Which Do You Prefer - Open or Enclosed Bath

[MT flyfisher]

Which bath option do you prefer, open or enclosed, and why?

For the moment, we're leaning more toward the open bath option, but not having experienced either 1st hand, I would really appreciate hearing your opinions.

Here are a few of our personal considerations, but I don't know if these are relevant in making a decision:

1. I get up much earlier than my wife, and she stays up later than me at night.

2. We do not plan on getting a washer and dryer, but will use the space as a closet. Good place to hang coats and jackets, or better for towels and bathroom items? Does the enclosed or open bath location, re: this room matter?

3. In our prior trailer, I frequently hung my wet fishing waders on a rod that we placed across the top of the shower stall. We also hung other wet clothes and rain jackets, etc. there periodically. My wife and I are short enough that the rod was above our head and it didn't need to be removed when we showered. I don't know whether we can do this in an Excel shower (I'll find out this answer when we visit an Excel dealer in about 2 hours from now), but my other question is, where do you folks hang wet items, and does the open or enclosed bath make a difference in that regard?

Thanks for your comments.

John

[MT flyfisher]

Which bath option do you prefer, open or enclosed, and why?

For the moment, we're leaning more toward the open bath option, but not having experienced either 1st hand, I would really appreciate hearing your opinions.

Here are a few of our personal considerations, but I don't know if these are relevant in making a decision:

1. I get up much earlier than my wife, and she stays up later than me at night.

2. We do not plan on getting a washer and dryer, but will use the space as a closet. Good place to hang coats and jackets, or better for towels and bathroom items? Does the enclosed or open bath location, re: this room matter?

3. In our prior trailer, I frequently hung my wet fishing waders on a rod that we placed across the top of the shower stall. We also hung other wet clothes and rain jackets, etc. there periodically. My wife and I are short enough that the rod was above our head and it didn't need to be removed when we showered. I don't know whether we can do this in an Excel shower (I'll find out this answer when we visit an Excel dealer in about 2 hours from now), but my other question is, where do you folks hang wet items, and does the open or enclosed bath make a difference in that regard?

Thanks for your comments.

John

[DeepDoc1]

Not having had either, I can only speculate, but I tend to prefer the enclosed bath. I like the idea of having the washer/dryer out of the bedroom, as I don't much care for the idea of smelling laundry perfumes all night (not one of your considerations). I also like the idea of the extra useable wall space in the living or kitchen area - usually used for counter space or entertainment center. Also, the enclosed bathroom may be more useful if I have kids/grandkids visiting, assuming I can close off the bedroom area (pocket door?). Like you, these ideas aren't fixed in corian, but that's my thoughts for now.

[D and J]

We went with the enclosed bath for a few reasons. We just went from a 2400 sq ft house to a 400 sq ft trailer. We felt we needed the seperation that the enclosed bath gives you (from the bedroom to the living area)

We were also concerned about water use when boondocking. With our layout, all water faucets are together, and right next to the water heater. (FSE is no longer made in Limited, but if you look at the RT, you can see what I'm talking about) We get hot water to all faucets in 2-3 seconds. We don't have a washer/dryer and I plan on building some shelves for better storage in the closet.

My wife feels the enclosed bath offers more privacy for showers, etc. I'm close to 6'4" tall, and I feel kinda clostrophobick (sp?) in open bathroom toilets. I guess I like the extra "elbow" room when on the thrown.

The extra wall on the bedroom has given us more room for pictures and other hangings!

We were first worried about enclosing moisture in the bathroom, but the fan does a great job of getting rid of the humid air after a shower.

Our first 5th wheel was open bath, and my wife says we will never own an open bath again. (time will tell!!)

Doug

[ExcelRVGuy]

John...

This is one of those "50/50" questions. We offer most models with either bathroom. On those models that can have either bath, we build about 1/2 with open baths and the other 1/2 enclosed.

Your reason #1 leans heavily toward the enclosed bath. The "E" bath beats the "O" bath hands down for privacy when the spouses biological clocks tick at different rates. You will get far less noise and distraction from the rest of the coach with an enclosed bath (My wife and my personal favorite choice BTW).

The negative side of the enclosed bath is if one of you has Claustrophobia. The bedroom can feel tight and close in a bit on you.

The open bath feels, well, more open, thus making the coach feel larger.

Just throwing my 2 cents worth into the mix for a little fun on the lighter side

BT

[LindaH]

We selected the enclosed bath mainly because I didn't want to be able to see either the sink or the shower laying in bed at night!

We DO have a washer/dryer (but, then, we're fulltime RVers and that was on my "must have" list along with the king-size bed). The open bath would be a bit more convenient for access to the washer/dryer than the enclosed bath is, but that's a moot point for you since you're not going to have a washer/dryer.

I agree with Brian...if you and your wife are on different schedules, you'd definitely want the enclosed bath. Can you imagine one of you taking a shower or using the sink when the other one is trying to sleep with the open bath?

[clspds]

We have the enclosed bath and we like it. One thing I don't like with the layout is the hallway to the bedroom and the bathroom is very narrow or maybe I'm just too wide.

[D and J]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by clspds:
or maybe I'm just too wide. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

ROTFLMAO yeah, I'm a little guilty of that too!

[fixintodoit]

MT flyfisher - we pondered on the same ?? Decided on the "O" bath for Claustrophobia reasons. We have the RSO Limited with the "O" bath. We do wish they had somehow made the toilet room a little larger. Thank goodness we are not very BIG people. Strongly suggest you do 2 things before deciding ,as this is a important decision. Both of you lay on the bed in the "E" bath model and then sit on the toilet (with the door closed) in "O" model.I think you will see these are the 2 main issues here. Hope you enjoy your new Excel as much as we do ours.

[MakinSmoke]

Even though my wife and I are on the same schedule as you are...I am up early and she stays up later...we both prefer the open bath for two reasons. The primary reason is that one of us can use the necessary room and the other can take a shower and not interfere with the other. Second, we tend to get ready to go somewhere at the exact same time. We tried to fit into an enclosed bath at the same time and it just did not work for us. Now, I need to tell you that I'm 6' and a smidgen and on a light day go about 255.

[rockintom]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MakinSmoke:
Even though my wife and I are on the same schedule as you are...I am up early and she stays up later...we both prefer the open bath for two reasons. The primary reason is that one of us can use the necessary room and the other can take a shower and not interfere with the other. Second, we tend to get ready to go somewhere at the exact same time. We tried to fit into an enclosed bath at the same time and it just did not work for us. Now, I need to tell you that I'm 6' and a smidgen and on a light day go about 255.[/QUOTE

Hold on there a second Virg.......I'm trying to visualize this.......holy moly! I think I got it! Yikes!

[MakinSmoke]

It ain't a purdy sight.

[Lindaxtwo]

We went with the open bath due to the claustrophic issue with the wall in the bedroom for an enclosed bath. We also didn't care for the waste line running smack dab down through the middle of the basement storage bay. With the open bath, this isn't an issue.