Thanks Jo! She does have a name :-) "Beatrice the Chicken"

So the bed... this was a big effort.

We originally planned to put in a standard bed frame and use good quality foam mattresses on top. The frame would have hinges on the far edge, so that it could be lifted to access the storage space underneath. After going so far as to order and install the frame, it became clear that the space was just too tight to be able to lift the bed once it was in place. A new plan was hatched...

We'd planned to order the mattresses from a local Swiss company, fanello.ch, as they make them custom, including the strange curves that are often found in caravans. When I visited the factory to bring them the template for our bed, they showed me their flagship solution, where the bed slats are integrated into the mattress. We'd dismissed this idea because it was a) more expensive; b) seemed more complicated. However, once it was obvious the bed frame wouldn't work, we made the quick decision (as time before our holiday was running out) to create a frame that works with their system.

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The Fanello "MyLit" system at their showroom.

The turnaround for the production of the mattresses was thankfully very quick (I think a week), and while I drove out to the factory to pick them up one Saturday morning, my OH created a bed frame that would work with our new mattresses.

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One first installation, they fitted perfectly!

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One of the things that did appeal to us, was the ease of accessing the under-bed storage with these mattresses. Because the slats are integrated, you can actually fold up the mattress onto itself at the half-way point. This means that we can access any part under the bed by just flipping up one quadrant of the bed. Or, we can flip one mattress onto the other, and have access to half the space.

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Underneath the bed, my OH also installed a couple of simple rails, and some mounting points at each end. We put standard size boxes between the rails, then use a strap over the mounting points to secure the boxes during transit. Once we were actually at the camping site, we found that we often left one corner flipped up during the day and would access the boxes there as necessary.

Finally - I can report that they are very comfortable! We have had five nights in the caravan now, and the mattresses have been fantastic. The whole system worked a lot better than we expected. I'd definitely recommend it, despite the high cost.