Kitchen with Island pros and cons

[Mike__Rose]

In choosing a fifth wheel what are the pros and cons to an island in the kitchen? I also noticed some floor plans have recliners and sofa that do not directly face the television. Is this a problem? Thanks for you opinions.

[Vulcaneer]

We have the center island. The island not only adds counter space. But also adds extra cabinets and drawers. Ours also has the raised breakfast bar on it, too. DW and I use the breakfast bar constantly, in favor of the dinette. but when we have friends in for dinner, our 6 place setting table gets used often too. And the breakfast bar doubles as a food service shelf in those cases.

When traveling, we have open access to the 4 door fridge and freezer. Can get to the living area with a 20 second push of a button. But we rarely need that when traveling.

The only problem with our set up is that when it comes time to replace our trailer, we'll have trouble finding one with all these amenities. And DW won't want to be without them.

[Robin1953]

JJnLilly wrote:
We have a movable island in our unit. It gives lots more counter and storage space and agree, with out it we could hold dances in the wasted center space.

I also have a JT337RLS with the moveable island. Before that I had a Keystone with the permanent island with the sink in it. The moveable island works much better for me.

[JJnLilly]

We have a movable island in our unit. It gives lots more counter and storage space and agree, with out it we could hold dances in the wasted center space.

[Paul_Clancy]

I love the island floorplan and found the 3 slide floorplans without the island have an open boxcar feel. Like something should be there that isn't and that space is wasted.

[anaro]

I really wanted an island. I found on my sabre 34REQS I could access my pantry, fridge and most things in my kitchen with slides in. I can walk all they way to the back and access almost everything except the back wall with slides in. The bathroom is also easily accessible on the road. Ours is a rear entertainment so we have sofa and chairs facing each other and tv on the back wall. The recliners are easily movable so we just angle them a bit to see the TV better. We go on our maiden voyage this weekend so I can't tell you long term how this works but for the amount of time we basement sitting in it at home and at the dealership (pretty much the equivalent of 2 weekend trips), it has worked well.

As to the comment saying an island is wasted space, I disagree. I was always struggling for cooking space cooking for my family of 3 in my old tt with a small L shaped counter. It was even worse for the couple of trips a year we did that involved pot luck dinners with friends or rallies. So for us it is not wasted space. It all boils down to your camping style, needs and wants.

[ddschuman]

mudmaker wrote:
We have a BC 3251ts which comes with a movable island so getting to the fridge is easy when slides are in. Also sink and bathroom and non issues. 42" TV is set directly across from theatre seating which I really like.

Our island is movable also. We have access to all the important things (kitchen, bath and bed) with slides in. I love the extra counter and storage space it provides. I use it often when preparing meals to go on the grill. It's a perfect work space.

We have theater seating directly across from TV and I wouldn't trade for that.

[Gsport]

I love having an island even if I can't get around it with both slides in. It only takes a couple of seconds to slide them open if needed. I mean if you had to hand crank a slide out it would be a different story..
And for us it's definitely better having the entertainment center on the side rather than the back wall..

[kgarrett9999]

I have a travel trailer with an island kitchen. I love it. No I can't get to the kitchen with the slide closed, but I really can't think of a case where I would need to unless I just had to get a beer out of the fridge while on the road. The island gives me lots of room to prep food and my trash can is under the island in a convenient place. The sink is also on the island, which I find convenient. The only con is that the island seems to be the gathering place for "stuff" as we come in for the day from our tourist activities. I have to clean off the end closest to the door before I start cooking. There is usually a dog leash or two, maybe a purse or ball cap. It all seems to end up there.

We don't have recliners and our sofa doesn't face the TV which is ok, because I usually stretch out across the sofa while my wife sites at the dinette facing the TV. If I had recliners then I would want them to face the TV.

[NY_RVer]

We did not want an island, as we preferred to have complete access during a quick stop. All the ones we saw, you could not get around with the slides in, so to get to the bathroom, you had to pull a stunt like Starsky and Hutch used to over the hood of their car. I can see though how full timers would benefit from an island.

[Texas_Roadrunn1]

We have an island kitchen and while we cannot stand behind the island with the slides retracted, with a little planning we can get everything we need to make a quick lunch while on the road. One side of the fridge is accessible, so I just make sure anything I need is on that side. Usually the only utensil we need is a spreader with a serrated edge for cutting and spreading, so I make sure that is available. I enjoy the prep space that the island affords as I do cook a good bit. One of the greatest advantages is the room for two people, or more to work in the kitchen.

[mudmaker]

We have a BC 3251ts which comes with a movable island so getting to the fridge is easy when slides are in. Also sink and bathroom and non issues. 42" TV is set directly across from theatre seating which I really like.

[B_Sjulestad]

Halmfamily wrote:
We really like the island and will have one in next fiver, which are shopping for now. We love to bake homemade breads and doughs even while camping and need the extra space. On the living room layout, currently have a FL and its a PITA to watch TV while sitting parallel to it. Our next one will have either recliners or theater seats in it. Currently looking at the Cedar Creek 38CK and 36 CKTS. Good luck.

We have the 36ckts and love the island. We can get to the fridge, sink and pantry to make lunches during quick stops without putting out any slides. The recliners face the TV so no more sore necks when watching TV.

[skeetshooter]

We have an island kitchen and we like it a lot. Plenty of counter space. The draw back is we can only get to one side of the fridge when the rig is closed. The good thing is it quickly opens when we need to.
Both recliners are across from the TV which makes viewing easy. This is our preferred layout.

[bama2]

our stoneridge has island. we can get to refer with the slides in and also the bathroom and the sink. recliners opposite television. perfect for us.
38rl stoneridge.