I guess its all about timing. The way I understand it is generally you have 2- 14 year olds and a 6 year old. In theory the 14 year olds will be around another 4 years minimum and the 6 year old will be around forever!(10 years+).
For me that means a bunk house will be the preferred floorplan for at least 4 more years. After 4 years a non bunk house plan becomes ideal.
Since you appear to have the itch to buy upgrade (which I totally understand) I would recommend the midship bunkhouse plans which maybe the best of both worlds.
However if the mid ship bunk house doesn't agree with you then I say hold off on a non bunkhouse plan. Hang on to what you have until your kids are closer to sailing off into the sunset. 3 kids = bunk house no matter how I slice it.
If they were all teenagers maybe you could go rear lounger, but at this point the great view and open space are overshadowed by the additional work and storage concerns. You have 4 years minimum of 3 kids, your current rig is only six years old. Your circumstances really aren't changing anytime soon. Kids still = bunkhouse. Not opposed at all to upgrading. But the upgrade should be a bunkhouse
I upgraded from a bunkhouse bumper pull unit similar to your Cougar to a 5 slide bunkhouse fiver.
While I still went from a bunkhouse to a bunkhouse the additional space made a huge difference for everyone. Your kids are at the age and size that they could be getting too big for their bunk room. My kids outgrew their original bunk room and it had a slide in it.
Good luck with your decision at the end of it all only you know what is best for your family.
