If your slides are pulled in, is your bed easily accessible when you want to settle in for the night or grab a quick nap at a rest area?
RVs have grown significantly in size over the years, with many now featuring at least two—sometimes even three—slideouts. These slides create additional living space but often house critical areas like bedrooms, making it tricky to access certain parts of your RV when the slides are pulled in.
Imagine you’ve had a long day on the road and pull into a rest area, eager for a quick nap. If your RV’s bed is tucked away in a slideout, accessing it might mean extending the slide in a potentially tight or unsafe space. For travelers who prefer to avoid hassle or prioritize convenience, this could be a dealbreaker.
Additionally, some RVers might see slide accessibility as a matter of safety. In case of an emergency, being able to quickly get to your bed or other interior spaces without extending the slides might be critical. On the other hand, some might not mind the extra step as long as they gain spacious comfort when the slides are out.
So, how about you and your RV? Can you get to your bed when the slides are pulled in? If not, is that a dealbreaker or just a minor inconvenience for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below—we’d love to hear your perspective!
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I purposefully bought an RV (class c) without slides
My class C has an “east-west” bed. Half the mattress folds on top of the other half to bring in the slide. I can’t even get to the bathroom with the bedroom slide in! I guess I could sleep on the over-cab bunk….
Still, I like it and it’s paid for.
Paid for, my favorite feature.
Bed, yes; fridge, yes; dinette, yes; toilet, yes!
What’s a slide? Or, should I say why a slide?
My Phoenix Cruiser Class C has everything fully accessible, slide in or out. My new Hoosier Cruiser will also have everything available, slide in or out.
Our bed will be a few inches shorter (already a short queen) with the slide in, but we are able to use it. We’ll just have to curl up a bit more to stop our feet from hitting the drawers.
Had a slide on a 20’ TT for one season. Could not access bathroom w/out opening the slide. No slides now, thank you.
One of our “must have” criteria is that all basic functional areas are available with slides in. On our New Aire we have access to everything except a few bedroom drawers and the W/D with all slides in.
Bed? We can’t even get in the bedroom with the slide retracted. We were aware of that before purchasing, everything else is accessible. If we can’t open the slide, we sleep in the recliners.
2006 Country Coach Inspire 39’, full access to all but rear closet and drawers at end of bed. No problem with that, we can get to closet just have to crawl over bed 😁
Pull over, open the door and into the bathroom. Life on the road is good.
Yes, but no problem? Well, that depends on age. I reached that stage of life where jumping up and crawling, is no longer easy. Few years ago, no problem.
Yes, but if you want PJs you better have retrieved them before the slide came in as the dresser drawers are all blocked.
Bed, bath and fridge access are top of our “must have” list.
We can get to the bed no problem, because we have a second door, our problem is we can’t get to the bathroom without opening the slide. That has been a problem on numerous occasions. We are looking at new campers and that’s one issue that we plan to resolve. Easy bathroom and bedroom access is number 1 priority for us.
We have had a travel trailer with a slide, a fifth wheel with two slides, and now a motorhome with a slide. Every feature in each of those has been accessible with the slides in because that is our primary objective when selecting an RV type and floorplan to purchase. If the bed, bathroom, and full kitchen are not accessible at a rest area, Walmart parking lot, or Flying J RV overnight parking space without opening a slide, we don’t even bother to look at the floorplan in person.
Our motorhome has twin beds and no bedroom slide. Why have RV queen-length beds in short RVs when twins in the same space can be full length? I love my wife, but I am 74″ tall and need a longer bed than 74″!
With the bedroom slide in we lose the walk-around feature and access to the drawers at the foot of the bed. So we keep an emergency change of clothes in the cabinet over the head of the bed. We lose access to half a barely used cabinet & the TV with the living area slide in. All other functions, including bathroom, are fully accessible with both slides in. This was part of the criteria for selecting this one.
No slides, no problem. Don’t have them, don’t want them. Just another thing to maintain or repair.
Access to kitcken and bathroom, so I’m happy 🙂
Our first RV was a 5th wheel and there was zero access to the bath and bedroom with the slide in. Not a good situation. The next two trailers had easy access to both bed and bath. With our current 5th wheel, there is a bit of a shimmy to get past the slide, but very easy and doable. It’s definitely something to look at when purchasing an RV.
I can get in, no problem, but my wife would have to climb over me to get to her side of the bed.
Getting to the bed is no problem. However, can’t open the refrigerator door or watch the TV without putting out the slide out.
We can’t get around the end of our queen bed with the slide in so I can let my husband crawl across to the far side. But it’s not a deal breaker. A least we can rest if needed. We’ve even put the slide on a windy night as the topper was really flopping.
We recently purchased a class C and getting into the bed with the slides in was a priority. Many of the newer C’s don’t have that feature and therefore were ruled out. After years in Class A’s and now downsizing we weren’t willing to give up that one thing.
My husband and I were full-time RVers for 11 years. When people would ask what to look for in an RV, I always tell them be sure you look at them with the slides in. Can you get to the bathroom? Can you cook a meal? Can you get in your bed? Can you tow the vehicle if it’s a towable with the vehicle that you have? Never ever take the word of the salesman,
Leona Dunn
Thank you for the question, RV Travel. The bed? No problem. My pajamas? Only if anticipate not opening the slides and stored them elsewhere before retracting the slides. Have a great day and safe travels!