Drop down double bed

 We have had our drop down bed in the van since new and frankly, it's been a pain. The problem has been with the mechanism for pulling it down and for preventing lateral movement. Some of the screws fell out in the first month (it was bought new in 2017) and it went in for repair. It has since been in for repair twice more and for considerable lengths of time each time. We lost one holiday that we had booked and paid for and were unable to go away for many weeks while it was in the workshop. We were due to go away this easter and took the van to get it cleaned. The same mechanism has failed again and we have had to cancel our holiday.

Are we the only people with this problem? Ours is a manual drop down bed on a Swift 685. 

On the positive side, the bed, when we can use it, is very comfortable. The extra daytime space it affords is great as we go away with just two people sometimes but also have children and grandchildren at least as often. Also, the rear lounge is a fantastic feature. In principle, I'm still a big fan of the drop-down bed as long as our experience is not typical. 

We have just got a Roller Team T590, used the bed 8 times so far, cannot fault, electric, operates as required, no issues at all very comfortable. Did look at the Swift, to be honest the bed let it down, was still a pull down, the show model already had an issue in how far It went back up, plus the fittings were loose, spoke to sales team who blamed the punters for not knowing how to operate, decided if faulty already, then issue would arise again. 

Are we the only people with this problem? Ours is a manual drop down bed on a Swift 685.

I think this says it all, get a continental model and no such issues.  

We are changing to an A class next week with a drop down over the cab, on trying it out last week it seemed easy to deploy, came down quite low and looked a good size.  Will probably only be deployed if the grand children come with us or maybe another relative.

mist to add to my earlier post re the Frankia 640 (and to show how quickly things change on the continental MH market) they now have the 680 which is 60cm longer due to a garage being grafted onto the rear.

so, large lounge, dropdown bed (can be longitudinal or transverse) with steps for access, large accross the rear washroom, large kitchen and under 7m.

other brands also have something similar, see Burstner, Pilote etc.

It doesn't answer the essence of your query, but here goes anyway!  I've had four vans with drop-down beds, all European - Hymer & EuraMobil A-classes, La Strada coachbuilt, and currently a Laika A-class - they've all been well constructed as regards strength.   What you may well have to watch is that they are often aimed at the upper end of the market and so get loaded with extras, nice but not necessarily things you'd die for.  That can mean that in a 3500kg van a decent payload is all but impossible.   It's can be something of a nightmare, but if you're licensed to drive something around 4000kg or upwards, you should be fine. 

Just noticed date!  I guess I'm a bit late.   Being Cornish, a key word in the vocabulary is 'dreckly' - like  Spanish 'manana' but not so hasty...

…my ansum 😋

We too have had no end of problems with the manual drop down bed in a Bessacarr 496.

The bed has caused many months of missed holidays since purchased new in Aug-17. 92 days off the road in our first year of ownership.

The bed has been repaired five times in that time with a month long stay at the Cottingham factory for "full repair".

We got it back and stored it over winter and on the first outing (two nights) it seemed to have been resolved. The next outing proved that it hadn't been resolved when just lowering the bed into position caused the pulley system to snap off and the bed to swing violently into the forward facing passenger seats. Luckily no one was sitting there otherwise having a 100kg bed smashing into a passenger might have had a different outcome entirely.

Swift now want the vehicle back to the factory (another month?) for inspection and repair.

I don't have any confidence in Swift being able to suitably and permanently repair the bed. I fear it is a design issue that cannot be overcome.

ps this is in addition to the other 40 odd repairs and fixes they have perfomed on the vehicle over the past 18 months, QUALITY nil!

Hi Paul & Cheryl, we recently bought a Roller team T590 (new) spent months looking at variants our spec was Like yours, under 6m, drop down bed (electric), we have used on 3 trips so far 9 nights and am 100% happy, can leave bed fully made up with ladder, Still walk under, basic advice has to be look at as many as possible, we did look at A class, but the boss did not like the layout, its such a personal thing, good luck. Malc 

We have had two MHs with a drop down bed.  They are great because you have a made up bed ready for you, which tucks away and gives you more space!

My only advice is to choose one that pulls down manually.  The electric ones seem like a good idea but they can be trouble as we found out.