Lack of space in new motorhomes

[RodgerS]

When I was 22, I went backpacking for a week. Never thought of storage being a problem. Same thing at the college dorm...no big deal.

Must be an age problem because at 64, and being a happy old fart, seems like my home is full of stuff. Good thing I have a young wife, she seems mostly worried where to store me.

[flynnwalter]

Rusty
Buying something like a motorhome is mostly driven by emotion and not logic. That fact has not been lost on sales people or designers. We only learned from our mistakes in previous RVs, and I suspect we are not alone in that. While not very high up on the Monaco food chain, our Cayman has an amazing amount of storage. People we know with an HR Ambassador w/rear 'sitting room' looked at our coach and their jaws dropped. They full time with no washer, as it would use up the ONLY stand alone closet in their coach. Glitz sells when we are vulnerable, storage lasts. Can't have large windows and storage. Its not an intelligence thing, its emotional.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by flynnwalter

Rusty
Buying something like a motorhome is mostly driven by emotion and not logic. That fact has not been lost on sales people or designers. We only learned from our mistakes in previous RVs, and I suspect we are not alone in that. While not very high up on the Monaco food chain, our Cayman has an amazing amount of storage. People we know with an HR Ambassador w/rear 'sitting room' looked at our coach and their jaws dropped. They full time with no washer, as it would use up the ONLY stand alone closet in their coach. Glitz sells when we are vulnerable, storage lasts. Can't have large windows and storage. Its not an intelligence thing, its emotional.

This is a really profound statement. I have read and posted advice on many threads that deal with people looking to enter the RV hobby.

IMO the first thing to consider is FLOOR PLAN, then look at brand and model. You get what you purchase. It is too late to take it off of the dealers lot and then start complaining about storage.

Too often people are driven by brand loyalty and will listen to people who declare unequivacably that "my" brand is the best because the owners really think we are great or some like justification. (this is a very broad statement but hopefully you get the drift).

When we were looking for our coach we looked at a number of different manufacturers offerings parked side by side. In many cases there was little difference in the amenities and storage from coach to coach. Comparing them to the used models that we viewed and also considered there seemed to be little difference from old to new.

Again this is all subjective. In order to objectively compare the storage from one to another we need to have some actual volume measurements.

[PeaceOwl]

Have to admit, all those cupboards 6 inches deep really seemed like overkill, but that was coming off a 24 ft. RV that had deep cupboards to try and accommodate storage needs. We were banging our heads on them all the time in those small quarters!;0 so I won't complain about my short cupboards again! lol

BTW, I found the narrow refrigerator inside storage boxes at Target (3.99$) to fit well in both the cupboards and the frige! White, about 8 in. High,12 in long, 6 in deep, keeps things from falling over. Perfect in the pantry rack slide tray too. You can find things to help with storage problems, as you all very well know!

[Crasher]

When we had a 32' Southwind, we filled the storage space. The same was true with our 34' Adventurer. Then the 39' Bounder diesel, and the 36' Pace Arrow Vision, the two 40' Phaeton's and now our 43' Bus. Each one had/has more storage than the one before. The best and roomiest of them all is our current one. Even with the dishwasher, washer and dryer, and large residential refrigerator and basement freezer, we still have more storage than we need. We end up taking more "things" that we don't use, just because we can. I fear though, that the DW will eventually find something else to take along just to fill those empty spaces. Isn't life good???

[09 harley]

"My head is not turned by anything fancy" How about the red Corvette you are towing, that looks kinda fancy. I like your attitude and your simple unassuming toad.

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Again this is all subjective. In order to objectively compare the storage from one to another we need to have some actual volume measurements.

One problem with a total volume measurement is that it doesn't address usability. I'd prefer to have a few large cabinets over a whole bunch of little ones, for example.

As for choosing between windows and storage, I'll say again that it's possible to have both. My website has some photos that show the interior, and while I'm not willing to measure each cabinet, you can get a good idea of their size and number from the photos.

DEBCAR RV Information

The cabinets along the ceiling on the passenger side are 2 feet deep, and the inside is open for the entire 18 feet. The mirrored doors near the kitchen are for a pantry that is over a foot deep. You can kind of figure out the rest.

And yet they still managed to put in a lot of big windows.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by oatmeal

One problem with a total volume measurement is that it doesn't address usability. I'd prefer to have a few large cabinets over a whole bunch of little ones, for example.

As for choosing between windows and storage, I'll say again that it's possible to have both. My website has some photos that show the interior, and while I'm not willing to measure each cabinet, you can get a good idea of their size and number from the photos.

DEBCAR RV Information

The cabinets along the ceiling on the passenger side are 2 feet deep, and the inside is open for the entire 18 feet. The mirrored doors near the kitchen are for a pantry that is over a foot deep. You can kind of figure out the rest.

And yet they still managed to put in a lot of big windows.

I agree it has to be useable. I get confused easily and when the statement is made there is way less storage my first question is what does way less mean? Same kind of questions for "way better gas mileage" or "carry way more weight". These are subjective statements and have different meanings for each of us who read them. I would like to know "how much"?

The same concern can be used for the word useable. That will depend upon what you would like to store there. A large storage area can be great if you are trying to store large items whereas small areas my be better if you have a lot of small items. I find storing a lot of small items in one large area could be very cluttered. Fundamentally though large boxes are more practical for my use than small ones.

When we moved from the 5er we had a similar experience with cabinet size. The cabinets above the lounge area are 11" in the 5er while the cabinets in the MH are 20". This is both good and bad. We can get more stuff in the deeper cabinet we do put in more. Now to get something out many times it is in the back and we have to 'take out' the articles in front to get the item we want from the back. Always something to complain about LOL.

My only rationale for suggesting a volume measure is to determine if the statement there is less storage in new MH vs old MH has validity. And if so how much? I can rest assured if there is a few cubic inches of storage my DW will put something in it. And if I lay something down for a moment it will be gone when I reach for it, and it will be in one of those storage spaces!

[dan-nickie]

Originally Posted by 09 harley

"My head is not turned by anything fancy" How about the red Corvette you are towing, that looks kinda fancy. I like your attitude and your simple unassuming toad.

No problem. Plenty of storage in a Corvette.

[Selah2]

Originally Posted by 336muffin

Could you give me the brand name of the cook ware? I appoligize to the OP, probably others might be interested as well.

Amen!
It's about being happy with whatever you own. Some of the older MH are beautiful and spacious and some of the newer are beautiful and spacious. And most all of them are better homes than many people in the world can even imagine owning.

[RodgerS]

Most of my initial confusion on this subject, starting a year ago, was somewhat dealt with when I realized that evaluating a motorized home from a vacation viewpoint made it easy to be lead astray. And evaluating a recreational vehicle from a mobile home viewpoint was also quite misleading. Etc.

Unfortunately, it seems a lot of times people don't really seem to think it matters.

Similarly, it is amazing how much focus is put on the motorized portion, ignoring the more relevant floor plan.

[CampDaven]

Originally Posted by RodgerS

Most of my initial confusion on this subject, starting a year ago, was somewhat dealt with when I realized that evaluating a motorized home from a vacation viewpoint made it easy to be lead astray. And evaluating a recreational vehicle from a mobile home viewpoint was also quite misleading. Etc.

Unfortunately, it seems a lot of times people don't really seem to think it matters.

Similarly, it is amazing how much focus is put on the motorized portion, ignoring the more relevant floor plan.

I have never been led astray on RV choices; was never confused. I evaluated the products from all aspects, and think most folks do it that way. YMMV.
We all make choices; quite happy with mine.
Looking forward to your choice.
Happy trails!

Rusty Years: I hear ya pal.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by wildtoad

I am convinced that the people designing these things have never used them for other than an occasional weekend, or tailgating where impressing people is a must...

I believe you have the answer. Most RVs are built for occasional use and not as full-time housing.

[go6car]

Speaking about storage -- It still amazes me how many coaches are built without a pantry, or some other designated place to store food. (Ours included).