Sleeping.

Before buying a van it is worth testing out the bed for comfort. Some may be too small and some (especially if made up from lounge/dinette cushions) might be uncomfortable. We found the latter with our Autoquest (where the cushions met) but solved the problem by buying a memory foam mattress topper which we folded up and stored on the Luton during the day.

If you intend to use the Luton for sleeping it is worth climbing up before purchase, both to make sure how easy access and egress are and that it doesn't feel claustrophobic.

Another aspect of making up the bed (assuming it isn't fixed) is that you make sure you have all the cushions and supports needed. I recall one question asking about making up an Autoquest bed (see below for how to) where it turned out that the seller had not given the owner the extra (non-seating) cushions required.

Fairly frequently asked is what sort of bedding people use. In the Autoquest we used a pair of sleeping bags which zipped together to make a double. That was convenient for a van where the bed had to be made up/taken apart each day as the bags could be rolled up and stored on the Luton, together with the pillows. In the Burstner, though, we use conventional sheets and duvet on the fixed bed. However, rather than a single duvet we have two 4.5 tog ones with Velcro sewn on so that they can either be used as a single, in warmer weather, or together when it is colder - and we can change from one to the other straight away should we need to, without having to carry different weights.

Making up the bed in the 2003/4 Elddis Autoquest 100/Compass Avantgarde 100.

One question which we were frequently asked when we had the Autoquest (and which still crops up on forums) is how the bed is made up. The bed uses most of the dinette cushions plus the two extra buff coloured cushions and wooden board shown inthe first photo. They go together as shown in the diagram.
The key to the diagram is:
A – backrest/squab from the forward facing (belted) dinette seats.
B – cushion from the forward facing (belted) dinette seats.
C – cushion from the rearward facing dinette seats.
D & E – buff coloured extra cushions.		 Bed diagram
Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Pull out the ends of both dinette seats.
Pull out the slats from their storage area (which, incidentally, is ideally sized to carry 2 dozen cans of beer as well as the slats) and place the wooden board across the end (photo 2).
Remove the squab from the rearward facing dinette seats and put it aside.
Remove the cushion from the rearward facing dinette seats and lay the wooden backrest down (photo 3).
Lay the squab from the forward facing (belted) dinette seats on top of the laid down backrest.
Place the cushion from the forward facing (belted) dinette seats on top of the slats and replace it with the cushion from the rearward facing seats.
Place the two buff coloured extra cushions on the seat extensions/board and push the extensions in to trap the cushions and the bed is ready (photo 4).

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Last updated: 26 May 2016