King size caravan beds all the rage

With big family caravans accounting for a larger slice of RV sales, and an increasing number of young families indulging in ‘big lap’ school holiday travel, there's been a noticeable upsurge in the family 'glamour-van' market of late.

Australian caravan manufacturers are competing for the growing number of cashed-up RV adventurers wanting to spoil their kids rotten with 'holiday homes on wheels', offering everything from kids' toy lockers and home study 'nooks', to extra-large bunks and even a separate air-conditioner for the 'kids' zone'.

Now the latest trend is a king size rather than traditional queen size mattress for the caravan's 'master bedroom' which turns the parent's sleeping area at night into a rumpus room by day.

One of the latest examples is a customised 22ft Coastline family caravan from Melbourne manufacturer Australis which slots a 7ft 4in x 6ft 6in plush coil spring mattress into the front section of the luxury family van.

"Their thought was that their kids love to join them in the bed in the morning and it becomes a free for all, so it's much easier to have two adults and three kids in a bigger bed rather than everyone trying to squeeze into a normal queen size," explained Australis Caravans' Director Mark Chadwick.

"It's purely for when everybody jumps into the bed, and they'll spend a lot of time on that bed..."

The downside is a loss of bedside side robes and cupboards, although there are some additional 'wraparound' overhead cupboards as well as extra under-bed storage options.

"At the end of the day they sacrifice their wardrobes at the side and the little walkway around the normal island bed, but they said just give it to us all in the mattress and we'll have a party!"

Instead of the usual 'lift-up' underbed cavity, they also get "two massive underbed drawers that slide out and an L-shaped tunnel boot (for more external storage)".

The pillowtop inner-spring king size mattress is custom made by a local supplier.

"The bed was so big we had to build the caravan around the mattress," he joked. "We can order them any size we want."

A number of other Australian-made vans have gone down the king bed route, including a 21ft 8in Waratah 6249 bunk caravan built by Melbourne's Willow RV for family-of-four influencers Van Roam'n which boasts a king size bed that drops down over a huge rear club lounge, with the double bunks and ensuite located up front.

Other variations on the king bed layout theme include a Melbourne-built Titanium caravan with the king bed positioned tight up against the side wall, allowing traditional bedside storage and a walking area on one side of the bed.

While the latest 22ft 6in Commando F226 off-grid family caravan from Kokoda has a similar king bed set-up, with an upright padded rear wall and four lidded side storage 'bins' around the bed, to allow plenty of family 'romping' space on the premium foam contoured mattress.

So what's next? Double bed sized bunks for the kids to stretch out on, or a separate kids' ensuite?