Rear kitchen.

[rickeoni]

We are looking at rear kitchen fifth wheels, as are coming from an 8 foot truck camper we are used to a rear kitchen and do not want to track dirt all over our newly discovered acreage. One salesman we talked to said read kitchens are not good on a fifth wheel. I know it is because they didn't have any in stock but DW is worried as we have never towed anything this big before. Those of you who have a rear kitchen, any regrets ?

[Duke-44]

I am just curious of those who have the rear kitchen... does your rig have 10 inch I-beams or 8 inch I-beams? When I told an RV salesman about the problems of our RK, he said that the units with 10 inch I-beams do not have the problems of launching stuff from the cupboards and frig all over.

[AZ_T_T]

Love our rear kitchen. No regrets at all.

[robrose1]

We had a Jayco 26 ft with a rear kitchen. Put about 10K on the rig with no major issues. Wife learned not to leave certain things on counter or they would end up in sink. Only problem we had was the kitchen drawers would pop out of their tracks after a long bumpy day. Wife actually wanted another rear kitchen when when moved up to larger five but there just were not many on dealer lots.

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Like what was pointed out the location of the door in regard to the kitchen is the big factor for us. Loading and unloading food and We eat outside whenever possible.
Of the 3 fifth wheels we've had two were rear kitchen. From our truck camper experience we use the child proof locks through the cabinet door handles to keep the doors closed. and use a lot of non-glass dishes.
Jim

[bpounds]

One complaint about rear kitchens is that you give up the big rear picture window. But not all rear kitchens are laid out the same. We have a rear kitchen in the Cougar, and we also have a large window from countertop level up. Best of both worlds I think. We get the window, the fridge is still mid-ship to minimize vibration on that, and we still have more kitchen storage than a similar RLS would have. We get to enjoy the view while prepping meals or doing dishes.

Never had any problem with breaking things, and all of our dish storage is at the very rear.

[goducks10]

TimnJo wrote:
The only issue I have with a RK, with a mid-mounted door, is when eating outdoors, (which we do whenever we can), carrying all the stuff through the living room gets to be a pain.

Tim & Jo

Good point. I do 90% of the cooking when camping. We have an RL 5'er. I have a table set up just forward of the door which is in the rear. My wife hands me things through the door. The kitchen counter is to the right of the door as you walk in. In a rear kitchen she would have to walk a ways further to get me things. Or I would have to walk further my self. We've looked at RK's and love the counter space and storage. Also we like it that there is no rear slide on an RK on the curb side. That's where we set up our cooking area. Trade offs I guess.

[TimnJo]

The only issue I have with a RK, with a mid-mounted door, is when eating outdoors, (which we do whenever we can), carrying all the stuff through the living room gets to be a pain.

Tim & Jo

[rhagfo]

2yung2rtire wrote:
I'm currently looking at at rear kitchen for one good reason that I read on another forum, fire. The most likely place for a fire is the kitchen and a rear kitchen is far from a mid entry door.

Correct, mid entry and rear kitchen, nearest gas fired device is furnace, which is located under the corner by the sink. It is 6' from the mid door.

[JJnLilly]

Have had two RK's and had no problems.

[2yung2rtire]

I'm currently looking at at rear kitchen for one good reason that I read on another forum, fire. The most likely place for a fire is the kitchen and a rear kitchen is far from a mid entry door.

[rhagfo]

MainerBob wrote:
We heard stories of things breaking because there is more motion in the back than over the wheels but we just returned from 8 months and 12K miles and had no problems. When you're not cooking it is out of the way and you don't walk back and forth through the kitchen to get anywhere else in the rig. We feel our almost 33 feet is the perfect size. We camped in everything from Walmarts to local, state and federal parks as well as private RV parks and never had a problem getting in or out except in one state park in NY where the site sloped down from the access road and we had a lot of rain. Hooked up to another TV nose to nose and got us uphill and out.
----------------------
2007 Keystone Everest 293P, 32'
2006 Silvarado 2500HD Duramax, SRW, CC, Short Bed, 4x4
Sidewinder,16K Draw-Tite Slider
Bikes on the back
Standard Poodle inside

Well we have a 2005 Keystone Copper Canyon with a rear kitchen. DW loves it, the only issue we have had with it was we basically hit a speed bump at 45 mph.
We were north bound on Oregon 101 just south of Seaside, recent flooding had caused a buckle in the road surface. There was a rough road sign, but it was permanent, on the 45 mph sign. The buckle was NEW!
TV had new Bilstien 5100's not bad, but as I glanced in the mirror, I could swear that the 5er's wheels left the ground!!

We had beer and sodas in the refer door shelves, and the weight and shock broke the lower three shelves. That is the only issue, the 5er also didn't have shocks at the time, it now has them on both axles, and rides much smoother!!

[Racine96]

We hava a Columbus rear kitchen and love it.

[RollandB]

We've had outprs 2 years and still love it. Only one problem, last summer about this time of year while traveling I-217 through Portland. They were resurfacing so each bridge was ramped up and down. I was warn out after a few miles of it. Nothing was broken, cupboards were fine, but the fridge and freezer were jumbled up. We always use caution when opening the fridge and upper cabinets. Can't beat it for the storage and counter space.

[C_Schomer]

This is our first RK and we love it... no regrets. The 5er has Morryde LRE and shocks and things stay put on the counters when traveling. Some friends have a 2007 Wildcat RK same length as ours and theirs launches things and breaks dishes... leaf springs and no shocks. Craig

[Nutinelse2do]

We have a rear kitchen in our Everest, had one in our Cougar, and in the Springdale.
Never had anything break so far. Tons of counterspace, and out of the way.
Absolutely love it, and was the first thing I looked for in our fulltiming coach.
Good luck with your decision.