Today’s RV review is of the Cedar Creek Cottage 40CFD destination trailer. What is a destination trailer, you ask? These are models that are designed more to make one trip somewhere and live out their lives there (i.e., their destination). As such, they are built a bit differently and are designed to be lived in rather than camped in.
I got the idea to look at destination trailers from RV Travel reader Jim. He suggested we look at these and what makes one better than the other. The answer to that is not dissimilar to other travel trailers and RVs, with a few exceptions.
Since destination trailers are meant to basically find a home and park, their tires, suspension, and other running gear are pretty low-grade, and that’s fine. I have sometimes wondered if it might be possible to just eliminate running gear and move these sort of like a roll-off. But that might also pose different complications.
The idea here is that if you have a piece of land with a beautiful view, or have a relative who’s going to come live with you, or something like that, you can just buy one of these trailers and park it permanently. While you could certainly pull one of these around like a travel trailer, albeit with one heck of a large truck, that’s not the whole idea.
In fact, I have an aunt who has gone to live with her son and his family and something like this would make so much sense. Not only do you instantly get a complete residence, but that residence can show up fully furnished, plumbed, and ready to go. Done.
Configured differently than a travel trailer
Because they’re designed to go somewhere and stay there, these are also configured differently than a travel trailer or fifth wheel. For example, the water heater on these is a 120VAC household-style tank water heater, albeit with a 20-gallon tank (many residential units are 40 gallons). Further proof that these are designed to go somewhere and just stay there is the fact that the entire hitch is removable.
I have also seen other destination or park model trailers that don’t have holding tanks at all. The idea is that you plumb them directly into water and sewer. But that’s not the case here, with this trailer having holding tanks.
On that subject, one of the first changes I would make would be to swap in electric gate valves. That’s so you can open and close them from inside the rig itself, as they are not conveniently placed. Plus, there are separate connections for galley and bathroom holding tanks. Bleh.
Highlights of the Cedar Creek Cottage 40CFD
When I saw this rig in the lineup on a recent visit to Forest River, I was pretty excited with what I saw. The most notable feature of this, from the outside, is a porch on the front of the trailer. That porch has a railing and a piece of the roof over it so that it’s a shaded porch. There’s also a ceiling fan on the porch, so that’s pretty nifty.
The dealership I worked for sold Cedar Creek fifth wheels. These were truly some of the better-built trailers we carried.
Construction of Cedar Creek Cottage 40CFD
In the case of these Cottage models, they feature a TPO roof that carries a lifetime warranty. However, know that any breaches in the roof for vents and such are still a maintenance item that is not covered by this. Another neat feature is that the roof is rolled over the sides of the trailer. That means the seam is not at the same point as the seam between the sidewall and the roof. The idea here is that it’s a less likely point of failure, which is never a bad thing.
Sidewalls of these are made of aluminum studs. The outside fiberglass is a very high gloss material, which does tend to have a longer life. But remember that there are also decals on here, which are typically what fades first on RVs. With a heat gun and a few hours of time, the decals can become part of history before they start to fade.
On the underside, the paneling used to enclose the underbelly is built in sections. Those can be removed if a repair ever has to be made. Also, the holding tanks that are here have 12-volt heaters on them. However, the gate valves are exposed. So if you plan to leave this where it gets very cold, you might consider putting up a wall around the underside of the trailer. I’ve seen this done even with more towable units in some RV parks where temps can get below freezing.
Living spaces in the Cedar Creek Cottage 40CFD
While it’s certainly possible to build a very nice getaway cottage, you’d be hard-pressed to do a nicer job than Cedar Creek did with this. There are a lot of nice details inside, including both main lighting and accent lighting throughout the interior.
Since the kitchen is the gathering space of many homes, starting there, you’ll find a large space with a great deal of cabinetry and drawers all around for storage. As with a more premium space, all those drawers and cabinets feature soft-close mechanisms.
If you did buy one of these for your mom, for example, and she was one of those moms who can put most restaurants to shame with her cooking, she would not be disappointed with this kitchen. There’s a large three-burner professional-looking stove with a very large oven, a residential-style microwave, and a 20-cubic-foot refrigerator with an ice maker.
I was rather surprised to see that the fridge was a 12-volt model. But I suspect that RV builders just set up a buying contract with RV suppliers, who now offer these larger fridges with more premium features like ice makers. Makes sense to just get everything from one source.
Interior storage in the Cedar Creek Cottage 40CFD
The cabinets, too, hold some surprises in that there are drawers in the cabinets at the edge of the kitchen to enhance organizing your gadgets. The space is tall enough that you could put things like blenders or coffee makers in here if you choose to.
Another cabinet surprise is the two pull-out pantries on the opposite side of the kitchen. These two are both quite large, so more space to hide more stuff. Another surprise is the pull-out trash can holder. RVs sometimes seem to forget that we have trash; this one didn’t. Though, is this really an RV?
Clever cabinets throughout
Since clever cabinets seem to be the theme here, the TV and electric fireplace are located in a cabinet that swings open to reveal a storage cabinet. This would be a good place for linens and such for the fold-out bed. There’s even a clever little drawer on a shelf above the fireplace. The latch for the swing-out function here is hidden under that shelf. Honestly, if you didn’t want others to know that this swing-out storage was here, they would never know.
Here in the living room, this model is configured with an L-shaped sofa, which folds out to be a bed. But I can see someone taking naps in this couch without doing any folding whatsoever. It was tempting when I was in this rig, but I had a job to do to get you the low-down on this big trailer. No sleeping on the job!
Loft above bathroom in the Cedar Creek Cottage 40CFD
Speaking of siestas, there is a loft above the bathroom in this model. If you are a grandparent or parent and have younger folks with you, I could imagine this being a really appealing place to go and hang out. You’re sort of over everybody, supervising them from above.
If you don’t have littles, this could also be a great space to store things like holiday decorations. They wouldn’t be super convenient to get to, but they also wouldn’t be that far away.
There’s also a huge wall of storage at the back of this rig with two big closets and several drawers beneath those. Further, another closet can be either additional storage or it’s plumbed for a washer-dryer, if you choose to go that route.
There are also additional drawers in a bureau in the bedroom. That bureau has a hidden flip-up top with some shallow storage in there, too. Perhaps this could be for jewelry or things like that.
Bedroom of the Cedar Creek Cottage 40CFD
Since we’re in the bedroom already, this space is consumed by a king-sized bed. Both sides of the bed have a shelf overhead with USB outlets. There are household power outlets near the side of the bed, as well. More storage overhead is also appreciated. On the side wall facing the front of the trailer is yet another storage cabinet that reminds me of the configuration of a medicine cabinet.
That makes me think of the bathroom on here, which is very spacious and features another storage cabinet.
I like the shower head in this, which also features sprayers for a more thoroughly drenching experience—it’s pretty fancy. There is also accent lighting in the shower, which would make a nice night light—not too bright and not in your face.
Conclusions about the Forest River Cedar Creek Cottage 40CFD
The idea that you could go to an RV dealer and pick one of these up and almost immediately have a fully furnished, very well-designed living space has a lot of appeal. Of course, some people put these in RV parks where they have seasonal sites. We sold more than a few of this style of trailer to wineries when I was selling RVs. They used them as vacation rentals.
One thing to know: If you do own property and have thoughts of simply parking one of these on that property, it would be a very wise move to inquire with the local officials before doing so. Some localities are fine with putting trailers on one’s property indefinitely, others aren’t. Some have a distinction between what might be a more traditional travel trailer and something like this. But it’s always good to know before you move forward.
I suspect it’s the fan of off-grid living in me (I’m not quite a hippy, but I have hippy leanings), but do know that you’re not getting away with running this without a 50-amp connection. The water heater is electric-only, and you have dual air conditioners that have heat pump functionality. There is also an electric fireplace in the living room and an electric space heater in the bedroom.
Built with a porch and ready to add another porch
Many of these end up in places where people build porches for them, and this is the first of these where I see they’ve truly accommodated for that. The steps on the sliding door that provide access to the main living space and the steps on the front porch of this are both easily removable. The steps to the bedroom entry door simply fold up under the body of the trailer, which are fairly traditional RV steps. But the idea is that, if you do build a porch, those steps are now out of the way of said porch.
If you are in a place that allows something like this, I couldn’t fault you for choosing this big trailer. I had a very good experience with this brand as a warranty manager. (I both sold RVs and managed the warranty department—it was a small dealership!) This is a very attractive model.
MORE LIKE THIS:
- RV review: Wildwood Heritage Glen 38VERANDA—Fifth wheel or park model?
- Park model RV is like a fully furnished small home
- Hanging up the keys? Park models could be the answer to high living costs
- More RV reviews by Tony.
RVT1222
next? looking for a contrast of the difference between a destination RV and a park model for long-stay use. There are pros & cons to either.
While ‘travel’ is still the biggest part of owning any kind of RV. There is a growing trend toward seasonal or full-time use of destination or park model. Accommodating parks offer the biggest draw of detached residence retirement communities- friendships and low-impact quiet activities at a much lower price point.
“Destination trailers” are just big travel trailers, with slides-outs, siding and roof materials, insulation, flooring, rooftop AC systems, and furniture like any other RV. They are built by many of the large RV manufacturers to RVIA “standards” (?). They have the maintenance and upkeep requirements of any other RV. Destination trailers are NOT “park models”, no matter how many salesmen call them that!
True “park models” are built by modular home manufacturers like Cavco and Champion to a set of semi-residential standards–399 sq. ft max.; 11-13′ wide (requiring a commercial hauler); no slides; and residential insulation, roofing, siding, plumbing, AC, and hookups.
This is a succinct synopsis Steve. There are additional pros & cons a buyer should consider. We have started our educational research. We bought a 2017 bumper tow intentionally as a seasonal residence and will soon start our 9th season. Meaning we are also 9 years older. The 2017 is well maintained, but frankly the maintenance is getting more difficult and my spouse cannot do any of it. And I don’t trust mobile techs to do it as well as I do. Repairs yes, maintenance no. We moved the RV once in the 9 years. And like our current park. Is it time to switch to a park model? Our current park allows them, not all parks do.
I believe RVT does readers a serious injustice when it offers free(?) Advertising for RV companies that are known to produce shoddy products, that ignore – or worse – customers having MAJOR problems with their RVs, or who show no integrity in their business tactics.
At minimum, readers deserve a warning when RVT reviews products and services from such companies. After watching videos from Liz Amazing, I would never consider spending my money on anything from Forest River, Thor, or Camping World.
Your readers deserve to know about such companies.
We provide information here to allow someone to make an informed decision, in my opinion. The more informed someone is about what they are buying the better they’re going to be. I do as much as I can to research these rigs and share my findings.
An informed buyer purchasing from a locally-owned high-quality dealership will likely have a great experience but people who plunk down many tens of thousands of dollars with no understanding of RV systems or function, often from major chains, are going to have a worse experience almost any time.
Add to that that many people do zero maintenance and then wonder why things fail and you have the foundation for channels like the one you mention.
You must make your own decision on your purchasing. Some will like it, others won’t. Tony is reporting what he sees. Like I said, you make your own decision. It’s not taking what is written. Go see the unit before you make that decision and purchase.
Kinda takes the V out of being an RV. But, to each his own.
Thank you for the review, Tony! 🙂 This is certainly an intriguing option. Too bad about the two gray-tank outlets. Have a great week and safe travels!