We received this letter earlier this week from Janet, whose comments made us both laugh and nod our heads. Even if you’re not an older RVer, we bet you’ll agree with much of what she has to say. Read on.
“I am looking to sell my house and jump into a motorhome for a while to become a full-time traveler, but I am shocked at what they are putting in RVs!
“I realize that there are families that travel during summer vacation, but it would seem to me that a good portion of RV buyers are seniors. So why put a step from the bedroom to the rest of the RV? Some of them are even between the bedroom and the bathroom! Have they ever heard of a broken hip? Twisted ankle? Broken anything just from missing that step.
“My biggest pet peeve is the microwave under the stove. I would have to get on my knees to clean it. How would I know where the buttons are? You can’t even bend down to see it! Not everyone travels with a 10-year-old. I did have a problem with no oven, but I guess I can order a pizza, right?
“And what is up with the hospital curtains? They use glass doors in the shower now that are stacked, so why not stack doors to make a wall between the bedroom and the rest of the RV? No one wants curtains across the bunk over the cab—talk about making your child claustrophobic.
“Now let’s talk about TVs—32-inch? Come on, people need to be able to read the screen from across the RV, at least go up to a bigger TV. No one uses a 32-inch TV. I am not sure why they even make them anymore.
“We want bigger windows! No valances, we hate them! They are ugly and dusty and useless.
“King beds… speaking of beds, stop splitting mattresses and making the top rise. And, for that matter, adjustable beds are all the rage right now. Spend all day in a museum, and you want your feet up.
“100 watts of solar? Seriously? Put in 1,000 watts, cover the roof, and give us full solar so we don’t have to hook up to electric. Boondocking is in!
“Just my opinion.” —Janet Lewis
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- RVer asks: Should campgrounds have rules for late-night arrival or early-morning departure times?
- Reader turned away from Walmarts across the country. ‘The homelessness is staggering’
RVT1206
She’s right about most of the items, but not just for us old people. Most all adults wouldn’t like the stuff.
Completely agree with microwave comment. You must have never used a RV if you incorporate these into a RV. I excuse steps in a 5th Wheel, they are typically useful. But also part of the reason we don’t own a 5th wheel. We much prefer a motorized.
I never understood why old people live in 2 story houses and die from falling. I understand the steps in the fifth wheel trailers but don’t put another step in front of the bed.
Right about the microwaves. They are either too high or too low. But with too high I can use a stool and maybe not fall off or trip over it. The manufacturers just don’t try to use their designs. They just make them pretty but not practical.
The worst part of the low microwaves is you can’t read the buttons because of the bifocals!
Unless Janet is looking at really nice Class A’s, she is in for more surprises when she actually buys one. She will wonder who designed that skinny (28 inch) entry door with two different locks and a really awkward screen door. I’ve seen European RV’s with screen doors that unroll from the side. Why do they all have that big inefficient noisy roof A/C? Ours is like sitting underneath a lawn mower. Central air or mini splits anyone? Why do most of them use the same tired, noisy, boneshaker, expensive to repair Onan generators when there are quiet invertor generators available? Need to check fuses and/or breakers? On ours you get to lay down on the floor with a flashlight. Ad nauseam.
Thank you for your comments, Janet. Tell your sales people and anyone else directly tied to a manufacturer. Maybe they will listen one day. Safe travels!
Got me thinking I’m going to pull the valances in my rig; they just collect dust and are hard to clean.
How about a ramp? Instead of steps, and yes, im one of those people with a small TV.
I hate those exposed cabinet hinges. I want to be able to adjust my cabinet doors. Stop with shower that are a foot off of the floor. I don’t want to break my neck getting in & out. Yes I hate window Valances too, they are another thing that are high maintenance, always loose and screws hard to put back in. Stop with the tiny refrigerators, if you’re going to camp for a week or so who wants to go grocery shopping every couple days, fridges should be no smaller than 10cuft. Eliminate those worthless ovens, give me a microwave/convection oven and 2 burner stove top, maybe one propane and one induction. Put a middle brace under those long awnings. Use all pex plumbing. Camping 25yrs
Spot on, Janet,
Love the way you present this. Don’t forget the porcelain god. Ditch the plastic, Low, Compact toilet. You feel like you’re coming in for a landing on a small target. We replaced ours with a full-size Porcelain, Tall toilet. The best thing we have done in the camper
The first thing we did was put in a 36″ High Def TV on a swing arm. We were lucky as we have two large windows in the main living space. We removed the Valances in the bedroom and put in nice white shadow curtains with pull-down night shades. The curtains soften the room. A larger oven would be nice in the LP stove. How about towel bars in the bathroom. There were none. There is now.
Maybe it’s because the retired customer population is relatively stable and, in fact, dying off by definition. Sales of motorhomes, a perennial favorite of fairly well healed retirees, are plummeting, while lower cost pull-behind trailers bought by young families are doing much better. Manufacturers need to grow the younger, active, still working customer base, and fast. These are the folks that can still bend down, navigate steps and see across the room.
I think you missed the point of the story Roger…Janet is spot on!…and knows how to write a fun letter!
Yep, old people die, but retirees get younger and younger every year.
love it 🙂
Everyone gets a turn..when is yours?
Thank you RV Travel for sharing Janet’s letter! …and thank you, Janet, for being a great writer who leaves her reader smiling! 😃
I agree with a lot of the mentioned items in the article…on the other hand what’s next? …an elevator to get into the coach?
You can have that now! Winnebago, and others, have handicap versions with lifts.
First of all, most campers are basically junk, with a life-span of less than 20,000 miles.
We had no problem adding 600 watts of 24V panels to our roof. Since they are 24v we don’t have to wire in series for our 12v battery bank.
Most campers in our size (<26 foot) have limited storage and countertop space. For simplicity, we removed the microwave and stovetop, installed a new countertop and larger one bowl sink to give my wife 4 times the prep space. She cooks inside with a moveable induction plate. The space where that worthless Dumbatic oven took up space now has one 10″ height drawer, and another 4″ high drawer. She now has plenty of space for her large items.
Continued:
We’re in our 70’s and know how to reheat food using a pan/cover. We never liked how microwave’s turned good food into rubbery food.
She also have an Omnia oven that can be used inside with our portable butane burner (for when an old-fashioned gas flame is needed). Most of the time the Omnia is outside on our Camp Chef double burner portable.
The rare times we watch TV it’s on a 22″ TV with a built-in DVD player. You’re camping? We don’t spend much time watching TV since we’re usually tired at the end of the day. If I want to watch TV that much I’ll just stay home.
Our 25′ Bigfoot is perfect for us, and is good to -20.
Perry, Remember that many RV’er’s are full-timers, not campers. For those who use their RV as their home, they’re going to be using all the things (kitchen, TV, etc) differently than weekend warriors.
Thank you Jake! You are so right! No two RVers are the same! A simple letter written with humor that others could definitely relate to and have fun reading becomes a dumping ground of “who cares” type comments! 🤣
…And all that for an MSRP of under $10,000! 😉😆
Actually, how about a meaningful warranty period! 👍
She’s gonna love that skinny entry door, the inefficient, noisy roof a/c, and the boat anchor Onan if she gets one too. There are better items out there, but Elkhart, IN is stuck in the past.
I agree with the microwave, however the rest is just to cover space and is personal opinion. Writing about problems and not offering solutions is not helping the problem situation. I know, Mfgr’s have engineers and designers and decorators who should perhaps know this stuff – on the other hand they try to come up with new ideas. Hats off to Winnebago for the handicap lift into the Rv and other accommodation features. Forward thinking and engineering!
How would engineers and designers know this stuff…as you say…without input from people who actually use RVs like Janet…I’m thinkin that is exactly where “new ideas” and “solutions” SHOULD come from!
She really wouldn’t like our truck camper. I just put a curtain in front of the cabover bed on purpose and love it! A door would be more weight and I’m cutting weight because of payload. We took out the bathroom door and use a curtain. TV? Gone! Took it out! I don’t watch TV while camping. Our truck camper dinette is the worst design imaginable, the basement partially rises under the table next to the window so you can’t even fully get your feet under the table or sit comfortably. It’s a real problem.
Janet is spot on with these ideas, except our microwave is TOO HIGH!! I can’t imagine one below the oven…and speaking of ovens, LARGER please!!
We are retired, and use our 5th wheel quite a bit. We do everything from boondocking to full hookups, depending on where we go. We rely on the gas stove and oven when boondocking, as well as the generator. Ours is a 2012 model, so it was not equipped with solar, so I just set a few portable panels outside. It’s easy to get rid of gas and go all electric if you always have full hookups, but too many times that would just not work for us.
Mount sufficient panels on the roof. The easy way to recharge. My panels are producing before you wake up. When I go to town no need to store panels and set up again upon return.
I love the buckboard couch under the 32 inch tv, 😍 someone Needs to be fired.
How much cleaning does a microwave need?
32 inch TVs are made for those who are not blind.
“I’m lookin’ to sell my house and jump into RVing?” lol So much for your ability to make decisions. RENT first…at least two weeks.
Hugely agree with the ‘100 watt solar panel’ comment! although that’s about enough to keep your 12VDC fridge running safely on travel days.
If she’s concerned about steps, just stay away from 5th wheels. Neither Class A’s or travel trailers have steps. But aside from everything else, I’m 86 and I want to put a shower grab bar in my travel trailer. Can’t do it. Nothing there to hold the screws and with textured plastic walls, suction cups won’t work. I even talked to the wife of the factory mobile tech (for my brand) who lives in my RV park. She wants one too. Can’t.