Choosing an RV Floor Plan

RV floor plans — finding the right layout for your lifestyle.

There are many decisions to be made when purchasing an RV. But whether it is a motorized unit, a fifth-wheel or a travel trailer, one of the most important choices is the floor plan. After all, you will spend most of the time using the interior functions and features.

There are many different floor plan layouts that are offered by the recreational vehicle manufacturers. One must determine which best suits their needs. While this may sound like a relatively simple procedure, there are several things that must be analyzed. Some features, or spiffy designs, may look very appealing, but may not necessarily fit you and your family.

RV Floor Plans — Slide-outs and Stops

In most cases, motor homes and trailers are viewed with the room-expanding slide-outs. This is the mode in which you must decide which floor plan best fits your needs while in camp. However, once you determine which you most like, you must then see the retracted floor plan. This is when the slides are in and the vehicle is in the travel mode. Many buyers fail to check this out. So let’s look at why this is so important.

Enjoying a recreational vehicle involves more than just what happens in camp at your destination. Getting there can be half the fun. Traveling with your own kitchen galley, rest room and comfortable furniture is the ultimate in road tripping. Stopping along the way for lunch or an afternoon snack at a scenic wayside is a relaxing way to travel. Generally, such stops are made without deploying any slides, usually due to vehicle width profile in the parking areas. Additionally, some folks may wish to overnight in a rest stop. Again, this is almost always done with no slides extended.

Therefore, whether it is a motor home or a towed RV, it is imperative that you view the interior living space with all slides retracted. You want to be sure you can access the galley to prepare a meal, have comfortable access to the dinette table, ability to easily reach the head, and a reasonable path to the bed.

RV Floor Plans — Finding Elbow Room

So, as you can see, there are two floor plans you must look at. If you are unable to physically view the proposed floor plan in the closed position, you can simulate it with a simple cut and paste. Just make two copies of the floor plan found on the brochure. Cut out just the slide portions from one and place them in the closed position of the other copy. This should give you some idea as to the livability of the unit while in travel mode.

So, check out the many models and find your floor plan.

Peter Mercer – Planning Floor Plan