Time to test out the van before taking it on a trip – in the driveway. 😂 Hey, it worked for the rooftop tent. Sure, it may not be a super realistic comparison for being on the road, but we thought it would be good enough. We grabbed our camp pillows, made up the bed, got the dogs situated, and tucked in for the night. Believe it or not, we missed the Northern Lights 🥺 (but that’s a separate story). Benefit of doing it this way? We could still avail ourselves of a proper toilet.
The bed
The Storyteller stock mattress is a four-piece memory foam mattress. I like a firm mattress, but this one is FIRM. We’re hoping that it softens a bit as we continue to use it. Stomach and back sleeping seems to be fine – side sleeping is a bit tough.
Headroom – this is going to take a little bit of getting used to as well. Storyteller has upper cabinets over both sides of the bed. Without modifications, the bed is only long enough to sleep across the width of the van (east/west). Therefore, unless we remove the cabinets (and they are removable), they’re going to be directly above our heads regardless on which side we sleep. We like the storage space so are unlikely to remove them.
Space – there seems to be enough room for the two of us. Adding a dog makes it a bit challenging as the bed is just slightly smaller than a standard queen. We’re both on the taller side – 5’8″ and 6’1″ – but sleeping across the width mostly worked. The flare is wider towards the rear of the vehicle, so the taller person needs to sleep in the back. The biggest downside to the east/west sleeping position is the need for that person to crawl over the person in the front to get in/out of bed.
All-in-all, we think the bed will work just fine – provided the mattress softens a bit with use.
Bedding
We opted for four separate crib sheets to allow us to continue to adjust the bed without having to completely unmake it each time; no flat sheet (which is an oddity for us); and a two-person Rumpl blanket. For cooler weather, we also have our old sleeping bag liners (link is to a similar, currently available version).
The sheets
We heard crib sheets worked well for the mattress so found an inexpensive set of two on Amazon and bought two sets for four total sheets. They fit each mattress – including the bolsters – well. No complaints or concerns about these sheets – they’re also soft and comfortable.
I was concerned about the fact that the main two mattresses have velcro on each side, which would prevent tucking the edges of the fitted mattress underneath. However, this proved to be unwarranted as the sheets are snug enough to hold.
They also fit the oddly shaped flare mattresses/bolsters. Of course, they’re not sewn to that shape, so they’re not a taut perfect fit, but by the time everything is pushed together, you can’t tell the difference. Due to the shape of the bed and the flares, there are wrinkles. I have to try to let that go.
The comforter
Really pleased with the Rumpl blanket (Sunrise Cabin – last chance sale May 2024). Due to its “sleeping bag” style material, it is generally dirt and dog hair resistant, which were important considerations for us. As a result, it is more “slippery” than a conventional comforter, causing it to move around more easily – both when sitting on top of it as well as while sleeping under it. The blanket provided enough warmth without overheating us. Though with temperatures dropping into the upper 40s and low 50s overnight, we did find ourselves needing the sleeping bag liners.
The pillows
The camp pillows (link is to the current version, which seems nearly identical to ours) did not work and need to go. If there was anything we learned from this first night – beyond the firmness of the mattress – was that we would be crippled if we had to sleep on those pillows for multiple nights. I do not know if it was the pillows themselves, the fact that they’re 12 years old (oops! I promise I didn’t realize we had them for that long), or that we’re 12 years older. But we need new pillows . . stat!
The dogs
Dogs – we knew the old man wasn’t going to be up in the bed. He’s not steady enough, and I’d be afraid of him falling every night. He was perfectly fine in his new cave – the garage space under the bed. In fact, I’m fairly confident that he wandered in there shortly after we got into the van, found a comfy spot, and stayed put all night.
Now, the younger one – we also knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge. The moment we stepped in the van with her, she became anxious – complete with tucked tail. We brought her up into the bed with us, and she couldn’t figure it out. She was crawling around our heads, in between us, under the covers, over the covers, at our feet. She finally managed to settle down for awhile at our feet, but she spent most of the night out-of-sorts. We’ll have to work on a different arrangement for her and are currently thinking about the GrooveLounge with a fleece blanket as the most likely option.
Overall space
Admittedly, it was only a night, and we weren’t cooking, showering, or using the bathroom, nor did we have the van fully packed. But we think we managed the space pretty well. The dogs certainly like to be underfoot, so finding places for them to be safe and out of the way will be key.
Bed position
I’m not sure we see a situation where it will be necessary to have the driver side of the bed stored, particularly if we’re using the garage space on that side. Because of the FlexSpace and GrooveLounge, it’s not as though that side is easily accessible from the front or would give someone a space to quickly get out of the way.
On the other hand, I see value in potentially storing the passenger side of the bed when not in use. It really opens up the van and gives someone direct access from the front to the rear, including providing a spot for one person to step out of the way if someone else needs to access the galley or the FlexSpace. Of course, we’ll need to balance this option with the fact that the dog cave will likely be in this space (the driver side is narrower due to the support legs being on that side).
GrooveLounge position
We previously talked about the fact that the GrooveLounge has three positions: drive, lounge, and sleep. As we rarely – if ever – anticipate having passengers, we do not regularly expect for it to be in drive mode. In fact, we discovered that lounge mode worked really well.
Due to the depth of the seating area over the FlexSpace, you can sit all the way back and stretch your legs out, or curl into a little ball, or turn to face the bed and rest against the remaining seat back. It also offers two separate seating areas and a space for someone to quickly get out of the way if someone else needs to access the galley or move from the back to the front.
We also anticipate this will provide a good sleeping spot for Ms. Izzy. It puts her relatively close to the bed while keeping her at a safe distance from the ground. I guess we’ll find out shortly.
Captain’s seats
Both the driver and passenger seats swivel 180 degrees. We quickly realized that swiveling the passenger seat is going to be critical for any extended parking. Turning the direction of the chair does not take away any floor space, and it does give yet another seating/storage/”get out of the way” option.
Although the driver side also swivels, we see limited use for that seat. When completely turned around, it is very close to the GrooveLounge and, due to the steering wheel, has limited ability to move back. Time will tell, but we think we’re likely to keep the driver seat in the forward facing position while turning the passenger seat.
Doors, windows, vents, and screens
Although the bug screens make it possible to potentially sleep with either or both of the back doors and sliding door ajar, we opted against that for the first night for a couple of reasons, not the least of which being that we were in a residential neighborhood. However, we did choose to crack the overhead vent and the side windows for some air flow. This turned out to be a great decision until the middle of the night when the temperatures plummeted.
Storyteller provides insulated magnetic window coverings for each of the rear door windows, the flare window on the driver side, the GrooveLounge window, the driver and passenger windows, and the sliding door window. In addition, Storyteller provides a magnetic cover for the vent opening and a reflective windshield cover. Each of these is easily deployed and. together, provide great privacy and near total blackout.
There are two challenges:
- Storage: Where to keep all the fabric? At delivery, there was a giant stuff sack that took up more than one of the upper cabinets with most of the window coverings and then another long, flat stuff sack (windshield and vent covers) that was the length of two cabinets but took up little volume.
- Air flow v. darkness: How to balance the desire for air flow with the want (and in some cases, need) for complete darkness? Obviously, the vent cover cannot be on if you want the vent open/fan on. Light will come through there. With the exception of the window in the driver side flare, each side window cover has the ability to roll up the small space where the window opens, minimizing the light pollution, while maximizing the air flow potential.
We have some storage ideas thanks to others that have gone before. We have seen solutions where owners have used bungee cords/rope on the underside of the bed platforms to add additional storage. This solution might be perfect for storing the window coverings when not in use. We also realized that each of the window coverings (other than the driver and passenger ones) can be rolled up to the top of the window and potentially stored there while driving. We’ll have to see if the magnets are strong enough to hold.
Regarding the airflow v. darkness debate, we have read about a vent cover that allows the vent to remain open during rain while keeping the van dry. I wonder whether this solution will also serve to block out some ambient light.
One last realization we had was that we probably did not need to roll up the bug screen on the side door all the time. Provided we are careful with tucking it in when opening and closing the door, why not leave it down at all times? That way, when entering or exiting the vehicle via the side door, we are minimizing bug access. In addition, because it has privacy panels, it may negate the need to put the sliding door window covering up (unless we wanted the added insulation).
Leveling
Something we did not appreciate until we were preparing to spend the night in the van is just how unlevel our driveway is. We even changed the position of the van and, while better, it was still tilted – as evidenced by the fact that the galley drawers closed themselves. This discovery led to two things:
- Changing our sleeping orientation to ensure we slept “head high.”
- Immediately ordering a set of GoTreads.
Fortunately, as it was just the one night, we were able to get by. We did find ourselves slipping towards the opposite side of the van over the course of the night.
Other takeaways
- The flare adds a good bit of space not only for your head/feet but also for some storage – we were able to keep a sweatshirt and our kindles up there and not be disturbed by them at all during the night.
- The black fabric hooks used to tie up the rear door screens are strong enough to hold our rechargeable fan, providing perfect positioning for some additional airflow during the night.
- The yellow fabric hooks used to tie up the rear window covering when not in use is perfect for hanging a pair of glasses while you sleep.
Our first night was exactly what we needed it to be – showed us some things that would work and some things that didn’t, while providing us with enough time to be able to adjust before heading out on the road. Now, off to REI.
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