If real estate is all about “location, location, location,” RV buying is all about “floorplan, floorplan, floorplan.” For us, anyway.
To some degree, the frequency with which we found floorplans that would not work for us made our jobs easier. We knew what we did not want and because there was SO MUCH of what we did not want, once we found what we DID want, we were sold!
The Television
One common floorplan design we disliked involved the location of the television. We found coach after coach where the television was not mounted across from the sofa. This simply didn’t make sense to us. While we’re not big TV watchers, we do watch an hour or two at night, and we assume we may be watching more when we’re stuck in bad weather or when we don’t have an internet connection. We just didn’t think we’d be happy with this kind of layout:
If we were just RV’ing on weekends or on vacations, I think these floor plans would be fine, but given our plan for full time slow traveling, it was an important consideration.
This layout by Winnebago was a bit better, but we weren’t crazy about the chairs being in the way. Also, while the idea of a tv-hidden-in-a-cabinet-which-rises-up-at-the-push-of-a-button is super cool, you know that shit is gonna break:
The Fireplace
Other design decisions that seemed odd? The location of the fireplace. What’s the point of having a fireplace, if not to sit near it and enjoy it?
Finally though, we found a layout that seems perfect. We’ve seen it on several Tiffin Allegros as well as the Fleetwood Bounder 33C.
With the TV and fireplace situated directly across from the sectional and lounge chair, this floor plan most closely resembles our current home and simply makes sense for how we expect we’ll use the space. Nice!
The Shower
Another somewhat common design that I was not crazy about was the standalone shower, like this:
While there’s a sliding door that can close off the bedroom/bathroom area, I could not get used to the idea of stepping out of the shower into the hallway.
I can just imagine Kevin going to get something from the bedroom while I was showering, and forgetting to close the sliding door upon his return to the main living area. Then you just KNOW Frank and Susan, the lovely church-going neighbors we just met from Nebraska would come by to drop off Susan’s award winning tuna casserole and BAM! They’d come face to face with my naked ass getting out of the shower and then poor Frank and Susan would be completely traumatized because we are not. that. close. Weird. No. I need my shower to be inside my bathroom, thankyouverymuch.
Kitchen Counters
Another pet peeve of ours that’s not really about floorplans, but close enough? Kitchen counter space. We love counters that are flush all the way across, like this:
Both the sink and the stove have matching removable panels that sit flush with the rest of the counter. This design provides one long continuous work space and maximum versatility.
This, on the other hand, is much less user friendly. While the sink and stove are still covered, because the covers don’t sit flush with the rest of the counter, the work space is less versatile.
Is it a deal breaker? No, but it seems like an easy thing for manufacturers to do to make the space as flexible as possible. And for the amount of money these RVs cost, it doesn’t seem that unreasonable to expect.
Next up, finding the perfect coach….