Front living room floor plan

[pattynance]

We have had a 29RK CARDINAL 5th wheel... new since 2005. Now thinking about upgrading to longer and more slides with a side bath...really thinking seriously about the models with front LR...Any thoughts or pros and cons would be appreciated. One thing I've been told before is the issue of having to go up and down the stairs for drinks or snacks...but we are constantly going up and down the stairs now for bathroom or going upstairs for something out of the bedroom...any way would appreciate points of view....especially by those of you who already have a FL model. Thanks in advance....

[Scotty14]

You might check out,
the Excel Winslow, front living 37FLE 39' Fifth Wheel from Peterson Industries, a little pricy but you might like it.
Scott

[brmike]

We have had a KZ STONE RIDGE 38fl for about 18 months now. This is our 4th 5th wheel. The other 3 were all CARDINALS. We traded in 2008 rear kitchen on the 38fl. There is no comparison. The front living floor plan is so much more livable than the rk. Virtually all manufacturers use the same floor plan, so it is usually a matter of the way the front living area is laid out as to which one you prefer. Mainly the furniture placement and tv/fireplace location. Also some brands are heavier than others, which might affect the choice of truck size. we love our front living model. It fits our style of camping and our lifestyle. But, be aware that all of the fl's are right at 40 ft long, so there will be a noticeable difference from the Cardinal you've been pulling. In our case, there are no negatives to the front living floor plan.

[hjsdds]

Few points to consider.
Front living room changes the "feel" of the rig. Even with rigs with "generous length" for some reason the the living room "feels" smaller and the kitchen "feels" smaller. I think it's just a perception since with conventional rear living room and center kitchen that whole area is integrated together so both "feel" larger.
The front living room will also limit your ability to "entertain" other people to perhaps one couple. RVs are typically not "party houses" and if it's just two of you it doesn't matter much but if you occasionally have more than four people it would be crowded.
If you like watching television the entertainment center in the middle, like the one in Winslow 37 LFE, is a PITA. One person can watch it straight on, the other people have to sit sideways on the couches. You'd never do it in your house why would you want to watch "tele" sitting on your butt sideways. That screwball layout is not limited to front living rooms, I've seen it in conventional fifth layouts (with the center in the middle of the rear) and in half a million dollars class A's with drop down TVs.
On a positive side, a rear bedroom is always nice and they will have a little bit more space than the ones in the "overhang". I have a rear bedroom and we "enjoy it".
Here's another idea a front kitchen.



With a center living room and straight on viewing of the television (from one slideout to the other)

That rig was built by SpaceCraft.

hjs

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi and welcome to IRV2! It's great to have you join the group!

I've never had a FL so I can't help. We pulled a 5er for 10 years before getting the MH last year. Loved it!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[Bill Davey]

My opinion - worth every penny. 1) Front living rooms may just be a fad. Good friend had a Redwood, traded it on a Voltage Th. His dealer now has 3 FL trailers that sold like hot cakes last year - can't sell them this year. So if resale value matters be aware of this possibility. 2) Many campsites have their best views at the back of the site. RL trailers seem to have many more windows to take advantage of these views. I don't know if FL's can have the kind of window area that seems common in RL/RK models.

[Cumminsfan]

I would be concerned about the heat. Having a 5'er my self I've noticed it's a lot warmer in the bedroom than down in the kitchen living area. I'm guessing it would have front AC, but that would be loud and having conversations and watching with the AC on might be distracting. Just me but I prefer the openness of RL, RE's.

[TXiceman]

The front living room 5ers we have looked at over the years always suffer from a great lack of storage areas. Check out the hanging storage and drawer in the bedroom. check for kitchen storage and a pantry.

Ken

[Jamestn]

My wife and I just purchased the crossroad rushmore lincoln. This unit has front living. It actually has a front windshield. Out of all the negative of front living stated above, there is only one thing that is true with this unit. The air conditioner is very loud. I had to hook the tv to surround sound speakers. Our unit measures 41feet. This is our third rv but our favorite. It has plenty of storage.

[Medico]

Welcome and glad to meet you!

2 Cents from a non 5er owner. We have looked at 5ers at our RV Park during a couple of dealer shows held here. My wife and I loved the front LR layouts. They seemed far more livable than the standard. Perhaps this was partly due to the higher end 5ers that had the front LR. These 5ers had a larger mid kitchen with a fairly nice entertainment area open to the kitchen and LR. The bedroom had high headroom and walk around queen bed. There were a bath and a half on these units.

Like I said, comments from a coach owner.

[Ray,IN]

While shopping for a new 5er in 05, we considered a front living room. The deal breaker for us was aging. As we get older, it gets harder and harder to climb stairs and most of our indoor time is in the living room during wet or cold weather. The bathroom is then downstairs, the refrigerator is downstairs. We decided we definitely did not want a front living room for those reasons.

[Jeff_28602]

We have a 2006 Forest River CEDAR CREEK 37FLQS and love it! It is set up in a campground on a permanent lot in Marion, NC and people are amazed at the size of the living room when they look inside. I like the front living room because it is separated from the kitchen and you don't feel as crowded when sitting and visiting.

I can take some pictures and post them this weekend if you would like!

Jeff

[Thereugo]

We love our 2012 Montana 3750FL. Yes, the living room is two steps up and two steps down, but it also is very comfortable - I might say spacious. At 6'5" tall what I appreciate most is the sense of openess in the kitchen/dining, bathroom and bedroom areas due to the high, arched ceiling. Ample storage (we are preparing to full-time) and >3,000 pounds of load capacity. With 5 slides it almost seems like a Transformer when it is opening. It definitely feels larget than its almost 400 square feet.

[tuffr2]

We do not have a FL unit. But we do like that layout. The bedroom is better, the batroom is better, the stacked washer/dryer is actually out of the way, and the living room is still ok. We almost bought the Redwood FL with the residential like furniture.