floor space in accessible room Zephyr

I am a senior passenger, traveling with my daughter who uses a wheelchair. We have a downstairs accessible room. I have used an upper bunk on an upstairs sleeper, and couldn't deal with the headroom issue. Is there more room in the upper bunk in the downstairs room? and/or Is there room for an air mattress on the floor of the accessible room? She will of course use the main bed but trying to figure out the most comfortable way for me to travel. Thanks!

I believe the headroom will be the same. With the wheelchair, there is very little additional space on the floor.

would air mattress fit if we put the wheelchair on the top bunk?

There are car diagrams at craigmashburn dot com. I think you might have a better chance of fitting an inflatable air mattress onthe floor of the family bedroom.

I would agree that the Family Bedroom would be more conducive to an air mattress, as the floor space in the H room is somewhat oddly shaped. However, the issue with a Family Bedroom would be accessible bathroom facilities, something which the H room has inherently.

Having experienced upper bunks in both upstairs and downstairs Superliner roomettes, my perception is that the downstairs ones have slightly more vertical room. I didn't measure, though, and they're both quite a tight squeeze.

There is not enough space in a Family Bedroom to fit an air mattress on the floor. The room is 5' 2" wide and the lower berth is 3'4" wide, leaving only 1' 10" of floor space. If the OP were to change accommodations, I would suggest booking a downstairs Roomette in addition to the the Accessible Bedroom.

The Accessible Bedroom may be wide enough for a mattress, but I am not sure it is long enough. The room is 9' 5" long, and with the 2' 4" lower berth down that leaves 7' 1". I am not sure how wide the bathroom facilities are, but if they are two feet that leaves only about five feet for a mattress.

Here are left and right side photos of the H-Room in a SuperLiner. The seats and table are on a raised platform from the floor. There might be room for an air mattress if the luggage is removed.from the flat floor.

I have traveled in a Superliner H-room with three different people who couldn't climb to the upper bunk. It helps if all parties are easy-going and flexible, and can see the humor in any oddball setups. In all cases so far I have taken the floor. I like to put my head under the sink so it doesn't get stepped on when the other person gets up in the middle of the night. I try to use the thin mattress that is supposed to cover the lower berth upholstery but can't always snag it, then I fold up whatever soft stuff I can into a little padding. Sometimes I take my chair apart and sometimes I leave it together and slip my feet under it. My chair doesn't have brakes so rolls around (usually over me) if not blocked in well. This is a good reason to take it apart. Nowadays the H-room has a bracket that grabs and holds it.

The most challenging was traveling with my mother. The first time we tried to sleep feet to feet in the lower bed, and we were both awake all night. What we eventually worked out was her big scooter along the back wall, my head under the sink and feet by her bed (so my body was kind of diagonal across the room), and my chair either apart somewhere or parked in front of the toilet. This meant when my mother got up in the middle of the night, she'd step on my feet and wake me, which was exactly what I wanted because she needed help for that.

The curtains that go across the room are just in the way for wheelers. We do privacy other ways, like looking away.

So, I'm figuring you are "senior" by age, not agility, and won't have trouble getting up from the floor. If you'll need a little help, you'll want your daughter's wheelchair at the right place and height, and that will determine whether you take it apart or leave it together by your bed, or put it in the upper bunk (after you've filched the upper bedclothes). There are no grab bars convenient for rising from the floor.

The floors are often filthy and have things sharp enough to put a hole in your air mattress. So I'd recommend a cheap ground cloth (old shower curtain?). If the air mattress does fail, or goes flat before morning, or you just want more padding, then borrow your daughter's mattress and see if she is okay with the remaining padding in her bed. There is another mattress in the upper bunk but it is too high and heavy for me to get down, don't know if your attendant could manage it. Remember it also has to go back up.

I do not think you will have any trouble. If the air mattress doesn't quite fit, just bend one end up or fold a section under. If you are too tall, you may need to sleep bent. If you absolutely can't sleep, you can put a pillow on the toilet lid and swivel around to look out the window, then take a nap the next day in your daughter's bed or the upper bunk. GPS and/or scanner are especially nice looking out a night window. The Zephyr is a stunning route and it is a shame to sleep through any of it.

In RRRick's photos, The luggage is placed against a heater. You can see a little of the metal casing under the sink. Sometimes that gets hot and I have caused burning rubber smells when I thought that was a good place to put shoes. If you are traveling in winter when that might come on, I suggest being careful of your bed and body parts against that back wall.

Hats off to Alice for injecting such good humor into a difficult situation!

Ed.

Alice, you so think like I do! And I loved reading your post to my family! I will figure out some configuration that works for me, or give in and sleep in the coffin up on top. Never really sleep on the train, anyhow

Will she need you in the night? If not, check the price for a roomette for you. You'll sleep better (unless the price is too high).