We all love to know our opinion counts, so it is encouraging to discover that many manufacturers have taken their customer’s comments and suggestions to heart when engineering the floorplans of their new model lineups. Many of these configurations create such spacious interiors you would never know you were living on wheels. From motorhomes to fifth wheels, we are now being offered a whole new level of RV livability!
Kitchen and Living Area
Do you love to cook and/or entertain? If so, you will appreciate the opposing galley slides in the Tiffin Phaeton 42QPH diesel motorhome. With an optional full-size residential refrigerator tucked into the roadside slide, there is plenty of room for your guests to mingle. Even better, you will have the energy to enjoy the party because the days of making half a dozen trips to the market and worrying about how to keep everything chilled are over. This 4-door fridge with icemaker and water filter holds all you need to feed a houseful and with six built-in batteries, it can run two days without shore power. There is also plenty of seating on this side with a 72” booth dinette and a 74” sofa bed.
In the opposing slide are a microwave and residential-size stove. This slide also provides incredible counter space as well as a 68” sleeper sofa. In both slides, overhead cabinets allow for easily accessible storage. Additionally, this configuration makes room for a half bath and a stackable washer and dryer mid ship. “We constantly collect feedback,” says Danny Inman of Tiffin Motorhomes. “More and more people are doing this full-time, or at least six months out of the year and our customers always talk about needing more maneuverability. People love the openness of this floorplan.”
A stellar choice for RVers who love to share their home with friends and family, the Monaco Dynasty Majestic (photographed above) offers the industry’s first slide within a slide in the living area. This new floorplan configuration nearly doubles this diesel motorhome’s living area allowing room for an island dinette with a “split personality.” While perfect for sipping a cup of morning coffee, it easily converts to a bar for entertaining in the evening.
Best of all you get to choose what goes into this innovative roadside telescoping slide, which offers an additional 114-c.f. of space when fully extended. If you are looking for an abundant dining space, select a freestanding or booth dinette that comes with an 81” sofa. If seating your guests is a higher Priority, you can opt for the island dinette which is accompanied by an oversized 153” sofa. “Our motivation is innovation,” says Jayne Fairley of Monaco. “Our customers have asked for more livability and this floorplan takes livability to a whole new dimension.”
It will be tough to think about work when you are surrounded by this much luxury, but if you absolutely have to, the pullout dual-directional desktop hidden behind the passenger seat will comfortably accommodate you. Additional bonuses are the mid-ship 42” television and the incredibly spacious countertop.
After hearing that their customers didn’t want to look out on their neighbor’s yard while dining, the engineers at Holiday Rambler went to work on their Imperial Fiji IV floorplan. With this new floorplan, the Imperial bucks the trend with a curbside dinette. Now you can savor the flavors of a home-cooked meal while enjoying a serene view of your own yard.
The opposing slide contains the stove and countertop making for an angled galley with much more counter space. “We always hear from women that they want more counters, but don’t want to give up the space elsewhere,” offers Jayne Fairley of Monaco. To deliver on this request, this floorplan configuration includes the additional countertop without sacrificing seating. “In the Imperial Fiji you get an 84” plus an 81” sofa,” Fairley adds.
2009 Keystone Everest Fifth Wheel
The super slide also makes way for some exciting transformations on the inside. Together with the kitchen slide, an extra 50-s.f. of living space is made available. This additional space has allowed the engineers to return the living room to the front of the coach along with a 42” television and large sofa containing an air mattress bed. The center stairs up to the living room are offset by a pantry on the left and a closet on the right creating a smooth flow for socializing with others who may be in the kitchen area. With its 4-door refrigerator, expanded counter area, 30” OTR convection microwave and added storage for pots and pans, the kitchen is now even more of a pleasure to use. “Customer feedback drove these changes,” said Parkhurst. “This floor plan encompasses everything they asked for.”
Bedroom
You don’t have to worry about stubbing your toes in the middle of the night in the Winnebago Journey
2009 Winnebago Journey
All of these features are typically found in a 40’ motorhome, but Winnebago “listens to customers through focus groups and surveys,” according to Kelli Harms at Winnebago Industries. With a powerful 350HP Cummins engine, it’s a 34’ coach that lives and drives like it’s 40’. “We want to offer a product people want and will appreciate,” adds Harms.
“We conduct customer seminars at every rally,” offers Suzy Fletcher of the American Coach division of Fleetwood Enterprises. “It’s such a great source of information for us and allows us to truly take all of our models to the next level.” Women love the dresser and vanity stool which are nestled across from the bed alongside a 32” television.
The bedroom slide in the Keystone Montana 3400RL fifth wheel has room for a king-sized bed and has created room in the bedroom suite for a garden bathtub. After soaking in luxury, you will surely enjoy a great night’s sleep as the added slide width ensures your mattress retains its shape. “We responded to customer feedback and made the slide significantly wider so the mattress stays flat and there’s room to make the bed comfortably,” offers Keystone’s Jim Edmunson, who says they collect customer feedback in many ways including an online forum.
Keystone has also increased the slide out in the bedroom by 6”, creating more room in front of the bed to walk around and access the wardrobe. The new Hickory Edition of the Montana includes upgrades on the wood interior as well as features like over 6’5” of headroom throughout the entire bed and bath area. Very functional and very nice!
2009 American Coach Heritage
If you love camping in state and national parks, you probably feel you have sacrificed some comfort in order to have a vehicle that meets the “under 30-ft” length requirements of campgrounds like the Grand Canyon. Thanks to the Holiday Rambler Augusta 293TS, you can have both. This B+ gas motorhome breaks the rules, incorporating three slides so you can now have your parks and comfort too!
The bedroom slide boasts a queen bed that allows plenty of walk around space because who wants to shuffle side-ways? The opposing wall has a large wardrobe and television cabinet, creating a relaxing place to restore your energy after all that hiking and biking. Atop a van-like chassis, this coach “drives more like a car than a motorhome and it can go anywhere from the beach to a park campground,” attests Jayne Fairley of Monaco.
Bath-and-a-Half
Manufacturers have tuned in to one of the most frequent requests from RVers – give us our own bathroom! Tiffin Motorhomes delivered on this request with the Allegro Bus 43QPB whose opposing bedroom slides afford a full master bathroom within the suite. By reconfiguring the bed and cabinets, engineers made room in this luxurious diesel pusher for a half-bath mid-ship. Now you do not have to worry about your bathroom being picture perfect because your guests have their own place to freshen up.
The Beaver Marquis Amethyst IV, another diesel motorhome, boasts the largest shower in the
2009 Beaver Marquis
Also helping to set the industry trend of the guest bathroom is the redesigned Fleetwood Terra 36T. This gas motorhome has opposing bedroom slides that create a private master bedroom suite that includes a full bath at the rear of the suite. “Customers are telling us that they are using their RVs for longer periods of time,” says Fleetwood’s Suzy Fletcher. “Two baths makes it much more livable.” The half-bath is conveniently located mid-ship between the bedroom and galley. For a 36’ coach, these features, along with two additional sleeping areas and a mid-ship entertainment center, make extended trips much more comfortable.
Toy hauler owners have their own wishes for bathroom comfort and the makers of the KZ Inferno 4005SL have listened. Formerly equipped with a functional stall shower, this floorplan includes a residential-size bathtub in the main bath area. Is there anything better than relaxing in a hot, bubbly tub after a long day of outdoor fun? In addition to soothing sore muscles, parents also love how much easier it is to wash up kids who have played just as hard. The tub is recessed into the floor and comes with a curved shower curtain to reduce splashing. Another bonus is the half-bath located near the entry door. It is great for privacy and also allows everyone to remove that first layer of dirt so it is not tracked into the coach.
From telescoping slides to two bathrooms, today’s floorplan configurations are a joint creation between customers who are willing to share their suggestions, and manufacturers with engineering talent capable of implementing them. The result is an array of RVs that offer the amenities you need to make your RV truly a traveling home.