the table and making the bedroom into a room for the baby. I realize he wont be in a crib forever but even after he is out of the crib, he will be in a bed and need to be somewhere that everyone isnt walking around him and such while he is going to sleep. We aren't full timers really but we do spend about 90% of our time camping. So I just need to come up with a way to have a small table for eating. It doesnt have to be very big since it is just the 3 of us... I appreciate all the suggestions, if anyone thinks of anything new, my ears are always open. Being a woman means I may change my mind a few times before the final decision is made.

ClydesdaleKevin · April 26, 2012, 02:44 PM

Do you tow a vehicle? If not, it still might be a better idea to just tow a very small camper behind you as the nursery.

Kev

moonlitcoyote · April 26, 2012, 02:48 PM

we have not planned on towing a vehicle as of yet, but the idea of having the baby out in a trailer by himself worries me a bit.

ClydesdaleKevin · April 26, 2012, 05:13 PM

LOL! Not when you are driving, of course!

I'm talking about converting a small trailer into a nursery for when you are parked. As the child grows older it could even be his playhouse/play room.

Make it child safe...about the only systems you would need to keep in it would be lights, a converter, and maybe an AC unit...you could even go with a small window AC unit since they don't draw a lot of amps.

Then get yourself a baby monitor. Some even have cameras so you can watch the baby while he's sleeping. During the day, he'd be hanging out with you anyway. While he's asleep for naps, you'd have the monitor. And at night, you'd also have the monitor. It wouldn't be much different than having a baby's nursery room in any house...you'd still have to exit one door, go down a hall, and enter another door to get to the baby. The only difference here would be that your "hall" is the 12 steps or so it would take to leave the door of your Winnie and enter the door to the Nursery trailer.

You can find tiny travel trailers super cheap...300 bucks sometimes. Especially if you don't care if the plumbing works or not, or the fridge and stove and whatnot work. None of that would have to work in the baby trailer. Just the lights and the outlets. You could gut a small trailer and make it just the way you want, totally child safe.

Heck, if some of the systems still did work, you could put them on eBay and make back the money you invested in the nursery trailer.

Just a thought!

Kev

moonlitcoyote · April 26, 2012, 06:25 PM

Quote from: ClydesdaleKevin on April 26, 2012, 05:13 PM
LOL! Not when you are driving, of course!

I knew that much, lol. I think I am just a worry wart, the idea of him being "outside" without me, where someone could kidnap him, or if a fire started or something. I am the QUEEN of worry..lol.... BUT how about this... If I buy a tiny trailer, then install a door in my bedroom that I could open and somehow have the trailer butted right up to it? Would probably take some modifications. but I would feel safer if I just had to open the door to his room instead of going outside to get to him.

Lefty · April 27, 2012, 02:22 AM

Did you know that a dinette both has a storage area under the cushion that is sized pretty much perfect for a baby to sleep in? Just remove the cushion and install something to act as a mattress...foam cut to fit, or even a comforter folded up.. The dinette booth seat cushion itself might fit perfectly and make an ideal mattress.
The sides of the dinette booth base is pretty much just the right height too. All you'd have to do is take off the bottom cushion and store it away when the childs in his "crib"
Might could even add fold up side rails of some sort, that fold back into the base when not in use if you needed some additional height to prevent escapes.

Just a thought.

LJ-TJ · April 27, 2012, 07:52 AM

Now I know why we missed you that's an incredible idea. Brilliant. Never thought of that.

ClydesdaleKevin · April 27, 2012, 10:16 AM

LOL! A dinette crib would be great, but she said the baby needs pitch black to sleep, so she'd still have to hang blackout curtains around the dinette and window.

I have an idea, but it probably isn't a cheap idea...lol! Ever see those tandem buses, with the rubber accordion stuff that allows you to go from bus to bus even when moving? Would probably be crazy expensive though...you'd have to find a trailer about the same height and width of your RV, cut off the back wall of the RV and the front wall of the trailer, fabricate a solid hitch and pivot point, make a round turntable type floor, and then find that accordion type rubber....yeah, way too involved and expensive, and then you'd still have to climb over your bed to get into the caboose...lol! Not my best idea, but pretty cool if someone where ever to do something like this!

I was also going to suggest getting a dog like a German Shepherd that could sleep in the nursery trailer with the baby. No kidnapper is going to get past a GSD...lol!

Kev

Lefty · April 27, 2012, 10:33 AM

For the blackout effect, you could use electrical conduit mounting brackets (1/2" diameter) and mount one on each inside corner of the dinette booth. These would serve as a mounting point to assemble a framework of 1/2" pvc pipe into a rectangular box above the base. Just slip the pipe into the brackets as legs, and maybe use t fittings to make a rectangular frame for a top to attach to the legs. A BBQ Grill cover is rectangular and available in different sizes and could serve as a lightweight blackout material to slip over the pvc framework as it's made of black material.. You'd have to be aware of ventilation needs, as you would want to ensure the baby could get plenty of fresh air under any cover you use. you might could cut out a couple of rectangular openings in the base and add floor register covers over the openings to allow fresh air. I've seen some covers that were flat and made of plastic, not metal..so no sharp edges. I would use pop rivets to hold them on instead of screws.. as rivets don't have sharp points like screws do.
And, when not in use, the whole thing could be easily broken down and stored under the booth.

W%

moonlitcoyote · April 27, 2012, 10:19 PM

A crib in the base of the seat? LOL, do you know how big an 18month old "baby" is? I guess I should quit calling him a baby, since he is actually a toddler. But that idea would have been great a year ago.

Thank you all for the suggestions, after speaking at length with my husband about all the ideas you wonderful people have come up with, we have come to the conclusion that based on the fact that the door is right in front of the table along with the fact that my little one needs pitch black to sleep, he will be best put in the back bedroom. Putting him in the back will also give hubby and I somewhere to sit and what not while he is sleeping. I know if I was sleeping at the table, people walking in and out the door would disturb me, so best to avoid that.

My father actually came up with an idea today that I may try out, instead of taking the bed out of the back, I can use the bed as a crib and somehow use baby gates around it to keep him from escaping.. I also found a futon at wal-mart that should fit nicely where the table is. So instead of a table I would have a couch. Now to figure out where we are going to eat. I wish there was room for some sort of fold down table somewhere. I'm really starting to miss my Terry trailer, it had much more room.

moonlitcoyote · May 12, 2012, 11:11 PM

Well we got up here to stay in the Winny and I was in such a rush to figure out somewhere for the munchkin to sleep that I stuck with my original plan. I pulled the bed and corner shelf out of the back room and replaced them with a crib and rocker. Taped black trash bags to the windows and viola the baby has his own room

.. Now my next project for his room is to fix the back wall, when I pulled the bed out I found that the wall is not attached to the floor and there is a 1" space letting all the cold air in.