Revolutionary RV Ideas

[D.W.Frazier]

Good afternoon. Title pretty much sums it up. Looking to get ideas/feedback and possibly stir up the RV industry.

I am new to RVing and have been looking at campers, new or used, and it blows my mind what manufacturers are providing. Blows my mind even further that over 90% of campers are made by 3 companies. So, with all that being said, I am asking everyone some questions:

Lifestyle you would like and price willing to pay, ie: family model $75k<, toy hauler $100k<, luxury model $200k<, etc.
Whats everyone's favorite floorplans and why, ie: rear bunk, mid bunk, mid/loft, front bunk, offices, work from home, homeschool etc.
Fifth Wheel or travel trailer.

Some ideas I've had so far for my personal use are as follows: Family model $75k< Steel chassis, aluminum framing, including trusses, seamless aluminum sheeting roof and walls, spray foam insulation; including filling hollow aluminum wall tubing to eliminate cold spots, making the coach more efficient by running heat, hot water, & optionally electric off diesel and NOT propane. Aluminum holding tanks with dual voltage heating pads. 12v when running off batteries, 110 when using shore power. Dual pane windows. Outdoor kitchen with stainless cabinetry & backsplash.

NOTE: I am not a solicitor, just somebody interested if everyone is currently happy with what the industry produces or would like to see a change.

I could not find an exact post to answer my questions, so I am starting a new one. If someone finds a similar post let me know and I will delete this one. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from everyone!

[Triangle Drifter]

Hmm....Some pricey stuff you want there? Are you prepared to pay for it? Compared to boats RVs are dirt cheap. There is a reason for that and it starts with things like the thickness of gelcoat an moves on to why RVs have cheap 12V fuse panels and not 12V circuit breaker panels like boats do.

[D.W.Frazier]

Thanks for replying so soon Triangle Drifter. Ya, you're probably right, I ran with the options. But some of those would be nice to see. Also, as far as distribution power panels go, from my understanding, the AC side will have circuit breakers, and the DC side will have fuses.

[hbrand]

We need bigger vanities.
I removed my sunken vanity and bought a big one and installed on top of that cabinet. So now bigger and higher.

[Stevegd007]

Hi. You didn't really mention if you're thinking about a trailer or a motorized RV or how long a unit.
I have had 2 trailers and 3 motorized RV. I found trailers a pain to back up and a difficult to tow. My gas Class A were easy to use, but on some roads a pain to drive. BIG Class A can be tough to find a parking spot in some State and National parks. Now I have a Class C. To be honest I have no issues with the Class C. Easy to get into, air bags for both front seats & doors for driver and passenger, easy on the gas and handles the hill's
OK. No parking issues as it is not HUGE. I have lived full time in it for 2 years. But not anymore. Still use it for camping.
Now for design. Floorplan IS important, get one you want. I found having a kitchen counter with SPACE is way better than a tiny countertop. A refrigerator that's LARGE with an ice maker. Bedroom with windows that open on both sides of the bed. His and Hers cabinets. Theater seating that directly in front of the TV. A lot of RV have TV's off to the side of your seating area. NO GOOD. Some floor pans offer a small electric fireplace, that's a nice addon.
You look at enough and you get an idea what you like to see. For $75 grand you can get into a Class C. $200 grand a Class A or a Super C. Me, I have no use for a toy hauler, but lots of people do. Some put a motorcycle in the back of the toy hauler. I also flat tow and car 4 down. Prefer not to use a trailer to put a car on it, its just another thing to have to manage.
Look for USB ports built in. WiFi operated lights, slides, etc. if you want to use that. Heated holding tanks. Solar hook ups, you can add solar later if you want. My Class C has a 3 12V TV's. They work great without shore power. All the lighting is LED. Passthrough storage. I don't have any use for an outdoor kitchen. Takes up room. I have a small Weber gas Grill, easy to set up and use.
Any way good luck.

[Unplanned Tourist]

A good big kitchen with plenty of counter space, comfortable seating for 5-6, and a walk around bed work for us. And I like my driver door.

[eddndee]

A functional kitchen and lots of windows.

[Gary RVRoamer]

We owned a luxury class motorhome for 12 years but still found it coming up short in some areas (some of which we fixed by remodeling):

• Lack of kitchen storage space - there wasn't even a drawer for cutlery! Duh! We removed the oven and added drawers.
• No place for a trash bin or dirty laundry
• Some of the overhead cabinets were so shallow they wouldn't even hold a paperback book. Why make cabinets that are useless? (We had them enlarged)
• No reading lights in lounge or bedroom - all general purpose lighting (we replaced cutesy scones with aimable reading lamps)

[arcaguy]

You lost me with aluminum framing on a steel chassis. This is a prescription for electrolysis and the aluminum work hardening. Why do you think Ford bought Jaguar? So they could make the new aluminum trucks and not have the electrolysis issue. Ditto for aluminum tanks. Plastic is lighter and it doesn't corrode. There's a reason that RVs are what they are, most folks shop price and not quality. I have a mid-line RV and yes it has it's faults but there is no wood in the exterior walls, they are framed in steel and the floor is marine grade OSB, nothing to rot. If you are serious about this you will need at least a few tens of millions of dollars and a factory in Elkhart. Do what you want, but don't think that other folks before haven't thought of this stuff, I'm pretty sure they have.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by hbrand

We need bigger vanities.
I removed my sunken vanity and bought a big one and installed on top of that cabinet. So now bigger and higher.

You need a smaller vanity user. Don't say I said so.

[NLOVNIT]

AI smart enough to drive it for me while I take a nap in the passenger seat with the footrest up.

Now THAT's revolutionary!

[SavnTheWales]

With residential refrigerators being installed in most if not all new RVs, there is a HUGE problem when they fail. How the heck to remove and replace it.

They should make a large door behind the refrigerator the size of the refrigerator opening. This would allow inspecting, removing, and cleaning the refrigerator. Even if it was half the height you could lay the fridge down to remove and install a new one.

IMO, nothing should be installed in an RV that cannot be put through a door. Removing the windshield is unacceptable.

[bentjm]

Aluminum waste tanks are guaranteed to eventually leak. Urine corrodes the welds.

[CLIFFTALL]

This thread is closed at the request of the OP.