A Solution to the Sleeping Situation: An Airstream Hammock

So you saw the tour of the trailer we’re traveling in (if you missed it, here’s the tour) which naturally led to the question: where do all the kids sleep?!

Sleeping arrangement was a big factor when choosing what to take on this 4 month trip. It felt important that each of us had a place to allow for some sort of routine and normalcy.

Our trailer is 28′ with a L-shaped sofa that pulls out into a double(ish) sized bed, a dinette that folds down into a double bed and a Queen bed in the back.

We bought the trailer only a few weeks before we left and Ryan and the kids only slept in it once while I was away for the weekend. Basically, we loaded it all up, took off and decided we’d figure out a good sleeping arrangement along the way.

Over those first three weeks, we tried every sleeping option:

• Two kids on the dinette, two on the couch, Ryan and me on the bed
• Two kids on the Queen bed, two on the floor on either side of the bed, Ryan and me on the couch
• Two kids on the dinette, one on the couch, one on the floor, us in the bed
• One on the dinette, two on the couch, one on the floor, us in the bed.

That last arrangement seemed to work the best, but we weren’t crazy about our youngest son having to sleep on the floor. First, it was hard to move around with him blocking the doorway. Second, it was dirty.

While in Flagstaff, we came upon an REI and decided to go in and see if they had a short and skinny cot that might fit in the small space.

They didn’t have the right sized cot, but we did find another solution:

Yep. A hammock.

That hammock is now a fourth bed that fits our cutie 8 year old (both in size and personality) and gives each of the kids a place of their own.

Honestly, we weren’t even sure if it would work. We bought this hammock and mounting kit and decided to just give it a try. If it failed, we thought, at least we’d have a hammock we could hang outside. We ran through a few different hanging options – from the ceiling? across the dinette? – and ultimately decided on under the overhead, above the couch.

The hammock we went with is the smallest we could find. It is very lightweight, fairly skinny and shorter than most. While still usable for a full-size adult, it is particularly great for a not-yet-full-size kid.

Ryan was super hesitant to drill any holes into the metal (defacing the gorgeous Airstream aluminum? Never!) and also wanted to make sure the hammock would hold our son. He chose the overhead cabinet because it is secured into the structure of the Airstream and it can hold enough weight. We don’t have anything heavy in the cabinet and Mason is a little guy so we felt good about it.

The first step was slightly painful for Ryan … drilling into the cabinet.

Next he screwed in the indoor mounting hardware we picked up with the hammock.

And then clipped the carabiner to the bracket. The hammock comes with carabiners, but Ryan used the ones that came with the kit.

Once installed, the bracket and carabiner are hardly noticeable, which is nice.

Then we hooked in the hammock and stretched it across.

To make it a little shorter and keep it up a little higher, we tied knots in each end of the hammock and clipped the carabiner through each one.

We installed the bed while in a Home Depot parking lot because how many times have you attempted a diy project only to find you’re missing a screw?!

The kids were hanging out in the car watching a movie and Ryan and I decided to just put it up and see if it worked. Once it was hanging and we were pretty certain it would hold, we called in Mason to surprise him with a new just-for-him bed. His reaction was pretty cute.

This kiddo is our happy introvert who needs consistency and some alone time. Both are hard to come by when you’re moving from place to place and living in 200 square feet with five other people. Giving him a bed of his own – and a fun, special one! – was one little way we could make this experience easier on him.

One of the best things about this hammock situation is clean up is super easy. Each morning the kids are tasked with putting away their beds. Mason’s bed is the easiest; he puts away his blanket, clips both carabiners to one side and he’s ready to go.

This hammock has made all the difference in our sleeping arrangement. Now, each kid feels like they have space to stretch out and we’re using the vertical space instead of the floor.

Plus, we had a bit of fun installing it :)