Pop out bed

[Hybrid]

Hi from a newbie. We have a single axle Surveyor hybrid trailer with the pop out bed in the front. We love it but are having trouble closing the bed up for travel without it bulging into the cabin so much that you can’t sit on the couch.
Does anyone have one of these that knows some tricks for stowing it neatly so you can use your seating area in the trailer.
We are getting very frustrated as we have tried every which way and it doesn’t get better.
I called forest river and they said they would get back to me but never did.

Please help if you know the secret.

Hybrid

[SeaDog]

Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. I'm sure someone on the forum will know what to do. could it be that it has to be closed up without the covers on it? this is just a guess on my part good luck.

[HappyCamper1962]

Originally Posted by Hybrid

Hi from a newbie. We have a single axle Surveyor hybrid trailer with the pop out bed in the front. We love it but are having trouble closing the bed up for travel without it bulging into the cabin so much that you can’t sit on the couch.

Hybrid

I would agree with first looking at how much "stuff" you have on the bed you are trying to fold in. Are you trying to stow it all made up with a mattress topper and sheets & blankets? Might need to bare it down so it needs less room. We also found there is an art to folding the canvas before closing to minimize the chance for it to be pinched by the cable and also to make it as flat as possible/takes up less room then just pushing it in. Flatten it out and then fold it like you are folding a shirt - one end laid to the center and flattened out into a triangle, then the other side laid to the center and flattened out. Then put the lower flap on top and raise the end to close. The last thing I can think of would be to make sure you are using the straps inside the TT that hold the mattress in place the inside once folded. Might need to adjust them tighter so the bed does not interfere with the couch. We had a U-dinette right behind ours so it was a bit of a dance to get everything in place while kneeling or standing on the cushions, lol. If all that fails, then maybe it would be something in the design but I bet that FR thinks it is your process for folding so your call is very low on the priority list for return. Perhaps someone where you purchased it (instead of the manufacturer) could provide help as well. We loved our HTTs, so roomy and comfortable. It was also hard to give up those tent ends but we are older now, so less work rolling in became the priority . Good luck and happy camping!

[bikendan]

Have you looked for videos on your Surveyor model?
Since you didn't mention year and model, hard to look for anything.

[Hybrid]

Thanks for your replies....it is a 2012 surveyor....only about 15 feet. , including the hitch.
We have watched every video we can find.....we notice that a lot of them show them closing up quite sloppily, and no shot of how it looks inside when they are done!

There were no straps on the top edge of the mattress, so we put those on , to keep the mattress from sliding down.

The mattress has three folds in it.....the last section is thicker to accomodate a level change from the floor of the bump out, to a ledge behind the couch section.

There are no toppers or anything else, just the mattress and the canvas itself.

When you are sitting on the couch with the bumpout “in”, the bulge is right at neck, head height, so not very comfortable........we keep trying to fold it in different ways, to no avail.

We keep thinking that it is something completely stupid that we are not grasping😏

So, help! And thank you in advance!

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Hybrid

Thanks for your replies....it is a 2012 surveyor....only about 15 feet. , including the hitch.

Surveyor is the make, not the model number.
And 15' has to be the box length, not the tongue to bumper length.
The smallest Surveyor hybrid in 2012, was the 191T, which is around 20' long.

[Hybrid]

Well my wife wasn’t sure of the length just made a guesstimate and it’s a 2007. It’s a SV 160T. It’s 17’ 1” overall length open or closed. Yes we have watched every video we can find and it seems no one wants to make a video for this model or show what it looks like inside when closed for travel. Some obviously are having similar problems and remedy it by removing the mattress entirely while packed up but that seems a bit silly considering you need all the room this little guy has to offer.
We are not trying to fold all our bedding in or a mattress topper.

Hope this helps and hope someone out there has the same trailer and can give us some tips on stowing this bed and still be able to use the couch and not get a sore neck and back.

Hybrid newbie

[bikendan]

Well, the 160T is not as common as other FR hybrid models, which there are a lot of setup videos.
I remember some hybrid brands required removing the front mattress and putting it on the dinette.
Roo/Shamrock hybrids mattresses had straps that snapped onto the bed platform.
Other makes had vertical straps that held the mattress against the bunk door.

[Hybrid]

Thanks bikendan, maybe someone who has this model will stumble on this thread and have some tips for us. We don’t have a dinette in this model so no place to store the mattress. It’s quite different than the roo/shamrock. Just a couch in the front.

[fastoldguy]

Hybrid, we have the same exact camper. Unfortunately it seems that that is the way it is.