5'ver Slider in considerations....

[cdlaine]

I was just thinking... the glossy print ads and internet
photo ops rarely seem to show the potential buyer the
"slider in" view... when you think about it , even the
RV shows and RV lots show the rigs in full bloom.

Many visit this site with "going to buy" questions... I would
add the "slider in" views to the checklist.

Here is mine....camera angle is just about right... I'm beefy
and can get to the head without difficulty. On occasion, high
winds, torrential rains, we pull the sliders in and wait it out.
It might be beneficial to see if your floor plan works the way
you want it to...

Charles

real world...and glossy print, in and out...

[cdlaine]

Good points by all. I thought there would be multiple
opinions on "slider-in" effect on floorplan. Most
newbees aren't aware. If a "slider-in" mistake is made
on the first 5ver, it does not appear to be repeated
very often on the next one...

Not having access to the fridge would be a definite
no go in our household. That would be one of those ,
"what were they thinking" (when they built it) moments.

We have been caught on the road in a huge gulley washer...
pulled in to a parking lot, and rode it out in the comfort
of the fiver...nice.

Charles

[valhalla360]

A thought: What happens when the slide out mechanism fails and can't be repaired for a few days.

If you have access to bed, bath and kitchen, you can go on about your life with minimal disruption.

[drfife]

When we were shopping for our current 5th wheel we required that the bathroom and refrigerator be accessible with the slides retracted.

Many floorplans don't allow access to the fridge with the slides closed. Some even block the bathroom.

Those were immediately ruled out.

[Paul_Clancy]

Bathroom is all I need quick access to. Bedroom is a bonus. Fridge is a quick slide button push away

[deleted-2]

Good thread Charles!

Our fiver is pretty much "locked up" with the living area sliders all the way in.
We can still get to the potty no problem tho.

Knew what we were getting into with this fiver so it was our choice and has been of little consequence to us.

[sayoung]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
WE can fully access kitchen, bathroom with slides in and can even use the bed with its slide in.........that's all I need when en-route.

Our Jayco 321rlts let's us even use the table.

[Allworth]

I agree that the bathroom is the only real requirement.

We travel with the gas turned off at the cylinders, so opening the fridge just lets the cold out. Anything else we might need just requires running the main slide out about a foot to get past the end of the kitchen island.

We could get to the bedroom, but I cannot imagine using it if the trailer is not actually set up for the night.

To each his own!

[elkabong]

While there were many considerations when choosing my unit and subsequent floorplan, access to anything other than the bathroom wasn't one of them. If I want anything else while at a rest area, truck stop, etc., I just open one or more slides. I always figured that's what they were made for anyway.
I'm not concerned about wearing them out and they handle the weather just fine.

Ken

[mr__ed]

Accessibility was an important requirement when I purchased my Hitchhiker fiver 6 years ago. I can access every facility with the slides in. That includes bathroom, fridge, stove, sink and bed although for overnight stays I extend the bedroom slide. Even that wouldn't be necessary.

[goducks10]

Learned our lessen from our last TT. When we went looking for our 5'er we had them move the slide/slides in to see what it was like. We can access everything with the slide in. Sure makes it easier.

[goodwin297]

You are right. We didn't consider this when buying our 5er last year. That goodness we can access kitchen, fridge, bathroom, and bedroom. Slide bed out a bit if I need into a set of the drawers. The slide does block the cabinet with our dogs' food, so we have to remember to leave the food out when we are traveling into the night.

[valhalla360]

Not going to happen. This is advertising. Wide open spaces sell.

But yes, it is important to be able to acess bathroom, kitchen and bed without opening.

[cdlaine]

Glad to see most of the veteran RV'ers have total access...

I recall the many Rv shows we visited ..multiple times my bride
pointing out the floorplans (with sliders in) would have resulted
in no access to the bathroom (a critical must have in our
selection process). We do lose flat screen visibility when
closed up.

I will admit I am not good at looking at exploded view blue
prints and visualizing the rig closed up... my brain just doesn't
seem to work that way... always better to see it in person.

Charles

[mileshuff]

With slides in we can access everything in the trailer with ease except for one kitchen cabinet blocked by the slide. Bedroom, Bathroom, fridge etc. are all unrestricted.