Design - What were they thinking??

[Reader1]

Sometimes I wonder what RV designers were thinking. Have you experienced "design flaws" w/ RV's that have you shaking your head. I don't want to trash ANY brand - just wondered...

We love our Cougar 26SAB 5th wheel - But...The window over the sink pushes out and you can't open it and have the screen door open at the same time. We should have noticed - not a big deal, but what were they thinking?

[FunnyCamper]

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!

[Reader1]

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.

[Okie_in_Wyoming]

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.

[deleted-2]

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.

[ependydad]

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.)

[Atlee]

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.

[jnharley]

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.

[Stefonius]

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.

[KarenS144]

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.

[campigloo]

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

[ReadyToGo]

these are things I have seen.
Cabinet door comes open and hits the slide out buttons while traveling. Great fun.
Bench seats in a 25ft Class C that doesn't have doors on the aisle side for easy access.
Area under the counter that doesn't have doors so the area behind is unusable.
On other types.
No drawers to pull out under the counter so no place to put silverware.
Sinks that are round.
Outside storage compartments that are so big, but nothing you store in them are that size so you end up with unusable space. I solved this problem by putting in shelves, simple solution.

[jrs1871]

It does seem like the folks that design these things have never lived in them. If they spent a couple of weeks actually living in, and using all systems, that should greatly impact their design ideas.
I agree that roll out windows behind the door or slide windows that are not easily accessible, interior doors that interfere with operation of another door, poorly accessible components such as filters etc. are a major headache. Much of what goes into to RV's now is eye candy; it looks great at first glance but functionality leaves much to be desired.
I also agree with the comment about few options for a well appointed, smaller unit. Our previous 5th wheel was a 30 ft. and it fitted our needs perfectly. We decided we wanted to upgrade but wanted to stay with the same brand. Unfortunately, they took the 30 ft. out of their line for 7 years. It went back into the line in 2013 and we bought one. However, we don't buy based just on a brochure. We wanted to sit in it, open doors, etc and it took a long time to find one on a dealer's lot that was reasonably close. Once we saw one in person, we ordered a new one. Now I find out that the manufacturer is taking it out of the line again because it doesn't sell. It could be the reason it didn't sell to their expectations is because the dealers' don't put it in their inventory. Kind of a catch 22.
All that being said, we are pretty happy with our new rig. The real irritant was a medicine chest that was about 3" deep. Every time we opened the door, the stuff came tumbling out. Fortunately when we were having some warranty work done, we requested they replace the cabinet with a deeper one and they did. There was plenty of room for the deeper one so I am not sure why it didn't come that way. Probably went to the shallow one to save a couple of dollars.

[pasusan]

FunnyCamper wrote:
I am toyhauler shopping. If I could marry two designs I would be in heaven. as it stands each is a plus and con and I can't find the design I would love.

but this design isn't about floorplan, it is about the little design flaws that would make one camper 'perfect' for that issue.


OK- now fess up--on that camper you love, AND LUCKY you for finding the one that fits you, what don't you like? there is always that small thing that gets one saying, WHY? If only they did this?

Had to talk it over with DH before I could get a good list. 🙂

14" wheels that are too close together to replace with a bigger size - hard to find good tires that are not the stupid ST type.

Would prefer to have the bedroom in front and the big window in back - not an RV made where the front window doesn't end up leaking.

Bigger doors for the storage compartments - kinda hard to get stuff in and out.

I guess that's about it...

[monkey44]

Was gonna start a list, but would be 2014 before I finished and I'd miss a lot of this camping trip we just started.