Double Bed Layout. A-Sleeper Sussex 2004.

Hi Everyone, Bought my first A.S van on Sat . (We have owned caravans in past , when kids were young).  so very new to all this  .

Can anyone advise on how to utilize the extra 2/3 cushions to make the double bed larger.  As just slightly too tall to sleep width ways.  Do both front cab (captains) seats need to be swivelled round ?  
Oops sorry, It is a 2004 Peugot Boxer Chassis, Sussex Conversion by Auto Sleeper and has a few "Marquis" extras (i think).

Hi and welcome to the forum.
We have owned our Symbol for about 4 months now and the forum has been great as we were totally new to motor-homing ourselves.

I think your van is basically the same as ours with a few extras.

As for beds, we have mostly used the double without the infill cushions and slept across the van, although we have also used as 2 singles, which is more convenient in the middle of the night...............

To use the infill cushions, both front seats need to be pushed forward as far as they will go.  The two cushions that are the same size, then fit behind the front seats, hard side down on top of the front seat rails.  In my experience, they appear too large, but with some effort they do fit and provide a good base.
If you wish to make a longitudinal double then first slide across the bench seat to the middle of the van and insert the 2 infills as before.  The additional infill then fits between these to complete the bed.

I hope that makes sense !  If you have an original handbook the the layout is shown in diagram form.

Enjoy your van

Carver

Thank you Carver, for the welcome and excellent advice, I will have a "play" with the seating tomorrow eve and keep you informed  .

Cheers again

Evening  Well, Had a go at extending the double bed tonight, using the extra cushions fitted behind cab seats. Was hoping it would make a longer double and allow us to sleep lengthways along the van. But still not long enough (actually more length lying across width of van). 
Going to try making the full bed this weekend when away ,and lay more diagonal without playing footsie with other  half.     Ps i am 5'11. By the way.

 Anyone else come across this ?  

   Boston Blue

Me again..... sorry, Just realised mine is the ES (extra seat) model. Wonder if this makes difference to bed size ?

Hi
I believe that the ES model will have the same size beds.  Just the offside seat is arranged differently to allow a 4th travelling passenger.
I'm 5'10" and find  the singles just big enough.  Like you, we find using the transverse double allows a little more length if you lie at a slight angle when you need to stretch out a little.  It also means there is no need to take the infills which can take up a lot of storage.

Thanks Carver, you are a star !!!!! 

We spent a lot of time looking for a van to suite my height, I am only six foot. All the Pug and Fiat based van convertions were the same sleeping across the van. My feet touched the door with my head against the other side. I tried the end on double in one but my feet were hanging over the end in the passage way by the cooker. We thought it was us  that had the bed layout wrong. It caused a few funny looks in some dealers when we asked to try the beds  .
Our Duetto works for us but it will take a lot of searching before we find anything with better beds. If you look at the bed sizes as advertised I think they don't allow for pillows or any sort of movement. . I do hope you get sorted a good nights sleep means so much.

We sleep across the Rapport - it's missing the (optional!) cushions to make up the longitudinal double bed and it's enough hassle already without swivelling the passenger seat, reclining both of them and putting the infill in. We cope because firstly my wife is small, so I can sleep diagonally and still leave room, and secondly we use a French round bolster or 'traversin' as a pillow which I reckon saves a good 6 inches in length over normal pillows. I'm only 5' 10" though, and it's definitely still a bit cramped.

I guess you can't change your wife, so maybe try one of these if you can find one:
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We got ours from a cheap shop when we lived in France and it was much cheaper than this (€16?), but the cover isn't removable so the whole thing has to go in the wash. No great hardship. It's 120cm long, which is perfect for the bed in this van, although it was too long for the one we bought it for.

Thanks for the excellent advice / comments; Richard and Dave . I will try sleeping at slight angle (almost diagonally), this weekend , which is only our second outing with the van. Also i will try sleeping other side of the bed nearest the kitchen this time. 
 Think i may have something like your "bolster" idea from my dodgy neck days, def worth a try also.
 Definitely wouldn't change my partner (wife one day  ) She too is petite, but gorgeous with it !!  
So true, a good nights kip , sooooooo important for enjoyment of the van .