Best Layout for family of 5

I would consider a toyhauler...the garage area can be customized to provide sleeping areas for the kids; fold down or drop down bunks. Plus there's room to carry bikes, water toys and other stuff to keep the kids active.

We've got the 4 small bunks, our kids are 14 and 16, but the bunks are 75" long. Hopefully my 14 year old doesn't out grow it, he's pushing 6' now.

They love having the bunks, it gives space for a friend or 2, and we can put their Grandma back there when she goes with us.

I agree about the bunks. They are great when the kids are under 10, but then they're too short, too claustrophobic, etc., and just end up as storage space.

Personally, I think hybrids are perfect for families for camping. You've got a nice living area and at least two large beds that open out. Add a tent and all the kids will be set. Plenty of room and when the kids don't want to come, you can leave one side closed.

If you're RVing (as in going to private RV parks), then that's a different story. Many won't let you do a tent, so your limited to the trailer.

When we were little we camped in a truck camper. Parents slept in the cabover, sibling and I slept in the cupboard bunk above the dinette, and younger sibling slept on the loveseat. When we got older, we three slept in the cabover and parents slept on the dinette.

So, my personal feeling is don't worry so much about the kids "not having their space". If you're camping, they can have all the space they want outside. Heck, we were outside unless we were sleeping - rain or shine - and not one of us has bad memories of camping trips.

We started with a bunk house and they work great with kids that age... Then we realized that we were loosing living space, and the kids really only slept in there.

We then purchased a RE ( Rear Entertainment ) back in "08" when our kids were 14 and 9.. They had to fold down the couch to sleep, and we did not loose any valuable living space.. It worked GREAT ! !

We now have a RL ( Rear Living ) and the kids are 24 and 19.. they either fold down the couch, or sleep on a portable 3" thick X 36" mattress and are perfectly fine with it !

For 3 kids, yes to bunks in some form. Separate room is great but can be hard for find in an under 30' tt. Look for the separate room if possible with a second small dinette. The second table as a play area on rainy days would be a godsend, as would the extra tv back there. An example of this would be a keystone outback 293ubh, but there are quite a few others around too.
Happy motorin

What's an RE?

My biggest suggestion would be to think about not only what might work for kids ages 2-9, but also a few years down the road for kids (say) aged 7-14. Some of the bunk models have bunks that are pretty short, and a tall teenager (or adult) would definitely be cramped by that. At least for me, while a wide bed is nice, a long enough one is an absolute essential.

It might be worth at least peeking at some class C's as well as trailers, too. The cabover bunk does work out nicely for kids (and is a sort of hidey-hole that many of them like to have).

If I had three young kids I would add a tent to the plan so they can learn about some independence and give some separation between the adults and the kids. It is the way we grew up.

When the weather is bad, then the kids can sleep inside. I saw a trailer yesterday with three bunks stacked on top of each other made by Outdoors RV in Oregon. Bunk houses and toy haulers are a good idea. Kids are adaptable and can fit anywhere.

I grew up sleeping on a boat. My folks had the cabin and we slept in the cockpit. Sometimes we slep on top of the cabin. There was no air conditioning in those days and we slept on the boat 4 wekends out of 5 from May until October.