Rear kitchens = porpoising?

travelnutz
I have heard of the carriage, good trailer
we love our setup. wife likes the extra counter space. ours is 30 ft, I don't think I want anything longer right now. we seem to do ok. have seen longer, but unless it has 3 slides doesn't seem to make a big difference.

Pulled our RK for over 14 years. No problems. From an engineering stand point... if the engineer that designed the RK RV designed the frame for a rear kitchen he no doubt moved the axles back a couple inches to compensate for the extra weight. Longer wheel base should improve the ride overall. My '99 rear kitchen had less problems then my new '15 mid kitchen for moving things in the fridge and I've only towed it approx 600 miles since delivery in Feb. There are easily other aspects to the ride also so making a blanket statement like the salesman did is stupid.

bbaker2001,

Looks almost identical to our Carriages except ours had/have a corner angle sink on a 45 degree angle front countertop with a big doored and shelved cabinet under it and 4' long insulated rear window with a screen that the full length bottom half tips open so no rain can come in. Also an opening window on the side between the sink and range. Lots of daylight, vision outside, and ventilation and thus no cooking odors staying in the RV. Lots of access to do anything with the slide in. No pink curtains though! Mini blinds in the kitchen area. Curtains and night/day mini blinds in the rest of the RV.

we have a 2001 cardinal 28
2001 Cardinal CAF28RKB
GVRW 12,320
UVW 9150
Cargo 3170

these are the back wall, before wife took off all pink wallpaper and pink curtains

janegowest,

I'm not a sales person and have no connection to any RV manufacturer but here's some info for you.

The original Carriage RV manufacturer owner right from it's beginning in 1960's built in a barn was Clarence Yoder and he'd sold and retired in around 2000. At the time of selling and for years before, Carriage was the largest fulltimer's choice of 5th wheels and they were high end quality and not cheap to buy. Carriage was a large 55 acre complex with 19 buildings in Millersburg, Indiana. In 2011 the bank call in the large loan the new owner, Glenn Cushman, had created. Lots of debt from some very dumb decisions. The bank then auctioned it off. What this means is that Carriage RV's were no longer made and the owners of their RV's have been very reluctant to sell theirs and when they do come up for sale, they are not cheap and are usually sold real quick if in decent condition. We have googled so many time to find a 2009 - 2011 Carriage for sale in the models we want and it's about like finding hens teeth and usually sold before we can even inquire.

Ahead to 2016 and just for some examples:

Jayco makes an Eagle line RK travel trailer model: 306RKDS that is totally usable with the slide in if it has the table a chair dinette or have them cutoff the countertop "L" overhang roughly 5 or so 5" with the booth dinette. Overall length of 34'5".

In 5th wheels: A lighter weight Eagle HT 5th wheel RK model totally usable with the slides in model: Eagle HT 27.5RKDS. A lower profile 5th wheel (147").

A heavier weight high profile (155") RK model is the Eagle 293RKDS. Fully usable with the slides in.

There's 3 choices and I really don't know what you are looking for, so I guessing.

We have personally been inside all these Jayco models and they are well insulated and good construction. Built in Middlebury, Indiana roughly 120 miles south of our West Michigan home.

I have the 2016 brochure in front of me.

janegowest,

1991 - 36' Chaise model/w 2 slides, 35'- can't remember the model name I'd forgotten, a 528RKS and a 631RKS Carrilite models. Actually had 4 of them, not 3, and still have one we absolutely love and won't part with it. Fits us perfectly as we are long retired and the RK is precious and perfect. Just the 2 of us and our wonderful Husky dog, and it's basically only used when we tow it down south and to Florida from our Michigan home for our approx. 2-1/2 months we spend there in winter. Still looks new inside and out and everything works like it should and when we ordered it new!

We have other RV's we use in the late spring, summer, and fall for trips. Always have had 2-4 RV's at a time as no one type RV does everything the best for our wants and needs. Most used from here at home is our 11'4" Lance truck camper today as we usually tow a boat with us unless it's just a very long distance trip, mostly driving trip, etc, like our Alaska type trips we take and not going to boat or fish. No way we'd ever tow a large trailer to Alaska as once was more than enough to last a lifetime. Also because the TC so nimble, comfortable, and is fully optioned out with everything the 5th wheel has except lots of rooms inside and having to haul a big trailer around, any even small site will work fine or no site at all needed.

We have a rear kitchen with the stove, fridge, and pantry across the back wall. Plus the outdoor kitchen is in the rear. With spread axles we have never had anything move, fall, or break in over 7k miles of towing.

Porpusing should not be an issue in a fifth wheel due to a RK..

When I was upgrading to my current fiver I was at a dealer and he said "you don't want hydraulic slides or level system".. His reasoning was that hydraulic systems are weak...

I said ok, let me compare the 2, .. He couldn't.... What a surprise, only cable slides and electric 4 point level..walk away if they can't be truthful

I have a RK and it does not bounce any more than my previous mid kitchen one. All of them are going to experience some bouncing.

arush19 wrote:
I have a sneaking suspicion the salesman will tell you he never said that or modify his statement.

Right! When he has a rear kitchen model!