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Lawntread's avatar
Lawntread
Explorer
Sep 19, 2015

Curbside slideout... design trend?

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum. My family and I went to the Hershey show yesterday as we do every year and came home sorely disappointed. While the show was awesome as usual(and the biggest it's been yet), we found a trend that's unfortunate. We were only able to find 3 or 4 fivers without curbside slideouts! We are not fans of the curbside slide. We call them "wrong side slides". They take up too much outside living area and create too many sharp edges for our small children. That means a lot coming from me considering I believe in common sense over too much safety. Anyway, to my question... is this a fad, trend, both? I hate to think that we won't have a choice when we go to buy our next trailer. Maybe we have to go back to a bumper pull. Let me know your thoughts. I'm curious. We can't be the only one's feeling this way.

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  • GMandJM's avatar
    GMandJM
    Explorer
    Sep 19, 2015
    Curb-side slides are pretty much the standard now. When you are ready for a new coach, you may want to look specifically for one where the interior is still fully functional with the slide in.

    Granted that might not be easy to find.
  • blofgren's avatar
    blofgren
    Explorer
    Sep 19, 2015
    We bought the unit in our sig early this year and it is our first with a curb side slideout, and actually has opposing slides in the kitchen/living room area. In a word, we LOVE it! The opposing slides provide so much more room and allows for an island in the kitchen. We also love the table and chairs and sofa in the curb side slideout because we can sit there and look at our own campsite and not the neighbour's site as this configuration in a road side slideout provides. Most of the campsites we go to have plenty of outside space so the curb side slideout doesn't pose a problem. The only con that we have seen so far is that the awning is 3' shorter than our last unit but we will accept that for so many positives.
  • wildtoad's avatar
    wildtoad
    Explorer II
    Sep 19, 2015
    Same issue wih motor homes. Curbside slides kind of take away from the covered awning area. Unfortunately multiple slide units are now the standard, and few if any no slide units exists.
  • RustyJC's avatar
    RustyJC
    Explorer
    Sep 19, 2015
    Lawntread wrote:
    My wife and I feel people are forgetting what camping is all about. It's not about having a house on wheels. It's about having a place to sleep, shower, and a roof to duck under in the rain.


    Most of us started out as "campers" in tents, pop-ups, etc. Sandy and I certainly did. What we do today is no longer camping, it's RVing. My definition of boondocking now is being unable to pick up a satellite TV signal. :)

    Different strokes for different folks.

    Rusty
  • Lawntread's avatar
    Lawntread
    Explorer
    Sep 19, 2015
    Thanks for the insight. I know the pool noodle idea. I actually use pipe insulators since they're already scored. The Hershey show is a pretty good indicator of trends and in the past only about half of the rigs had the curbsides. All of a sudden this year almost all of them did. My wife and I feel people are forgetting what camping is all about. It's not about having a house on wheels. It's about having a place to sleep, shower, and a roof to duck under in the rain. Maybe we're the minority. Actually, judging by the show, we definitely are the minority. If course, it could be regional. In the east here, most campgrounds are older and the sites don't accommodate very large units. Maybe we'll have to conform.
  • RustyJC's avatar
    RustyJC
    Explorer
    Sep 19, 2015
    Design trend? Three of the four 5th wheels we've owned have had one or more curb side slideouts. The only one that didn't was our first 5th wheel - a 1996 30' single slideout Jayco Designer 3030RKSS (Rear Kitchen Single Slideout).

    Get some pool noodles, split them and place them on the corners of the slideout when you run them out if you're worried about sharp corners at kid height.

    Rusty
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Sep 19, 2015
    I don't think it is s fad. More like a growing trend. Most people want the most interior space they can get. And more slides mean more floor space. Two curb side slides is not unusual. And some even have three. In addition to the two or three street side slides.

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