Is a rear kitchen in a fifth wheel a problem? I have heard that they are good to have and others say to just pack them differently. We are first time RVers so trying to find the right one.
Our last 5th Wheel had and rear kitchen and we owned it for 9 years without any problems. We now have a mid kitchen and do not notice any difference between the 2.
I had a kitchen in the rear it was a Wanderer. Only time we had trouble with it was on the Alcan highway. We took a perma frost heave too fast and everything in the kitchen wound up on the floor. Of course that was not the fifth wheels fault that was the dumb drivers fault. But stuff happens. After that we bungeed all the cabinets closed for that trip. We had no further trouble. Except of course for the bent axles and cracked windshield. The great north west is very unforgiving. Ha ha ha.
We had one similar experience to Diazr2, hit a road buckle that was more like a speed bump on 101 near Seaside. Beer and soda on the refer door shelves wiped them out. I don't think the kitchen location made a difference. How do you pass up all this counter space.
A lot of it depends on the length. With a rear kitchen you get a see saw motion. The shorter trailers do it more. Our friends had one and they just learned to pack glasses with foam and some other items.
Another thing to think about is that the kitchen is typically the busiest place in the RV as people are in and out getting drinks and food. The rear kitchen will have everyone traversing the length of the coach. Not a big issue, but something to consider.
My last 5th wheel was a 30 foot model with rear kitchen and I did have problems at times with broken dishes. All depends upon roads traveled. I installed a key lock on the pantry door to contain contents which would routinely tumble out onto the floor the first time I opened. Even broke some Correll dishes on a Saskatchewan trip. That said, if I found a layout that I liked, I would go for it. Over 10 years and 60 thousand miles I only lost maybe 2 dozen pieces.
Had a rear kitchen in a 27' TT....loved it....no big problems with dishes, etc in cabinets. Seems that often you do have more counter space. We do enjoy having a rear living model with large window and 2 comfy chairs...the downside is smaller kitchen counter but worth the tradeoff.
O/T. We have a rear kitchen in our TT. We pack as we always have. I don't bring a lot of breakables anyway. I do use the oven for storage and Bungee it closed. The rear door is next to the fridge. That makes it real easy to load the food, and grab something from the fridge without having to go thru the whole trailer. The rear kitchen gives me a lot of counter space and I love it.
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