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Couch, or No Couch

bsmith993
Explorer
Explorer
Hi folks. New member here with some questions. (But I've decided to hit you one at a time with them. 😉 )

I'm looking into venturing into the travel trailer world sometime over the next year. Family of four with a 10 year old boy and 13 year old girl. Naturally, the bunkhouse models is where I'm focused. In particular, where I'm "stuck" is between the common ~24 foot models, and the ~26/27 foot models. The 24's have an advantage in that they are lighter for my truck (as shown in signature line) and have a big, U shaped dinette... but NO couch. Now when you go "UP" a size, you get a couch added into the floorplan and a regular dinette. For reference I really like the Keystone Bullet 272BHS and 243BHS models.

So my question for you seasoned experts is... how much would you miss the couch? Families that don't have one... do you regret it?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments.
2019 F250 Lariat SuperDuty with all the 5th prep
2019 Starcraft Telluride 296BHS 5th Wheel
21 REPLIES 21

jfkmk
Explorer
Explorer
Our old trailer had no couch and it was the main reason for buying a new one.

bobndot
Explorer II
Explorer II
There are different comfort levels of rv sofas, just because it has a sofa doesn't mean it's a comfy sofa. I would prefer a sofa that worked.
I have had u-dinettes that also worked , however, it's suppose to be camping in the outdoors, those indoor family times might not be as often or as long as you might expect.

It will also depend on how well you do your homework regarding the specs of your TV (tow veh) in relation to your expected payload and 'real' hitch weight.
Your TV might be the limiting factor and keep you from towing the larger TT without exceeding your trucks specs.

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
Our first 2 travel trailers had couches. The first was along the front and the curved wall from the nose cap make sitting on the couch horribly uncomfortable. It was a jack knife that turned into a very uncomfortable bed.

The second trailer had a couch along the side. It had a flat back, but also was horribly uncomfortable. The back was just about high enough to hit the middle of my back. It was narrow. It was horribly uncomfortable. And you guessed it, we very seldom, if ever actually sat on them because they were both so uncomfortable.

Our third camper had stand alone furniture in it. We removed the kitchen table and chairs, the 2 rocking chairs that were in the large slide and replaced them with a true household 3 seater, recliner, high backed, very comfortable couch. We use it all the time. In fact, it was so comfortable, we bought an identical one for the house, and the matching recliner.

Couch? Yes! But it's got to have the right one. Personally, we like high back cushy couches so when sitting in them, our head can rest on the back, we can sloush in them and literally melt into the fabric. With any built in RV couch, you won't get this.

So yes, if you can find your desired model with a stand alone couch, you will probably be very happy with your decision. However, if you settle for a built in or a built in jack knife, you'll regret it. If you get stand alone furniture, you can easily replace and swap out anything you want if it doesn't work for you. I strongly advise, get a stand alone furniture model.

First trailer.






Second trailer:

Our kids were out of the house when we purchased this trailer, but we were still hooping they'd come alone, thus the bunk house version. As it turned out, they never did. The bunks became nothing but storage shelves.





Third trailer with original furniture. We got smart. We looked for a couple's trailer only. We found it. We switched the 2 rocker chairs and the 2 seat hide-a-bed in opposite slides. Then the 2 rocker chairs and the kitchen table and chairs were removed eventually, and replaced with the couch below:




Third trailer with new couch:



I put wheels on it so it can turn to fact the back window.




Fyi, our son and grandson now camp with us ever other week-end. Keeping the hide-a-bed was a wise choice. It's a horrible bed, but it does have an air mattress that lays on the floor just fine and then is actually quite comfortable.

Get the couch, but get the right one!

dodge_guy
Explorer
Explorer
You will want a couch. Just think of the first rainy day, are all 4 of you going to cram into the dinette for hours? No, with a couch you could seperate and make it more comfortable.
Wife Kim
Son Brandon 17yrs
Daughter Marissa 16yrs
Dog Bailey

12 Forest River Georgetown 350TS Hellwig sway bars, BlueOx TrueCenter stabilizer

13 Ford Explorer Roadmaster Stowmaster 5000, VIP Tow>
A bad day camping is
better than a good day at work!

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
Dinette sitting except to eat or play a game isn’t fun but RV sofas don’t compare to those at home.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

ReneeG
Explorer
Explorer
After multiple lengths of trailers over the years and starting out without a couch, we would never be without one! It's extra seating and bedding too.
2011 Bighorn 3055RL, 2011 F350 DRW 6.7L 4x4 Diesel Lariat and Hensley TrailerSaver BD3, 1992 Jeep ZJ and 1978 Coleman Concord Pop-Up for remote camping
Dave & Renee plus (Champ, Molly, Paris, Missy, and Maggie in spirit), Mica, Mabel, and Melton

F100jetmech
Explorer
Explorer
We have a 26ft bunkhouse with a couch and would not be without it. In fact, that was the main reason for going with this particular trailer. I like not having to always sit at a dinette and it gives more sitting room for the whole family instead of being cramped up at the dinette.
'15 Ram 2500, 6.4 Hemi
'06 S&S Montana Bitterroot 8.5ASC
'04 Jetcraft 1625SK 16' boat
'14 Salem Cruise Lite 261BHXL