Grandby layout question

CaseyB

New member
First off hello. This is my first post on this site. Been lurking till late into the night looking over pics, modifications, etc.

Without being able to sit in one, I'm having a difficult time figuring out what layout in the FWC Grandby, would work best for me and my gf.

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I'm not interested in the shower or porta John.

Seems like if you have the bed pulled all the way out, it's going to cover half of the 'front dinette layout'. Not sure if the same is true with the side model.

My initial planned trip will be multiple months straight. Will be traveling w my enduro bike and plan on getting deep into the sticks, prior to even unloading the bike :smiley_drive: not sure how this info helps my question, just wanted to give an idea of my plans.

Any thoughts from first hand knowledge would be appreciated.
 

Martyn

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Casey, with the front dinette you lose the front seating area when you pull the bed out. With the side dinette you lose one seat and are left with the back seat and the table available.

For some people the front dinette is not a problem as they get up and go to bed at the same time, or they don't pull the bed out all the way to sleep preferring a narrower bed.

It's a quandary for our family as my wife and I both prefer the layout of the front dinette, but I go to bed early and get up early and she goes to bed late and gets up late. So the side dinette is more practical for us.

The other slight consideration to take into account is that the side dinette has the windows behind the seats, and the side dinette has a large window next to the table that you can look out of when seated. Not a big consideration for us as we spend most of our time outside.

Hope that helps.
 

bill harr

Adventurer
If you are looking at a grandby and want the full size bed I would do this. Side dinette and move the seats and table to the rear. Leave the bed pulled out and have storage in the area under the pull out. I have a Hawk with a side dinette really wanted the front dinette until the wife and I stood in one. Much less storage and 1/2 the floor space to stand.
 

Martyn

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
If you are looking at a grandby and want the full size bed I would do this. Side dinette and move the seats and table to the rear. Leave the bed pulled out and have storage in the area under the pull out. I have a Hawk with a side dinette really wanted the front dinette until the wife and I stood in one. Much less storage and 1/2 the floor space to stand.[/QUOTE

I like the idea, but wouldn't it restrict the access to the camper via the rear door?
 

bill harr

Adventurer
If you are looking at a grandby and want the full size bed I would do this. Side dinette and move the seats and table to the rear. Leave the bed pulled out and have storage in the area under the pull out. I have a Hawk with a side dinette really wanted the front dinette until the wife and I stood in one. Much less storage and 1/2 the floor space to stand.[/QUOTE

I like the idea, but wouldn't it restrict the access to the camper via the rear door?

The Granby has a lot more room than the Hawk. You could have the bed pulled out, front seat back even with the edge of the bed and still have more room in the back than a Hawk.
 

CaseyB

New member
It's a quandary for our family as my wife and I both prefer the layout of the front dinette, but I go to bed early and get up early and she goes to bed late and gets up late. So the side dinette is more practical for us.
Good point, my gf and I are the same but I'm the late night person and late riser.
Thank you for the feedback

If you are looking at a grandby and want the full size bed I would do this. Side dinette and move the seats and table to the rear. Leave the bed pulled out and have storage in the area under the pull out. I have a Hawk with a side dinette really wanted the front dinette until the wife and I stood in one. Much less storage and 1/2 the floor space to stand.

Spent some time last night reading up on your build, pretty cool stuff. I'm not as handy as you, so I'm not so sure how easy it would be to accomplish moving everything around. Does sound like a fantastic idea.

currently visiting some family and I see there is a dealer an 1hr away. I think I need to just drop by and check em out.

Before I posed the question here, I was mentally leaning towards the side dinette layout
 

dscobell

New member
Casey, you should search You Tube for fwc Grandby.. You should find several videos of a family of five and their Grandby. At least one shows the interior with a front dinette. I t looks to me like two adults can sit at the table when the bed is pulled out. We are a family of three and that was our impression when we sat in the demo model at the dealer. If ours arrives, Dec. schedule, before you order I would be happy to take pics. Dan
 

Martyn

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Sorry, for some reason I thought you were considering a Hawk not a Grandby. The extra length you gain in the Grandby is made up by extending the seating in the front dinette for four people. So as dscobell and bill harr say there would be room to sit when the bed was pulled out.
 

fireball

Explorer
Look at the FWC website. On the grandby page they have photos showing the front dinette with the overhead bed in the stowed position. You can see the tracks for extending the bed and how much they'd cover the seating area.

They have photos of the side dinette layout with the upper bed stowed and extended so you can get a very good idea of how that layout works.

We really like our hawk with side dinette but you need to consider how you will use the camper to decide on your best layout.

It's more of a hassle then you might think to deploy and stow the upper bed. Once ours is out we usually leave it that way.
 

Frosty_1

Adventurer
Side dinette floor space is much better to me in our Hawk. If you have a dog(s), definitely consider floor space, as our dog/dog bed takes up quite a bit of space.
 

elmo_4_vt

Explorer
First off hello. This is my first post on this site. Been lurking till late into the night looking over pics, modifications, etc.

Without being able to sit in one, I'm having a difficult time figuring out what layout in the FWC Grandby, would work best for me and my gf.


So why not go sit in one? Your info shows NJ, and if so, you can't be more than 2hrs from one of the Main-Line showrooms. I was important for me to sit in it before putting the money down so we could better visualize the arrangements.

Don

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CaseyB

New member
Casey, you should search You Tube for fwc Grandby.. You should find several videos of a family of five and their Grandby. At least one shows the interior with a front dinette. I t looks to me like two adults can sit at the table when the bed is pulled out. We are a family of three and that was our impression when we sat in the demo model at the dealer. If ours arrives, Dec. schedule, before you order I would be happy to take pics. Dan

You must be excited and thanks for the offer

Sorry, for some reason I thought you were considering a Hawk not a Grandby. The extra length you gain in the Grandby is made up by extending the seating in the front dinette for four people. So as dscobell and bill harr say there would be room to sit when the bed was pulled out.

Now I'm really not sure haha

Look at the FWC website. On the grandby page they have photos showing the front dinette with the overhead bed in the stowed position. You can see the tracks for extending the bed and how much they'd cover the seating area.

They have photos of the side dinette layout with the upper bed stowed and extended so you can get a very good idea of how that layout works.

We really like our hawk with side dinette but you need to consider how you will use the camper to decide on your best layout.

It's more of a hassle then you might think to deploy and stow the upper bed. Once ours is out we usually leave it that way.

Knowing how I am, I'm sure I would be the same and would just want to leave it in one spot

So why not go sit in one? Your info shows NJ, and if so, you can't be more than 2hrs from one of the Main-Line showrooms. I was important for me to sit in it before putting the money down so we could better visualize the arrangements.

Don

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That's the plan Don. I'm in NH taking care of my sisters kids. They did just open up a showroom an hr away but they are still in the process of moving their stock around/to it

I am in Jersey, closest one is in west Chester PA. They currently have a side dinnet in stock. When I get back home, I plan on taking the drive down (I'm in north western jersey). In a prefect world, I would find a showroom w both models. I'm sure I would make my mind up that much quicker

Looking at this vid - and btw, I've watched every single video on fwc website - anyways the gentleman in the video seems to be more fit and a tad shorter. I'm 6' 220lbs. Judging from when he sits down, I'm now not so sure the side dinette would work comfortably for me. Which leaves me still searching for a front dinette somewhere in stock to check out.

I'll figure it out. I'm a bit ocd. It's just a big purchase for me and having first hand knowledge shared is huge. Which is why I posed the question here. This is a great site/ resource btw and I'm happy to have found it.
 

elmo_4_vt

Explorer
I'm pretty sure the dinette in the flatbed models is the same as the normal slide in models, at least as far as the cushions, dimensions, and table size. I know the West Chester location has a flat-bed Grandby in stock, and I have a Hawk if you'd like to look at the difference (basically just 13 inches less width in the dinette area). It won't be a perfect comparison because of where it is in the overall camper and the placement of other equipment, but it will at least get the sizing part down. For what it's worth, I'm 6', 195 and fit well in the dinette of mine.

The guy in all the FWC videos is the owner, and yes, he's a bit smaller. I've only met him once, just recently at the East Coast Overland Expo, and if I had to guess, I'm thinking 5'-9" or 10".

Don

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