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Old 12-22-2013, 08:37 AM   #1
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Rear Kitchens

we are considering on buying a 5th wheel with rear kitchen , does anyone have any problems with rear kitchens when moving down the road?
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Old 12-22-2013, 10:17 AM   #2
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My last 2 5ers , were rear kitchen units. There can be problems with weight distribution, ended up having to store canned goods under the bed to correct a balance problem , but my DW, likes to carry a LOT of stuff.
Movement and breakage ; in five years, 60k miles of towing, only had breakage on one section of road; we used foam pillows to take up all the spaces in the kitchen cupboards.
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Old 12-22-2013, 10:23 AM   #3
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We have owned a rear kitchen 5th wheel for the past 7 years with no problems. We have the Hensley Trailer Saver hitch which makes a difference though.

We have enjoyed the rear kitchen, but our next 5ver will be a triple slide rear living 5ver. Nothing wrong with the rear kitchen floor plan but now want to try something different...
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Old 12-22-2013, 10:38 AM   #4
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Only issue with RK's is that the tv is in the middle and you have to sit sideways to watch it. If you don't watch the tv then no biggie. Also the RK's tend to be narrower since they only have one slide for the sofa and dinette. We really like the large amount of counter space they offer but it comes as a premium. If you are a weekender not that big of a deal. But spending a month on the road it might feel a little cramped for me anyway.
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Old 12-22-2013, 11:47 AM   #5
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Ours is fine ride wise with as much movement of stuff in the bathroom as in the kitchen, which isn't much. We find ours to be very open and roomy with opposing full size slides. We have plenty of counter space, especially with the portable island. Our tv is located at an angle in a cabinet in the front of the living area. It is on a swing arm so it can be adjusted to wherever you want.
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Old 12-22-2013, 11:57 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Foggy5 View Post
We have owned a rear kitchen 5th wheel for the past 7 years with no problems. We have the Hensley Trailer Saver hitch which makes a difference though. We have enjoyed the rear kitchen, but our next 5ver will be a triple slide rear living 5ver. Nothing wrong with the rear kitchen floor plan but now want to try something different...
X2. We chose the mid kitchen because the wife likes the big rear window for viewing and it feels more like a living room with the 2 recliners and couch. The kitchen has an L shaped counter for plenty if counter space.
I liked it because of weight distribution. The kitchen and pantry sits over the axles.
Enjoy your search and take your time. We spent a year off an on searching.
Happy camping
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Old 12-22-2013, 08:41 PM   #7
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Our last two 5ers were RK models. Both had shocks and both had no issues with any breakage in the rear kitchen.

Current RK 5er has over 110k miles and have been on rough state hiways that broke connection on the black tank/shook the A/C vent loose in the ceiling/cracked the pin box mounting frame in the 5er/lost center covers from both wheels on the rear axle all in one 3400 mile trip. I hate concrete hiways.
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Old 12-22-2013, 09:00 PM   #8
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Ours is fine ride wise with as much movement of stuff in the bathroom as in the kitchen, which isn't much. We find ours to be very open and roomy with opposing full size slides. We have plenty of counter space, especially with the portable island. Our tv is located at an angle in a cabinet in the front of the living area. It is on a swing arm so it can be adjusted to wherever you want.
Ours is the same, just a little longer, and we absolutely love it. The kitchen space with the portable island, the pull out counter addition, and all the rear counter space is amazing. This is our third fiver, and as FTers, we both feel the favorite floor plan we have had to date.
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Old 12-23-2013, 07:48 AM   #9
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If rear kitchen is what you want I see no problem there are a lot of them out there but I got the mid kitchen when I bought with the outside door in the middle. My reason was I can get to the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom with the slides in. While this may not be a big deal I think will work well while traveling or loading things to get started.
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Old 12-23-2013, 11:55 AM   #10
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Prior to our coach, we owned a RK 5-r. It had wrap around cabinets, a center penninsula & hanging cabinets above that. Things did bounce & sway around back there (we temp mounted a wireless camera on the steps to the bedroom facing back toward the RK just to watch), but I had only 1 Pyrex pan break. And that was only because I didn't pad it well when I put it in the cabinet. We never had doors or drawers open enroute, despite the jostleing.

Like others stated, you do have to watch weight distribution. Our slide-outs were both in the rear, as well as the fridge & all the stuff that went in the RK cabinets. For this reason we never carried our firewood, nor stored any tools in any rear bay.

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Old 12-23-2013, 04:03 PM   #11
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We have a rear kitchen 5er and like it a lot. Our previous 5er was a mid-kitchen model and we don't see any difference in weight distribution or dish breakage, etc. The only thing that I don't like is that the furnace is under the refrigerator all the way in the back so heat distribution to the bathroom and bedroom aren't as good as in the mid-kitchen model. If I had it to do over again, I would still get the rear kitchen.
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Old 12-23-2013, 04:36 PM   #12
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We have a TT, not a 5th wheel, which are worse for bounce because of the hitch point on the TV. The functionality and counter space provided by a rear kitchen outweighs negatives like rear end bounce. Our fridge is in the slide which gives above average counter space. Bounce will depend somewhat on the trailer's suspension, the position of the axles relative to overall length, overall length, GVWR and the stiffness of the truck's suspension. Some have no problems while some do report bounce issues. Can't really predict it and you just have to wait and see. I've even heard of clothes hangers bouncing off rods in front bedrooms in a FW, so it's not just a RK thing either.

We've had cupboard doors open, the stove grate come right out, things hop out of the sink and even the plastic rod on the window blinds come off. Opened the entry door once to find coffee and stuff all over the floor. One thing that really helps is to slow down for upcoming speed bumps as they can really launch the rear end upwards. Shocks would help a lot, and they are a good idea on any TT or FW. You can also double up on the cabinet door catches.

We have a new rear kitchen TT coming shortly and we've gone with theater seating this time which will be a lot more comfortable than our current RV sofa. We also have the seating/TV across the width and don't find it a problem and the theater seating will be nicer for sitting for long stretches.

I really miss the large rear picture window in our first trailer but wouldn't give up a RK for one now. Not a chance!

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Old 12-23-2013, 04:45 PM   #13
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We have had a r/k for about 5 years. When we were shopping I wouldn't even look at rear kitchens, I wanted those big windows in the back. Finally to satisfy the sales rep we looked at a r/k. Once we walked in and saw the big windows on both sides and all that counter space my wife was sold. if either one of us are in the kitchen the other one is never in the way. A couple of broken coffee cups at first but no big deal, We place them different now.
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Old 12-30-2013, 12:14 AM   #14
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X2. We chose the mid kitchen because the wife likes the big rear window for viewing and it feels more like a living room with the 2 recliners and couch. The kitchen has an L shaped counter for plenty if counter space.
I liked it because of weight distribution. The kitchen and pantry sits over the axles.
Enjoy your search and take your time. We spent a year off an on searching.
Happy camping
Same here. We have mid-kitchen with 2 slides. Sofa, panty and frig is in slide behind island sink. TV entertainment and dining table in opposite slide and TV is right across from island sink. We love our rear living room window. Can see the bay and watch the birds. 2 recliners in front of big window. When Jim is sitting in his recliner we can both enjoy the TV.

Jim built extra shelves in my pantry. They were deep and tall so he made a mid shelf. I used the FREE wooden paint stirrers from the big box dept stores for the lip of each shelf. But if pantries real full which I have a tenancy of doing I use the metal sliders. We Love our 5er.
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