Adding roof bed to 2 berth symphony or symbol

Good evening

Thanks for letting me join the forum, Me and my wife are currently looking at upgrading from a folding camper that has served us and our little one (now eight) for the last 5 years very well, with everything going on and trips abroad being cancelled for the foreseeable we are looking at going more mobile, after spending some time looking into the minefield of motorhomes we have narrowed our needs down to a few models 2 of which are the symbol and symphony. Now there seem to be a lot more 2 berths than 4 berths on the market and my question is how easy would it be to add the roof bed to a 2 berth, I can see there is a cupboard and surround on the 2 berth instead of the opening with slats on the 4 berth but wondered if this would be a simple modification or a complete no go. Sorry for such a newbie question but I thought I would turn to the experts before making a potentially disastrous (and expensive) mistake

I've no experience with the Symbol, we had a 2003 Duetto which was similar though based on the Ford Transit. What I do remember from the Duetto's manual was some reference to there being a bed in the roof space, I assume that A-S did supply some Duettos with this extra bed. A work of caution, towards the end of our use of our first campervan I hired an Autohomes Avalon from near Thorpe Park, and three of had a holiday visiting the Black Forest. My son found sleeping in the roof space unpleasant with his nose only inches away from the roof and the mattress far too thin for comfort.

Though often described as 2+2 it's more precise to say 2+1 as the roof space is only suitable for a small child. I'm assuming you've already bought a 2 berth? If not and you definitely want a 2+2 i'd search around for one of those in preference to doing a DIY 'mod'. Not saying it can't be done, but it's a lot of faff.

The Duetto i used to own was a 2+2 model and all the slats for the roof berth were brand new, never used. Soon as i bought the van they came out and were stored at home until i came to sell it on.

I've owned a high-top with roof bed (actually a Rapport) and I would agree that the space is pretty limited - but I think you would find it Ok with an 8-10 year old provided you sold it to them correctly.

Conversion to add the roof bed should not technically be very hard - but will be heavily dependent on your trimming skills, as making up the padded bed panels and covering them will require a fair amount of skill. If you can DIY that sort of stuff then it's probably a viable option. If not, I think you will struggle to find a company willing to do the work, given the sudden rise in popularity of camper van, as all of the professional outfits seem to have more work than they need.

We had a 2000 Harmony which is similar. It still had the upper bed, consisting of 4 or 5 panels lying on top of each other occupying all of the space above the cab roof. They slid out onto rails built into the sides of the habitation area.

They had the following features.......

1 They were incredibly heavy, when we consigned ours to the garage loft we couldn't believe how heavy they were
2 The "mattress" was just a layer of foam perhaps 3/4" thick glued to the ply panels then covered with cloth, not my idea of a comfy bed!
3 When in place, access below them was very tight, indeed near impossible to make up the lower bed if not already done. Headroom in the upper bed very limited too.
4 A ladder (ours was missing) also sits in the roof area, and is essential to get into/out of the bed, bear in mind that the "headroom" in the bed space is 15 or 18" at best
5 With the upper bed stowed away, there is then no available space above the cab for sleeping bags pillows, clothes etc

To make things worse ( you may have gathered we made a huge mistake buying the Harmony, especially after a Warwick Duo) the lower beds made from a conglomeration of cab seats, settee etc were never comfortable no matter what we did.

You are doing exactly the right thing in exploring this before buying, I lost £8k on our brief ownership of the Harmony and simply couldn't wait to see it disappear down the drive when it went!!

If you have only one child to consider, a bed made like a stretcher going across  the van in the cab area would be a much better solution. Something like the Duo with twin singles at the back and the x wise bed in the cab would be a far better option, I know a lot more expensive, but have a look at all of the monocoque autosleepers first.

Sorry if sound less than enthusiastic!!

I have two Duvalay mattresses in unused condition that were bought as an upgrade for the overcab bed in a Swift Escape. Let me know if you have any interest?