Rear kitchens

We have a 2012 Timber Ridge 240RKS, and I must admit we've had quite a bit more trouble with the cabinets and refrigerator than we've had on any previous TT or motorhome. My best guess would be that we've put a little over 12,000 miles on the Trailer since we got it, so we probably do cover a little more ground than many, but are far from extreme. Surprisingly, although we often travel dirt roads, most of the problems seem to happen with pavement travel.

The shelves tend to come out of the slots in the refrigerator even the ones with nothing on them, and then they are really wedged in tight and hard to put back. I'm surprised we haven't broken the walls on it yet. The rear cabinets have to be packed with pillows and lots of support bars. The cabinets being quite flimsy have also been falling apart with the screws backing out, cross braces breaking etc. This is part is because Outdoors RV went really cheap on the cabinet construction when compared to the Springdale trailer we traded in on it, but it also seems things are really getting bounced around. While I really like the floor layout, the rear of the trailer does seem to ride rough on the road and thus I'll probably look to have the bedroom in the back should we do a next time around. The kitchen we'd look to have in the middle like the last TT, or up front.

That said, having just come back from a trip, I need to go out and do a little work on the kitchen cabinets under the sink where they're falling apart from the bouncing.

bnardini wrote:
Another way to deal with the glass tray in the microwave is stuff a pillow in it. Works great!

I found a wicker basket that is just a bit smaller than the inside dimensions of the microwave. We keep fruit and granola bars in it. It goes in the microwave during travel, out on the counter when camping.

We specifically looked for a rear kitchen plan, after renting several different trailers to see what we liked. I like being able to pop in and out to get something (9 times out of 10, need something from the kitchen). The door is near the rear also, and I like having the busiest part of the trailer farther from the bed/bath area. More private.

The counters, fridge, cabinets and table are all accessible when the slide is in. Couldn't get to the bed or bath though. Never had the doors pop open. The drawers do come out though (I could fix that).

I love and prefer the rear kitchen.

bnardini wrote:
Another way to deal with the glass tray in the microwave is stuff a pillow in it. Works great!

I had a leftover sheet of the rubber cushioned shelf liner so I wrap that around mine. Not only does it protect it but keeps it from sliding too.

Another way to deal with the glass tray in the microwave is stuff a pillow in it. Works great!

wannavolunteerFT wrote:
On my second RK, this one is JayFlight 24RKS. I have had no problems with doors or drawers coming open. Maybe because it is new enough that the drawer latches are still strong. Only place I have had a problem with stuff moving is cabinet over sofa in slide and I pretty sure that is because it is not full and stuff can move. I often bring dirty dishes home in the sink, so I can wash in Dishwasher and spend camping time playing, and they have always been fine. I do put dishtowels in sink to buffer and keep dishes from shipping. I also put a towel in microwave to keep the glass tray from moving.

Oh yeah, I have to pull over curb to leave house or park trailer in side yard, so it does get some jostling.

We too wrap our microwave glass tray. The dealership told us they get more people coming in with broken trays because they move around. They advised us to wrap it.

On my second RK, this one is JayFlight 24RKS. I have had no problems with doors or drawers coming open. Maybe because it is new enough that the drawer latches are still strong. Only place I have had a problem with stuff moving is cabinet over sofa in slide and I pretty sure that is because it is not full and stuff can move. I often bring dirty dishes home in the sink, so I can wash in Dishwasher and spend camping time playing, and they have always been fine. I do put dishtowels in sink to buffer and keep dishes from shipping. I also put a towel in microwave to keep the glass tray from moving.

Oh yeah, I have to pull over curb to leave house or park trailer in side yard, so it does get some jostling.

We are on our 1st RK trailer & love it. Never had a drawer or cupboard open or any thing more around. Our fridge is on the slide with the couch & big wardrobe.
Have never seen any extra bounce or movement with this setup.

In the nearly 8 seasons we had our HTT 23SS, had more of a center kitchen in the super slide. The cabinets in that unit ran lengthwise. I was always careful opening up after we were all set up. Don't recall ever having anything fall out in transit, but I could always count on having to set the glasses (plastic) back up. Our new TT has a mostly-to-the-rear kitchen with the primary cabinets running crosswise and have noticed not nearly as much shifting.

Our yearly trek to FL includes going through, IMHO, THE WORST roads in this area.... Birmingham. I did have a couple of doors open, but no issues. A quick stop at Harbor Freight and a small investment in a canister of assorted smaller size bungee cords fixed any potential problems....just wrapped them around the adjoining knobs and problem solved. Simply stored them in a drawer until time to leave.

Agree that the problem is more likely related to the road conditions than to the unit itself.

We love ours. It has a small fridge, sink, 2 burner swingaway cooktop, 3 cupboards, and a hook up for gas grill.
The cupboards are wide open inside so things could slide around. I added dividers to keep things organized. We use it all the time. Keeps the inside cooler and we don't have to tote things in and out of the kitchen inside when we want to eat outdoors.

We have a Jayco RK and love it. Like the counter space I have for coffee maker and such. Have never had anything fall out of cabinets - keep a tension rod across cabinet on the inside. Also, love the pantry - wouldn't be without one now. Can hold a lot of food.