Reconfiguring a 2 sleeper into a 4 sleeper

Sounds a bit like us, we have 3 kids 4-7-10 and have been looking for years at all options on the market, as we dont travel for extended time and only for holidays it is not worth it to buy a big van, we have had the camper trailer and to be honest it looks cool to tow, cool looking when set up but i hated it, we have done the tent thing and that sux also, after looking at all sorts of types of vans i came accross a Winsor Rapid, cant remember the model but it had a "pop out" double bed at each end and was a "pop top" off road van with independent suspension, it had everything we ever needed, was small enough to be "small" but big enough to be perfect for us as a family, when towing you still could pull up and go inside of it to sit down around the small table and make a cuppa without popping the top or ends down, it was for sale on this site but we could not get enough togeather to get it here, freight is our killer and we were simply to busy to take time off to pick it up, i kinda now regret it...
It also had excellent ratings and reviews.
Cheers
Joe

Wal,
Rather than having Mum, Dad and the Kids all in the one bed, which would be a bit squashy, can you adapt the dining area into a double for you and Mum?

My old Viscount has 2 single beds at the rear and a cafe style dining area up front, side Kitchen.
The dining table drops into the space between the seats and the cushions fold out flat to make a good size double which we use when we occasionally have the grandkids with us.

SWMBO made up a heavy lined curtain to separate the kids sleeping space from the rest of the van at night.

The only drawback is that you have to rearrange the table set up before you can eat.
We use a made up double sheet envelope (2 double sheets sewn together) and a doona which folds up and goes under the seat each morning
A bit of lateral thinking may solve your problem (leave the kids with Grandma and Pop perhaps).

Disco

Mate has a 13 footer which sleeps him, his wife and 3 kids ages 17, 15 and 14.
He turned the thing into a "sleeping box" as he calls it.

Biggest gain was from getting rid of the kitchen. His justification was that in 8 years of using the van, he never cooked in the thing EVER. Kept a bit of bench space and the fridge, but most of the cupboards went. He stores his food stuff in those big plastic roll out tubs that you can get from the cheap shops, under the beds.

Front bunk (east/west), then a double at the back (north/south) with a custom single above it in a (east/west configiration).

In leui of the kitch, he added a box to the A frame which houses his BBQ and other cooking gear. He added an outside tap that's plumbed to the water tank and a bench/table that locks into a channel which is permanently mounted along the exterior of the van.

It took a bit of time to do it all, but very little $$$$ and he reckons he wouldn't have it any other way. For him, the shallow approach and departure angles made getting a larger van out of the question.

Fab.