Floor plan question

memilanuk wrote:
So... the wife and I are starting to entertain the notion of a short 5th wheel. In looking through various floor plans and reviews, something came to mind, something that we actually really like about our current TT. Specifically, ease of access to certain key areas - bathroom, kitchen, dining area, bedroom - without having to run the slide out when stopping at a truck stop for fuel / lunch, or at a rest area for the night.

A lot of the floor plans we've been looking at (again, short 5th wheels in the <30' class) tend to have setups where it looks like there'd be no access to the 'upstairs' with the slide in. Others appear to have limited/no access to the kitchen/dining area with the slide in.

To be frank, we kind of stumbled upon the layout we have in our TT - the thing we were looking for in the TT was a walk-thru bathroom that had more space. But once we started traveling with the new trailer, the ability to enter the 'front' door and still have access to 80+% of the coach immediately became one of our favorite 'features'.

Given that there doesn't seem to be a lot of short 5th wheels with two doors ;) it appears that feature set may be tough to come by. Not impossible, but I'm concerned that I might be putting too much emphasis on something that is not really that important.

So I guess my question (particularly for those of you with short 5vers) is how you feel about your current (or past) setup with regards to making quick stops while traveling. Is it a hassle, where you have to put the slide out every time you want to do anything, or not?

If full access with all the slides in is your goal, then look at an Open Range 337rls. The kitchen island is on castors and when its strapped down to its "parking spot" there is full access to everything including all the kitchen, dining room, sofa, bathroom and bedroom. the only things not accessible is a couple of cabinets in kitchen and the chest of drawers in the bedroom. Its the only full access fifth wheel that we have found when all the slides are closed. We use it constantly when on the road, in fact we probably use it more with the slides closed than open. Fridge stove, sink and tv, are all fully useable. its 34 ft long and a wide body at 100" which also helps with the roominess. This certainly comes in handy when at rest areas or other places for quick overnights and when there is lots of traffic moving around the parking lot, for a quick lunch break or "pit stop". There is 2 versions Mesa Ridge or Open Range both 337RLS I tried to post a link but it won't do it.