Pantry & 8 cu ft Fridge, or Just 12 cu ft Fridge

[Easy Living]

Originally Posted by TXiceman

No pantry is a deal killer for us. It is nice to have a larger frig, but you still need pantry space for all of the non-refrigerated dry goods. We have the 12 cu.ft frig and a pantry in our Cameo, plus a coat hanging area that I added raised panel doors and shelves to make a large spice cabinet. So living in it long term would require a pantry. For a week end or short term, you might get by with no pantry...or plan to eat out a lot. Ken

For full-timing, we decided we wanted lots of storage space for groceries & the large fridge. We were lucky to find a floor plan that gave us both.

[Bill Davey]

dbear
We chose a KZ Soneridge Sportster 41 CKS because we liked the following layout features: TV is across from the main seating area so you don't have to sit with your head cranked around at a 90* angle. Windows over the headboard of the bed and across from the foot of the bed so you get some ventilation at night without running the AC (sometimes use the fantastc fan). The washer/dryer (Splendide combo) is in the garage so you don't lose closet space. We use the garage area for: cat litter box area; washer/dryer; small refrigerator + wine refer; computer printer on the "sit & sleep" pull down dinette. We almost always enter the trailer through the garage so less dirt gets tracked into the living area. The rubber floor is very easy to clean. The Harley loads easily and I have a Condor wheel chock attached to a large aluminum angle piece that removes easily when we get where we're going or if we didn't bring the bike.
Is this the perfect RV? There's no such thing, but it meets our needs, the quality is commensurate with the price, and I've had no warranty issues in 14 months (4 months full time, and several 1-week trips).

[J Birder]

You can always store a box of crackers in the frig, but your beer will get too warm if you keep it in the pantry.

Joel

[dbear]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

If your worried about a 200 mile trip to look at a 5'er, then you may not get too far full timing. We drove 300 miles to get our latest 5'er.

You are jumping to an unsupported conclusion. The concern is not the initial trip to get it (I'm considering a truck presently in Texas right now), but any subsequent trip for service if necessary. I'd rather have a dealer closer to home, wherever that might be at the time. Right now, as I already stated, I have no DRV dealer closer than 200 miles, and only two within 250 miles. Sort of makes it hard to do comparison shopping, don't you think?

Additionally, after further review of the DRV website, I see nothing that compels me enough to make the trip in the first place.

Thanks for your comments concerning fridge size.

[dbear]

Originally Posted by J Birder

You can always store a box of crackers in the frig, but your beer will get too warm if you keep it in the pantry.

Joel

Excellent point.

[Easy Living]

Originally Posted by J Birder

You can always store a box of crackers in the frig, but your beer will get too warm if you keep it in the pantry. Joel

Not many things worse!!

[PJL]

Sounds like you are considering a new unit that is conducive to long term travel. I'm making this assumption since you were considering DRV, but concerned by no local dealership. A comparable brand you should consider is Excel. Like DRV, they manufacture relatively high end units that are true 4 season capable. They have a relatively small dealer network, so for warranty work, they do not make you haul the unit to the nearest dealer, which is likely several hundred miles away. Instead, they work with you to find a quality service center nearby and reimburse that shop directly. Many of their units have both residential frigs and large pantries ( we wanted both). There are significant advantages to residential frigs, besides storage size. Lifestyles may be another option, but we didn't care for the 96" wide body (the extra 6" of DRV and Excel made a world of difference in the interior feel of those units). Anyway, if you see a model on their website that looks interesting to you, call and talk to their president, Bryan Tillett, about how after sales support would work. We actually made the trip to Smith Center, KS to tour their operation and meet with Bryan on our concerns with post sales support, as we will be full timing in areas without Excel dealers. Of course, if floorplans don't work for your needs, it just doesn't matter. If you find models of interest, check out their Owners Forum and you will find a lot of happy customers.

[wingnut60]

Everyone should visit the Excel factory because you will be within a very short drive of the "Geographic Center of the Conterminous United States"--if that doesn't seal the Excel deal, you are just too picky...
Joe

[V-Man]

Before ordering my toy-hauler, I looked long and hard at how I use my kitchen (it's just me though). I looked at what I used the refrigerator/freezer for and what I kept in the cabinets. After a bit of fiddling around with what I eat and how I fix it, I decided that I definitely needed the larger (12ft) fridge/freezer. I will also have a fairly large dorm type fridge in the garage for drinks. I needed the cold storage more than I needed the pantry area. This is for full-timing use. For weekend or week long use, I realized that I could have gone with the 8ft fridge with no problem.

The one thing I'm going to miss is my chest freezer. I've got THREE frozen turkeys in there I store large frozen items for friends and relatives since I've got the space and they don't. There is one problem with doing this . . . I don't know who one of the turkeys belongs to

[rollondown]

We have a 12cuft 4 door fridge and pantry. I would go with the larger fridge. You can find all sorts of nooks and corners to store dry goods.

[dbear]

Thanks for all the input. Don't know if it brings me any closer to a final decision of 5er or TH (need to spend time inside some units), but it is appreciated.

[Tumble Weed]

Well good luck on your decision.
We actually put in close to a 1000 miles looking for our present home for FTing.

[Doug Sage]

We have fulltimed for seven years with an 8 cubic foot refer and 2 pantrys. We keep the refer full nearly all the time and it would be nice to have a larger one but the wife loves the extra pantry space. We would not be willing to give up the pantry space.