Who owns or at least has looked

[DaveandSue]

at front living room 5er? DW and I have been smitten with a front living room Chaparral. It's a 370 FL. What are others feelings about the front living room?Just curious.

[merrykalia]

We don't have one and have not seriously looked at one since we still have young kids, but my thoughts on them are that it gives you lots of "living" space, then a kitchen/dining space and a bedroom/bath space, kind of like a house. My one big drawback to that would be that you have to traverse the steps to go to the bathroom so many times during the day, but if the bath is upstairs in the bedroom area, like on a traditional, you still have to traverse those steps. Just not really sure.

A lot of times, there is a large "window" in the front of the RV and I would worry about about leakage.

Just my thoughts on it.

[bikendan]

We've been looking at FL 5th wheels since they first came out.
The biggest negative is they often have two sofas at 90○ to the tv. Or the recliners or theater seating are at the same angle.
And why have two sofa beds and recliners, when most FL floorplans are sold to couples. Why not take one sofa out and put a desk and chair in its place.
Having recliners or theater seating directly in front of the tv, should be standard.

[DaveandSue]

That was one thing I noticed too. Too many places to sit. Seems the people that design these things,If you can call the designers,never really look at what they have. Every camper we have seen at least one if not both of the seats set at a 90 degree angle.
If we do a trade we will delete one of the couches and do just as you said,put a desk or something in it's place.Also will have recliners instead of theater seating.We really like the lay out,but it's still a modders dream set up..Thanks for the replies so far.

[themounties]

We looked at the xlr at Goshen 2 years ago it was really nice, we looked at a cardinal somewhere it was also very nice. The FL will most likely be our next fiver, that's until she sees something else.

[GL1800Rider]

We saw a Cardinal 3825Fl at the BamaGanza15 rally and it was absolutely beautiful. It does have theater seating facing the 58"TV. Only drawback to the one we saw was the carrying capacity was a few hundred pounds with all the options.

Cardinal Fifth Wheels by Forest River RV

[aceinspp]

Biggest draw back is having to go up and down the steps anytime you want something. To me not a practical set up. Later RJD

[si camper]

There has gotten to be quite a few FL models available. We looked at several and decided against. The one thing I noticed was the loss of basement and interior storage. Basement storage was split into several compartments. Square footage may have been the same but I prefer the one big one up front. The big closet in the nosecone was also lost as well as the cabinets above the couch and recliners.

[DaveandSue]

The up and down steps doesn't seem to be any different than any other FP.You have to go up to the bath room or up to the bed room.The extra living space is what we like.We are just beginning to travel more and we do like or space.The storage,both outside and especially inside seems to us any way,to be a lot more.Of course the 370 FL is some 10' longer than we are now. We haven't got to see this camper first hand yet,bt it's supposed to be at the Tulsa show next month.Our local dealer doesn't have a interest in ordering one in,unless we are buying it first.I know I can beat his pricing in Tulsa. We did on our last one by about eight grand.Service is not a problem,I can make several trips for that much and I'm pretty handy too.

[Jim34RL]

I looked at some SOB with front living room's but I could not get over the heavier pin weight of them. Plus the fact that you need to go up and down the steps every time you want to the front living room. I also think it might cut down on storage space in the basement on some models.


With the front living room models you also lose closet space in the bedrooms as far as I can tell. I also do not like the wrought iron in some models of the front living room this is to me a 60's thing in the old try-level homes built then.

[Bob Vaughn]

We have looked at quiet a few FL and the thing we do not like is how small the kitchen area is. Usually only 2 chairs to eat at and if you find one that has the center island and the table extends out to accommodate 4 dining chairs you cannot get from the living room back to the bathroom because the table is extended to the side of the island....

[Rvdixie]

I've posted this before but for whatever it's worth. I have over 40 years in the RV Business and can tell you that the front living room 5th wheel is a phenomenon that comes around every 5 years, last for a year and disappears from whence it came. It depends on a whole new generation of rvers to make it work. Once people realize the down sides like constantly going up and down stairs, tongue weight, minimized storage etc.. they usually opt out of purchasing. If by chance they do purchase they regret it shortly and what happens next is they want to trade but nobody wants their trade so they take a beating. This is the reason you don't see many dealers stocking this unit and if they do they buy a few and then back off. Just my humble opinion.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Jim34RL

... I could not get over the heavier pin weight of them.

I stopped looking at them due to this issue.

[j free]

I have the Columbus 370FL and love it. The recliner seats sit facing the TV and the pull out sofa cones in handy when My grown son come on a Nascar trip with us. Only thing is I would like more windows in the living room. With 5 slide outs It has a lot of room and feels like I'm at home. As for one year and done the Columbus has been making this for 5 years now and the Lincoln has been a FL for over 10 years now. So they do sell just need the right buyer. As for me I would buy this one again no problem.

[tomrob1161]

We've never owned a 5th wheel, only trailers since 1970. We prefer the kitchen/living room to be in the front, because when you are backed into a campsite, your living area is open to the activities going on in the campground. At night, the bedroom is in the woods. We had to look long and hard to find a trailer with the bedroom in the rear, all the manufacturers are putting them in the front now. Just a different perspective. On another note, be careful of rear kitchens with the cabinets on the back wall. That wall gets a lot of bounce going down the highway. If you have one of those, you need to make sure that your dishes, etc. are secure, otherwise, you'll find them in the middle of the kitchen floor.

[BusyRetirees]

Looked at them and loved them. The one looked at had opposing sofas and theatre seats. The front was a wall unit with large screen TV, entertainment unit, fireplace and computer desk. Just beautiful. All this talk about stairs is nonsense. We all need a bit of exercise at our age. Think of it as a stairmaster. Great entertainment area and also, in a pinch, a second separate bedroom for those expected and unexpected guests.Agree that the pin weight is much more and you will need a 1 tonner to tow. If I could afford it, I would buy one without hesitation.

[safrog]

We seriously looked at both Cardinal FR. The deal breaker was the space between the bed and side walls. It would have been difficult to make the bed. Otherwise, excellent unit.

[davel1971]

big loss of basement storage. Everyone I've seen has a slide, usually the dinette, under the awning. I think a slide under the awning is a major design flaw. I like my awning space. Seating for 6 or more, when these are marketed to couples. Put something usefull in the space instead.

[Sierra360PDEK]

We purchased a Sandpiper 366FL in 2013 and traded out to a Sierra 360 PDEK last year.
Overall we were pleased with the FL but lack of basement storage and no comfortable way to watch television quickly became old. The stairs are not an issue as we have them in every fifth wheel.
Some of the newer FL have a better layout but the lack of storage is still a big turnoff.
Look around I guarantee you can find a year old unit for a great price.

[spock123]

Montana make a front living room that has a big window in the front. It looks great, Montana also has a front kitchen that looks great and it also has the front window. Both models have the rear bedroom


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