Bunk "crib" advice - Viking 17BH

[noohoc]

Hello All!
The sun is shining in NS today... still below freezing with the wind, but it's enough to have me dreaming of the summer and camping days coming our way!

We purchased our 2017 Coachmen Viking 17BH last year and used it for 2 (very wet!) weekends with a 2 month old baby and 5 yr old. Since the babe was so small at the time, we simply laid him on the bottom bunk with pillows all around to create a safe sleeping space for him.

Fast forward to now, and he's a crawling, rolling, pulling up, soon to be walking machine who will be a year old in May... there is NO way he will be staying put in that bunk.

I've been scouring the internet for ideas, but since the bunk options and layouts are all so different, I was hoping someone here would have more specific advice on how we can create some sort barricade to keep LO safe.

My husband doesn't love the idea of drilling holes into our brand new camper for a short term solution, but we also need something sturdy enough to contain a feisty soon to be toddler. Ideally we would like to be able to see him through whatever this is, and be able access him quickly without dismantling the whole set up every time. Bonus points for pictures! Aaaand GO! lol

[MillMitch]

Made me laugh, our first kid learned to crawl while we were tent camping. Hadn't packed anything to 'contain' him. Ended up zipping him in the tent (screen door), we could see him but it kept him from wandering off when we were both busy. My first thought would be to put some hooks around the bunk opening and find some small holed netting. You might need something stronger, depends on how bad they want out.
Good luck.

[Kaadk]

Mine were a little bigger than yours when we started with the trailer (4 & 3) so we were able to make do with a set of bed rails. I don't have a photo of ours, but they were the ones kind of like this:


Photo courtesy of Walmart

I always intended to strap them down to the bunk, but my kids were heavy enough to just weigh them down by laying on them so I never really got around to it.

[noohoc]

We had one of those for our daughter in our popup, but she was older as well. I just worry that our monkey may try to climb over the top... perhaps they make a taller version that would cover the whole opening.

The netting option is something I had seen online and seemed pretty easy to deal with, but I too question the strength vs a child that really wants out lol

[Kaadk]

There was no climbing over ours, I could barely fit my arm through the opening between the top and the top bunk in order to fix the blankets when needed. But yeah, I have no idea how sturdy it is to hold a kid who really wants to get out.

[noohoc]

well that's good to know! now that the trailer isnt covered in snow, I'll take a pop out to measure the opening.. maybe its way easier than I was envisioning! lol

[Kaadk]

I should clarify, we had a Flagstaff 29QBSS, not the same rig as your Viking, so yours will be different, don't just take my word for it that it will work in your rig.

[ependydad]

Here's what someone else did. I didn't look at your layout, though.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...te-144125.html

Just remember- anything you do needs to be quickly and easily undoable in the event of an emergency! In a caustic smoke filled rig, you have 2 minutes (if that) to get you and the kids out.

[ependydad]

For our son, we just took the pack and play and stuck him in there but we had the benefit of a full bunkroom. When we had guests and it was full, we would convert the dinette to a bed and put the pack and play on top of it.

[kylemcmahon1]

We do have a separate bunk room. But we just pull the mattress off the bunk and put it on the floor for my daughter to sleep on until we feel safe she will stay in bed. May not be room in every camper to do that.

[noohoc]

Yeah, no bunk room here, just the bare minimum lol... the set up in our trailer really has no space for a pack n play unless we put the dinette down, and honestly, we sold the popup because I was sick of the constant moving of "stuff" from one place to another and the set up and take down of things.. so i'm hoping to come up with another plan that is easier.

Here's a pic of how our bunks are set up:


I just measured the opening for the bottom and its 34" long X 27" tall... looks like most of the conventional bed rails are 43" in length..

[kylemcmahon1]

Originally Posted by noohoc

Yeah, no bunk room here, just the bare minimum lol... the set up in our trailer really has no space for a pack n play unless we put the dinette down, and honestly, we sold the popup because I was sick of the constant moving of "stuff" from one place to another and the set up and take down of things.. so i'm hoping to come up with another plan that is easier.



Here's a pic of how our bunks are set up:





I just measured the opening for the bottom and its 34" long X 27" tall... looks like most of the conventional bed rails are 43" in length..

Now that I see your setup. Our first camper had a similar setup. Get one of the basic old school baby gates. Like our parents used when we were kids. May have to cut it down if you are good at stuff like that. No drilling or anything permanent. Put up and take down.
Baby gate like this is what I am talking about.

[Kaadk]

Length's not an issue, just tuck it in beside the that wall, we did the same thing with a wardrobe on ours. Instead of folding it down (which the lip of the bunk gets in the way of anyways) you slide it sideways to make the opening, and then slide it back. So, at 27" tall, if you find one that's say, 24" tall, you've got reachable room without kid getting out room.

[noohoc]

I thought about the pressure mounted kind, I just wasn't sure if they were designed to be up off the ground with the weight of a kid against it or if the floor was part of how it stayed sturdy.

And good point about sliding it out of the way, I was caught up on the fact that if it was too long, we couldn't swing it down! I clearly need to get this baby brain to start thinking outside the box haha

[jljj]

Originally Posted by kylemcmahon1

Now that I see your setup. Our first camper had a similar setup. Get one of the basic old school baby gates. Like our parents used when we were kids. May have to cut it down if you are good at stuff like that. No drilling or anything permanent. Put up and take down.
Baby gate like this is what I am talking about.
Attachment 167362

Agreed. We used this with our 10 month old and it worked really well with the same setup.

[panamabear]

We use the accordion type gate to keep our puppies out of the bed which should work to keep a child in bed.
When not in use it folds flat and can be kept in place with a bungee cord.

[Larry-NC]

For a solution that's really compact when not in use, get two "Tension Shower Rods" from Lowes, Home Depot, or Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and some "Cargo Netting" like this one from Amazon, or maybe a little narrower one. Six foot tension rods and this six foot cargo net should do it.

When not using it, leave the rods interwoven through the net, put the two together, and roll the net around them.

Larry

[Threegaleh]

I put up the same type of bed rail as pictured the one for putting on the edge of a bed for my grandson. He was 1 1/2 and was really good about staying in there. Since the side of the bunk is not fully open it actually blocked the whole opening quite well. It was very easy to unhook if I needed. I would lay with him while he fell asleep then put up the rail.

[Orlando bull]

I would use the tension gate with that setup, should work great. I actually built a gate out of PVC lattice for ours, but, we have a larger opening with 45 degree bend, so, I couldn't get a tension gate to work. I put minimal holes in and feel confident that if I had to get to her quickly, I could rip it down. Putting up what I have is kind of a pain to get the holes to line up (I have fixed pins in the bottom and gate latches on top, all of which have to fit in their respective holes with very little play).

[ependydad]

I have to admit- I don’t think I’d use netting unless you can get it very taut. I’d worry about an entrapment/strangulation hazard.

I do like the portable gate idea. With my son, it was the fact that there was a gate there at all. A lot of times, we would just prop it up and he wouldn’t challenge it.