VANNON’s Sprinter Makes Room for Tall Gear With a Foldaway Bed

Most raised camper van beds leave a garage underneath. In VANNON’s Malibu Sprinter, the bed can fold away so the garage extends all the way up. When the platform is stowed, you can walk through the rear of the van or load gear that would be too tall to go under a fixed bed.

VANNON built the Malibu on a 2025 AWD Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with a 170-inch wheelbase. The owners wanted a vehicle for a long trip from Mexico to Alaska. They needed room to haul gear by day and a place to sleep at night.

Cargo space goes from low to tall

With the bed down, the layout is in sleeping mode. Fold it away and the rear opens into a walk-through storage area for bikes, boards, or cases. It is easier to appreciate that flexibility if you imagine loading a bike upright. The clearance you need may be higher than the bottom of a fixed mattress platform.

VANNON describes the folded setup as a garage you can walk through. That matters for things that are long as well as tall. A surfboard or recovery case might clear the rear doors but still be awkward to turn under a bed. With the platform folded up, you can stand inside while you move a load into place.

The trade-off is that tall cargo and the lowered bed want the same space. If the gear stays inside overnight, it needs somewhere to move. Before copying the idea, measure your tallest item and sketch where it can go when the bed is ready to come down.

Before you picture a full garage and a ready bed, consider where the longest piece will spend the night. A board can sometimes run along one side of the van, while a bike may need more headroom than that area provides. It helps to have a place for bulky gear that still lets you get to the back doors.

Watch the switch from one mode to the other

VANNON’s walkthrough gives a view of the rear with the furniture in context. Look at the distance from the back doors to the sleeping area and how that opening works when the bed is out of the way.

Around the bed, VANNON used aluminum construction and added storage on the rear doors. Look for the equipment you’d want to reach from outside when the garage is packed. Keeping small items near the door can spare you from moving the large gear just to find a strap or a tool.

This is where a walk-through rear matters more than a headline about storage volume. Cargo can look easy to fit on paper and still be awkward to move through the doors or past the kitchen.

A fixed bed still has its place

If you regularly arrive late and sleep with the gear already loaded, a fixed platform may fit your routine better. A fold-away bed makes a stronger case when a vehicle spends a lot of time in gear-hauling mode. Compare both in our camper van bed guide.

For a build of your own, try loading your tallest item through the doors before you settle on a bed design. Then check how far the folded platform projects into the garage and where you can secure the load. The Malibu’s advantage shows up when you spend enough days in cargo mode to make the extra changeover worthwhile.