The Dream Compact RV

So, the hubby and I have been renting out various RVs over the years for short weekend get aways sometimes with friends or family, and sometimes just the 2 of us.

These are interior design features I've come to learn are musts in our dream RV:

• Wet baths are OK as it's an easy way to wash the whole room! However, there is a minimum floor space I'm willing to shower in proximity with the toilet seat.
• Cab over beds instead of a separate bedroom is a better use of space
• Murphy beds that cover the dining area is not acceptable as I want us to be able to have one person lounge in bed while the other lounging at the dining table at the same time.
• Wardrobe space to hang jackets are a must
• "Full height" fridge with a separate freezer component is a must
• 19 to 20 feet are ideal lengths as the RV will still fit in typical parking spaces

The benefit of Class As are that they are tall enough such that manufacturers have been putting loft beds over the driver seat (motorhome.com):

 

The down side to this is that we would lose the use of of the driver seats to lounge in when the bed is down. Despite there being a separate dinette sofa chair, that 2nd chair allows us yet another place to spread out to in the limited RV space. 

Similar to Class As and unlike Class Cs, Class B RVs driver seats typically turn around. The driver seat in this Winnebago Travato is reused for the other side of the dining table. A great re-use of furniture in a limited space. (Winnebago Travato 59G):

The downside to this layout is the small width of bed. The hubby and I fit but a larger bed would be even more ideal. Class Bs do however tend to have higher quality secureable cabinets and built in interior and exterior speakers. This particular Travato also has a spacious enough bathroom to regularly shower in. The storage space INSIDE the bathroom is also surprisingly spacious.

On the other hand, we've rented out a truck camper like this Lance 850 but found the bathroom too small. I also did not like washing dishes in front of the hubby's feet in my face. There just wasn't enough room for the 2 of us to spread out in this camper (Lance 850):

The wardrobe space in the cabover bed was very quaint and great use of space though. I also swoon over the large truck that comes with such campers where 6 ppl can fit in the cab. We haven't gotten the chance to try out a Lance 1172, however this double sliding camper comes very close to a dream layout:

A minor downside to this layout is that we tend to cook and wash dishes or use the sink at the same time. One of us would have to use the sink perpendicular to it to allow the other to cook on the stove. A very minor downside when compared to the additional lofty sofa seat, separate shower space, and large mirrored wardrobe in the cabover bunk. A potential downside is that it would be difficult to get into this camper when the sliders are not out.

For truck campers, I do like the idea of the truck being able to be used separately from the heavy camper, however we were told that these campers are not the easiest to remove. Large dually trucks with the wide body and double tires in the back are also needed to carry these large campers. 

Eagle Cap has truck camper layouts that is hard for me to imagine a truck bed can carry!

However, Eagle Cap's 1160 kitchen layout is a slightly better version of the Lance 1172. We were unfortunately told that the build quality of Eagle Caps are not as great and campers have been known to break off due to its top heaviness!

One of my favorite compact RVs we have been able to rent out is the Cruise America Compact 19.

 

The only main bed in the truck is the cabover bed allowing for this Class C RV to be just the perfect 19 feet long. The shower was spacious. The downsides to this RV was that coming down from the cabover bed always felt slightly precarious, and the kitchen/stove layout didn't allow for the hubby and me to be both in the kitchen.

So if we were to get a Class C 19', I'd re-lay it out as so:

 

I moved the fridge to the back of the car so that we can both work by the sink and stove. I also moved the wardrobe to where the extra seat was. That is a bit of a bummer as that's where we had put the camping chairs and telescope, which still leaves a clear walkway. Compared to a mini class A, this Class C also does not have much external storage. I did however dream up that the passenger and driver seat could rotate and be used as an additional lounging chair. I've always wanted a car where we could fit 2 other couples, so this Class C 19 would be such a perfect fit for our lifestyle. Sigh~