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Buying a TT, Bunk "Room" vs Bathroom door to outside

Sky_Girl
Explorer
Explorer
Hello!

We are new to the RVing world and are looking to buy our first TT.

We are looking at a Forest River Grey Wolf 26DBH or something similar.

The floor plan we like is the one with the extra door on the outside that opens to bathroom. We think that will come in very handy with kids going in and out (and us adults as well) and not having to track through the camper. With this set up, we are finding that the bunks are just out in the "open" and the kids won't have their own room.

So now I'm wondering if we shouldn't go with the floorpan that has the kids bunks enclosed in a room and forgo the bathroom being easily accessible from the outside. Kids are only getting bigger and with the room the kids would each have their own bunk. With the open double bunk set up, at least one friend would have to share a double bunk because the sofa bed is so small even for my 10 year old.


Some information on us...
There are 4 of us. Me, husband, 11 yr old son and 10 yrs old daughter. We will travel just the 4 of us but we plan on having a friend for each of the kids as often as we can.


I can see pluses to each side but really want to hear about your experiences in the real world of RVing. I know that there may be a change in weight and length but that won't be an issue.



Thanks!
37 REPLIES 37

FrankShore
Explorer
Explorer
Have you looked at the Lance 2185. It's got great manufacturing/construction) This is a bunkhouse edition

Lance 2185 - Small Bunkhouse
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troubledwaters
Explorer II
Explorer II
wa8yxm wrote:
I can see the kids opening the outside door which you forgot to lock when you entered and catching you "With your pants down" as they say....

Any more questions (NOTE: though I can "See" that, I would really rather not).
I've had an outside door to the bathroom for 2 years now and that has never been an issue. But I guess locking the door is just something I would naturally do, your experiences may differ.

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
wa8yxm wrote:
I can see the kids opening the outside door which you forgot to lock when you entered and catching you "With your pants down" as they say....

Any more questions (NOTE: though I can "See" that, I would really rather not).


My thoughts exactly when these model types first came out. Made the same comment to my wife years ago at an RV show. The looks everyone around me gave was like, they wanted to gouge my eyes out!

However, it would be hilarious, wouldn't it? ... especially for the kid!

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
I can see the kids opening the outside door which you forgot to lock when you entered and catching you "With your pants down" as they say....

Any more questions (NOTE: though I can "See" that, I would really rather not).
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
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ependydad
Explorer
Explorer
For us- the extra door to the 1/2 bath was a requirement for exactly the reason you said: make it more convenient to use and not have kids traipsing through the camper. The reality: that freaking door was always locked and I didn't have keys to use it. We ultimately hung a towel rack that covered the door and decided it was a wall.

UNTIL we got an electric keyless lock. That was a game changer and turned that door back into a door.

BUT- more than a door from the outside, we wouldn't give up our room for the kids. We started looking at a variety of rigs and found that if we couldn't give the kids their own room, that it was a non-starter for us.

I like that I can send my b!tchy kids to nap in the middle of a day, that I'm not trapped from the living room after they're sent to bed at night, and that I can close the door to their mess. A bunkroom is a requirement for me.
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Lantley
Nomad
Nomad
6door74 wrote:
2gypsies wrote:
DutchmenSport wrote:
If getting that half bath camper, take an extra minute to consider where the black tank values and outlets are located. Really, check it out.


... and how far the black water has to travel to exit.


What exactly should i be looking for or concerned about?

Be concerned about having 2 black tanks. Many don't mind, but I found dealing/dumping 2 black tanks more trouble than its worth.
I stopped my kids from using the 1/2 bath toilet, eventually I removed the toilet now my 1/2 bath is an exterior closet/shed.
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nickthehunter
Nomad II
Nomad II
I've had a TT with the dump valve under the slide out for about 16 years. You can crawl under it to dump, or you can simply do what I do. Pull the slide out in for a minute.

6door74
Explorer
Explorer
This will be my first trailer so any and all experiences will be new. I'll look for the stuff mentioned and keep it in mind but i'll have nothing to compare it to.

Thanks for the help and info
2006 E350 V10
Travel Trailer-TBD

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
Atlee wrote:
As far as I know, there's nothing to be concerned about. What you do need to note is how far the two black tanks are from each other. Usually in a set up that has two bathrooms, there are two black tanks, which means after dumping blac and gray tank, you have to move the stinky slinky to the other black and gray tank outlet.

6door74 wrote:
2gypsies wrote:
DutchmenSport wrote:
If getting that half bath camper, take an extra minute to consider where the black tank values and outlets are located. Really, check it out.


... and how far the black water has to travel to exit.


What exactly should i be looking for or concerned about?


Thanks Atlee.... right on!

Yes, the position of the black tank valves may be very inconvenient. If you have full hook-ups, unless you get extra hoses and some Y adapters, you'll be adding extra hoses and moving them from valve to valve. And depending on their location on the camper, this may be a real pain in the arse! Also, if those valves are located UNDER the slide out, your life will be miserable trying to dump at full hook-up sites. You'll be crawling under those slides to reach the valve handles.

At dump stations, you'll have to move the rig forward or backwards to dump all the tanks if the valves and outlets are far apart.

With a bath an a half camper, you could have one valve at the very front of the camper, the other at the rear.

All I'm asking is that you take special notice of where they are located and make sure you are OK with that. Remember, every campsite is different. Full hook-up sites may have the dump drains in the middle of the campsite, some may have them at the rear of the campsite, some may be in weird locations. The more valves you have, the more you need to be prepared for anything.

Check all the dump valve locations, and make sure you can access them easy, and consider the amount of hose you'll need, and how you have to position the camper at dump stations to drain all the tanks.

6door74
Explorer
Explorer
Here's one

I can't vouch for the brand (can't vouch for any as i'm a newbie:B) but it's the same brand as the front runner we want. I'm hoping to see one in person soon. You didn't mention weight or price range but it's something to consider.
2006 E350 V10
Travel Trailer-TBD

Atlee
Explorer
Explorer
As far as I know, there's nothing to be concerned about. What you do need to note is how far the two black tanks are from each other. Usually in a set up that has two bathrooms, there are two black tanks, which means after dumping blac and gray tank, you have to move the stinky slinky to the other black and gray tank outlet.

6door74 wrote:
2gypsies wrote:
DutchmenSport wrote:
If getting that half bath camper, take an extra minute to consider where the black tank values and outlets are located. Really, check it out.


... and how far the black water has to travel to exit.


What exactly should i be looking for or concerned about?
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am1958
Explorer
Explorer
Bullet Premiere 31BHPR has everything you are looking for and more... We've love ours for the last 3 years.

Sky_Girl
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks all for the great input. We went to an rv show yesterday and spent some time looking and reevaluating.

One thing we did notice, all bunks are not create equal. The bunks on the slide (at least the ones that we were looking at) were "mini bunks" and really wouldn't work since only our youngest could sleep there and she would outgrow it quickly. She is short and not one of her friends would be able to sleep in the other bunk.

Now we just need to factor in weight and cost into everything and see if it's feasible for us.

6door74
Explorer
Explorer
2gypsies wrote:
DutchmenSport wrote:
If getting that half bath camper, take an extra minute to consider where the black tank values and outlets are located. Really, check it out.


... and how far the black water has to travel to exit.


What exactly should i be looking for or concerned about?
2006 E350 V10
Travel Trailer-TBD

Edd505
Explorer
Explorer
We had a Jayco Eagle 30.5BHLT rear room for grandson that lived with use. He like having his own room and he was able to close the door and watch what he wanted. The bathroom could be entered from the hall or the master bedroom. Loved the floor plan with kids.
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