Fixed rear bed vs rear kitchen campervan: which Trouvaille layout suits you?
One of the questions we get asked most at the workshop is how to choose between our layouts...
Plenty of people arrive with their heart set on one ‘van, step inside the other, and go home thinking about something completely different!
If you’re weighing up a fixed rear bed vs rear kitchen campervan, this guide walks you through both of our Trouvaille Classique MWB layouts so you can see which one fits the way you travel.
Why both layouts are 5.4 metres
Before we get into the differences, it’s worth knowing what the two layouts share.
Both are built on the 5.4m Fiat Ducato, and that’s a very deliberate choice - as we're all about drivability. A 5.4m ‘van is one you can use every day, park without a fuss and take down the lanes to the campsites you actually want to stay at.
When it’s well kitted out, it’s all you need – it’s not a compromise. Both layouts can also be built gas free, or with gas if you prefer to cook that way, using the same appliances.
The Rear Kitchen (Layout Option 2)
The big advantage of the Rear Kitchen is that it can carry four people. You’ve got two swivelling front seats and two rear passenger seats, which makes this layout a proper everyday vehicle.
We use ours as the family car, so it does the school run in the week and heads off camping at the weekend. There aren’t many ‘vans out there that can do both, because even plenty of 6 metre and 6.3 metre ‘vans only have the two front seats.
Single beds or a double, depending on who’s with you
At night, the RIB seats make two separate single beds, or they slide together mechanically to make a 6ft x 4ft double. This flexibility is what a lot of our owners love most.
You might be away with your partner one weekend and with a friend the next, and not everyone fancies sharing a double. Singles have a very practical benefit too. You get to an age where you need the loo in the night, and with two single beds you can get up without disturbing the other person.
Some owners leave one side made up as a single bed all the time, pop a few cushions along the back and use it as a sideways settee. You still keep the extra travel seat for whenever you need it.
A big kitchen, and a proper place for the bedding
A good kitchen is really important to us, because we do a lot of cooking when we’re away. The Rear Kitchen gives you a generous amount of worktop space, with plenty of cupboards at eye level and an eye-level fridge, so everything has its own place. You really can’t have too much storage in a ‘van!
The one thing to think about with any layout where you make the bed up every night is where the bedding goes during the day. In the Rear Kitchen, it lives behind the seats, in the footwell space you only need when you’re stretched out at night. You can keep it in bags or simply roll it up, and there’s room for the quilt and topper along with the pillows.
Roof options
The Rear Kitchen is available on the Pop Top, the High Roof and the High Roof Pop Top. The Pop Top keeps the ‘van low for driving and parking, while the High Roof gives you full standing height inside. The High Roof Pop Top gives you the best of both, with full standing height downstairs and extra sleeping space up top.
Choosing the Pop Top or the High Roof Pop Top takes the Rear Kitchen up to four berths. You can also add a Cabbunk front seat bunk from our range of extras. If you’re still working out how many beds you need, our guide to campervan berths is a good place to start.
Shower or fixed toilet
You can add our campervan shower to the Rear Kitchen on the High Roof and the High Roof Pop Top, as the shower needs that full standing height. It’s a purpose-made, fully moulded fibreglass pod with a roller blind on the door, so there’s no shower curtain sticking to you. The layout uses the same footprint with or without it, and all you give up is a little width and a few cupboards.
Some people choose to stick with the fixed toilet, because they’d rather keep that extra width and storage. There’s no right or wrong answer here, and it really comes down to how you like to travel.
What Motorhome magazine summed it up nicely when they reviewed this layout:
“Orange Campers continues to offer more choice in its range of compact 5.4m campervans, with this latest derivative adding a shower without compromising the rest of the spacious interior. High spec and a high-quality finish continue to impress.”
You can also find out what Peter Vaughan thought of the Rear Kitchen with the Atek Pop Top, including why the shower impressed him so much.
The Fixed Rear Bed (Layout Option 3)
A fixed bed is a bit like Marmite – some people love it, and some won’t consider one at all, so it’s really important that it works for the way you travel.
For us, the big draw is how easy it is to use. When we head away without the kids, the Fixed Rear Bed is the ‘van we always grab. You can throw everything in the boot and set off without any plans!
The front of the ‘van is your living and dining area, with the table at the front and seats that swivel round while you’re sat in them. When you arrive, there’s nothing to set up and no bed to make.
It isn’t a traditional fixed bed layout either. A lot of fixed bed ‘vans squeeze in a twin passenger seat alongside a big shower, and they can feel quite cramped as a result. We wanted something more open, so the Fixed Rear Bed gives you two clearly separate spaces that don’t get in each other’s way.
A bed that’s always made up and ready
At the back, you’ve got a 6ft 5 x 4ft double bed with a 10cm thick mattress, and it stays made up all the time. You don’t need to make the bed every evening, and you don’t need to find somewhere to store your bedding during the day. Having a proper bed ready to jump into at the end of the day really is a luxury.
The bed height is adjustable as well. You can lower it for easy access with no ladder, or raise it for even more storage underneath. If you’re on the taller side, the optional side pod takes the bed out to 6ft 7.
We’ve written more about the top reasons our customers love the Fixed Rear Bed if you’d like the full picture.
All that space under the bed
Storage is where the Fixed Rear Bed really comes into its own. The space under the bed takes two folding bikes, and one owner measured up and found he could fit his full-size bike in with just the front wheel off!
If you’ve got a hobby, you’ll spend a lot of your time away doing it, so it makes sense to choose a ‘van that makes room for your kit. Time is precious, and anything that makes it more enjoyable is worth having.
It’s a lovely layout for travelling with pets too. You can choose a dog gate instead of the wardrobe, which opens up the space so your dog can move around in the back. We’ve even had owners travel with rabbits! There’s also a drying area with a waterproof floor and a drain outlet, plus a heater vent, which is perfect for wet coats and muddy paws after a long walk.
Roof options
The Fixed Rear Bed is available on the High Roof and the High Roof Pop Top only, as the layout needs that full standing height to work. As standard, it’s a two-berth ‘van with two travel seats, and adding the pop top gives you sleeping space for four.
Shower or fixed toilet
The shower is now an option on the Fixed Rear Bed for new build slots. It’s a fully enclosed walk-in shower room that we’ve designed in-house for this layout, made from a sealed fibreglass pod with a screen door. It has its own roof vent with an extractor fan, as well as its own lighting, and the toilet stays where it is while you shower.
If you’d rather keep more open space, you can stick with the sit-down electric flush toilet, which has privacy screens around it. Plenty of people find they can manage without a shower, because you can freshen up in the ‘van and stop at a campsite every few days. You are still camping, after all!
What the reviewers and owners say
When Campervan magazine reviewed the Fixed Rear Bed, Peter Vaughan wrote:
“The latest layout may be for couples only but it takes a fresh approach to the fixed bed format and creates a more spacious feel as a result.”
At the time, their only real niggles were the lack of an onboard shower and the ladder up to the bed. Since then, we’ve added the walk-in shower and the adjustable bed height, so both of those are now taken care of.
Our very first Fixed Rear Bed owners, Emma and Jim, told us:
“We absolutely love the way it’s finished.”
You can read how they and other owners are getting on in our blog about how the Fixed Rear Bed layout is performing in the real world.
Watch both layouts side by side
If you’d like to see both layouts properly, Richard walks you through each one in this video, from the boot to the beds:
Fixed rear bed vs rear kitchen campervan at a glance
Rear Kitchen (Layout Option 2) | Fixed Rear Bed (Layout Option 3) | |
Length | 5.4m | 5.4m |
Roof options | Pop Top, High Roof, High Roof Pop Top | High Roof, High Roof Pop Top |
Travel seats | 4 | 2 (upgradable to 3) |
Berths | 2, or 4 with a Pop Top or High Roof Pop Top | 2, or 4 with the High Roof Pop Top |
Bed | Two singles or a 6ft x 4ft double | 6ft 5 x 4ft fixed double, always made up |
Bed extras | No filler cushions needed | Adjustable height, side pod to 6ft 7 |
Bedding storage | Behind the seats in the footwell space | Stays on the bed |
Shower | Optional fibreglass shower pod (High Roof and High Roof Pop Top) | Optional fully enclosed walk-in shower room |
Standout storage | Eye-level cupboards and a big kitchen | Large space under the bed for bikes and kit |
Pets | Room for a dog in the living area | Optional dog gate and a drying area |
Gas | Gas or gas free | Gas or gas free |
Which layout suits you?
The Rear Kitchen tends to suit people who need to carry passengers, whether that’s the school run or the grandkids coming along for the weekend. It’s also the one to look at if your ‘van will double up as your everyday car, or if you like being able to switch between single beds and a double depending on who you’re travelling with.
The Fixed Rear Bed tends to suit couples who mainly travel as two and want a ‘van that’s ready the moment they arrive. If you travel with bikes or a dog, that big space under the bed wins people over. It’s a lovely choice, too, if making up the bed every night is the part of camping you’d happily skip.
Our best advice is to talk to as many people as you can who’ve lived with both. People who use their ‘vans week in, week out have so much useful experience to share, and our owners are always happy to chat.
Whichever layout you choose, our promise stays the same: continuous care, long after you drive away.
A new Layout Option 1 is on its way
If you’ve been wondering where Layout Option 1 is, keep your eyes peeled! We’ve got a brand new Layout Option 1 coming in 2027, and we can’t wait to show you what the team has been working on. Make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter, and you’ll be among the first to hear about it.
Come and see both layouts for yourself
Reading about layouts only gets you so far, and this isn’t a decision anybody should make from photographs. The best thing you can do is come and stand inside both ‘vans and see how each one would work for you.
A workshop tour is the easiest way to do that. You’ll be welcomed into our cosy welcome area and get a proper look at live production while the workshop is in full swing. Every ‘van is built here at our Made in Britain accredited workshop in Rotherham, so you’ll see the innovation, design and quality that goes into each one. It’s also the best way to grab a 2027 build slot before they’re snapped up!
Please note: Information in this blog was correct at the time of publishing. Links, offers, specifications and product availability may change over time.
Comments