Design - What were they thinking??

hubby said the placement of the stupid little button for electric jacks is way too low. if they placed it just a ft higher he wouldn't have to lean over and kill his back. ahhhh :) his pet peeve tho!

I actually forgot the craziest design - the switch to turn on lights when you enter. We have a back door and the switches for the slides, awnings, and lights are on the back wall up high with the light switch at the highest point right below the roof. I am about 5'6" and have to stand on my toes, throw myself forward against the chair to turn on lights. If it is pitch dark - it is a comedy routine.

Our kitchen window slides open but it slides from right to left - the right side being directly behind the door when its open...therefore restricting the air flow to only what can get behind the door. Why didn't someone see that during the designing?
And only ONE utility drawer in the kitchen? Silverware is the only thing that will fit in this small drawer! What about all the other utensils? Didn't ask a chef or a cook about this one...........
Bed mattress between the two closets is so tight, you can barely get the sheet tucked in - forget a blanket or bedspread.
What I would really love is an awning that would stand up to Wyoming wind. But that is probably (99.9% sure) not possible.
I'll probably think of more later.

Oh I just remembered something else.

The overhead cabinets in the rear over the television have swing up doors that would be torn off if left open when the slides come in.

They need to be fixed so that the hinges are on the sides so the door would simply shut if the slide hit them.

I know it's only a matter of time before yours truly forgets to shut them and retracts a slide.

I can honestly say that Palomino/Sabre listens to their customers through the Forest River Forum. I sent a list of "complaints"/"design suggestions" into them after getting my model (new model for them at the time). In swapping messages with new owners of this same model, a good 50% of the things I recommended have been changed on new models.

In fact, I swapped emails with the sales manager with their prototype unit before it was finalized for the first builds. I commented on the position of the awning being awfully far forward. He told me later, my comment was the tipping point to moving it back. There had been internal discussion regarding the placement, but my email was "the" nail in the coffin so to speak.

BUT!

One of my biggest pet peeves - there's a light fixture in the bedroom where the ceiling slopes down right in the aisle beside of the bed. I manage to bang my head on it on an unusually regular basis. If they moved it 7" to be over the bed, you wouldn't have that issue. (This has been "fixed" in newer versions of this model.)

I don't understand having a slide that blocks either the head, or fridge, or both when closed.

I made sure on the new to me TT we're getting that even with the slide in, there is a usable path to the fridge and head.

The only thing we can complain about is the space that holds the DVR/satellite TV boxes. It is barely adequate and made hook up difficult. Otherwise, in our opinion, we have a fantastic floor plan.

We bought our unit based on the ridiculously good deal we were offered, and the fact that I don't hit my head anywhere in the rig (I'm 6'5"). With that said...

There are several "storage" areas inside the unit that even I cannot reach without a step-stool.::The refrigerator is in an angled section of wall and is about halfway covered by the living/dining area slide when it's retracted. The first time I left the fridge doors partially open to dry it out after a trip, the slide broke the handle off of the freezer. I ended up reversing the door so that it opens on the other side and no longer hits the slideout, but why couldn't the manufacturer have thought of this?
Under the refrigerator, there is a storage area that is bisected by a diagonal ABS pipe that makes the compartment completely useless. It could easily have been routed differently.
My livingroom vent handle is literally eight feet off the floor. A power-opening vent with a remote control is in my future when budget allows.
I have zero counter space in the kitchen, but twice as much livingroom as I need.
The back of the unit has exactly two tail lamps with one bulb each. As a matter of safety, I would much rather have reverse lamps, amber turn signals and at least two stop/tail lamps per side. I will eventually fix this, but I fervently hope that the manufacturer saw fit to run all of the wiring back from the pin box so that I do not have to.

campigloo wrote:
Designers should be required to brush their teeth in them before delivery.

LOL! I'd forgotten about needing to open the medicine cabinet door so it's easier to hit the sink when brushing teeth. The downside of doing that is the likelihood of cracking one's forehead on the lower shelf but once you get past that there is a lot less toothpaste mess to clean up.

Designers should be required to brush their teeth in them before delivery.