Rear kitchen floor plans always draw the same response where someone says that anything behind the rear axle gets quite a jostling. This is somewhat accurate, but less so in a shorter travel trailer than, perhaps, in a fifth wheel. That’s because what’s behind the axle in a fifth wheel is much farther back than it would be in this case.
Today we’re looking at the East to West Alta 2350KRK. This was a new floor plan for the company last year and has proven to be a popular model. I can see why this would be—there is quite a lot to like about this floor plan and the way East to West implemented it.
What’s inside the Alta
Interestingly, this shorter floor plan has two entry doors—one at the rear and one for the bedroom. That makes this a great unit if you’re one of those folks, like myself, that stops mid-journey for either bathroom breaks, to get a drink from the 12-volt refrigerator or, perhaps, even a cat nap.
The steps leading to the bedroom door are the more traditional travel trailer folding variety. The ones for the rear door are of the swing-down “solid step” variety. I’m not a fan of these myself, but lots of folks like them. But the fact that there are the traditional folding steps for the front entry door means you can sneak in and out without a major effort, so that’s a good thing.
If you do enter through the bedroom, you’ll notice that there’s a “king” size bed measuring 72” X 80”. Next to that are the usual night stands, but they’re different than most and the plugs face the bed itself, which is odd. If you’ve got a plug that has some sort of light in it, as some cell chargers do, this would get annoying. But there’s a cubby behind the closet for the actual devices to rest while you attempt to do so.
Under-bed storage
Under the bed is a hidden set of drawers plus a rather large space where East to West stores a portable table. But you could use this for shoes or stuff, or even a dog crate if you’re looking for space for that. I love seeing creative uses of under-bed storage—and this is definitely one of those.
We’ve all talked about RVs where the bathroom splits the rig in half. For some of you this is absolutely a deal breaker; for others it’s a good thing. I would include myself in the “good thing” category because it puts a whole bathroom between you and whoever is sleeping. That means more light and sound insulation. If you’re on a much different sleep schedule than your partner, this can be helpful.
Out in the main living area of the Alta there’s something I wouldn’t expect to find in a mid-priced travel trailer: a televator which lifts the TV out of a cabinet. That means there’s a cabinet down there, and in that is an electric fireplace.
A suggestion for East to West
Now, the way I see this, I would be the first one to start removing things in that cabinet so I could use that counter space as a desk. I’d have that televator TV as the monitor for a confuser so I could write RV reviews right there. If East to West happens to read this, there’s a free suggestion for you as an option in this floor plan.
As more of us work out of our rigs, I love seeing desk options. This would be a nifty one, indeed.
I’ve seen this with the standard dinette and with the optional couch. Frankly, the dinette makes no sense if you’re thinking about the TV. The dinette seats are arranged as you would expect. But that means they’re at a 90-degree angle to the TV. Dumb.
Nifty folding couch in the Alta
Instead, the couch is the way I would go. This has to be the niftiest folding couch I have ever seen. Ever. The couch simply sort of folds open in the easiest way I’ve ever seen and makes for a decent bed.
The one bad thing is, since this is a space initially designed for a dinette, the removable backrest cushions block one of the cabinet doors that are up against the wall.
And that cabinet is one of quite a few storage spaces in this area with a very large pantry that could be a hanging closet, depending on your needs. In fact there’s even a drawer down low that features pet bowls, which is pretty slick.
The kitchen itself occupies the entire rear of the trailer. The fridge is on the road side in the slide room.
Outside matters
This trailer has a bit of a drop frame, so the storage up front is rather tall for a travel trailer pass-through storage. East to West also fitted the road side with the connections inside the compartment. That means they’re protected, much as you’d expect to find in a fifth wheel.
Since the bathroom is in the middle of the coach, essentially, and the kitchen is at the rear, East to West fitted this with two holding tanks. Each has their own gate valve. That means dumping is more cumbersome. I don’t see how difficult it would be to run a line between the two tanks, even a flexible one. I can’t see filling a 30-gallon gray water tank with the kitchen, but I could easily fill it with the shower. So having them joined together would make a lot more sense.
Boondocking in the Alta
On the subject of boondocking, which is relevant to tanks, this trailer comes with a relatively worthless 50-watt solar panel on the roof. Essentially, all this is good for is maintaining your battery when the trailer’s in storage and not much more. It’s certainly not enough to overcome the losses of the 12-volt fridge. East to West, let me show you what Keystone has done with their game-changing SolarFlex™ package. You might want to bring your notebooks.
In summary
I like this floor plan but it’s not the first time I’ve seen it. However, you could say that about every RV on the market. One RV company’s design department is another RV company’s brochure.
One of the other things that is nice about this rig is that it uses Azdel substrate in the wall construction. Azdel is a man-made waterproof material. Also, there is absolutely no carpet in this rig—which I love. And there are no floor registers for the furnace—another plus.
Overall, this is a nifty floor plan that’s not tremendously huge but definitely offers a lot of usability.
I would like to thank Josh Winters of Bish’s RV for use of these photos.
I would love to read your comments and suggestions over on our new forums, where you can weigh in and start or join a discussion about all things RV. Here’s a link to my RV Reviews Forum.
Tony comes to RVtravel.cm having worked at an RV dealership and been a lifelong RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. You can find his writing here and at StressLessCamping where he also has a podcast about the RV life with his wife.
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
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##RVDT1785
Approaching 30′ long and weighing 9600# is at the limit for many half-ton trucks, which is what most people will want to use to tow this TT. Love the 72″x 80″ bed and the heated utility connections (I assume the basement is heated). But there is not much else I like about this trailer–the bathroom “hallway”, the “crawl over” nightstands, the 6′-wide bed in a 7.5′-wide room (ie., 9″ of walking/bed-making space on each side) , the refrigerator in a slide (but better than a gas stove in a slide), the dirt-collecting “solid” steps, and the leaf-spring suspension (at least that is how it looked in Josh’s video). The split tanks with multiple dump valves are ridiculous because it takes too long for most RVers to dump now even without having to reposition the trailer during the dumping process!
I think that the king bed would be so wide in a 96″ wide trailer that only extremely thin people would be able to use the space alongside of the bed to get in and out of bed. Our Queen size bed just barely has enough room on the sides. Also, I don’t see anywhere what the length is of the trailer. It seems like it would be a very nice trailer to own with a queen bed.
For starters, I can’t see any bedside ‘ledge’ for putting the stuff you would put on a bedside table. That ‘storable’ table is not big enough to use for eating. If you use that ‘pantry’ for hanging clothes, then that eliminates the worry about the table being too small because you won’t have any food anyway . . . Just sayin’. The 50 watt solar panel is simply there so they can claim you have solar power. I can’t see the reason for a 12v fridge. It WILL eat up your battery power. So, plan on camping in places where you can always plug in. However, since I’m a fan of having two doors (ever since we bought OUR trailer and it has two doors), I certainly like it on this trailer.
For the life of me I can not see why you would want water and electric connections inside your storage compartment. Other than protecting them from the weather while you travel down the road. Maybe I am missing something but when you are camping and connected up you would have to leave your storage door open. That’s not a good idea for ants and mice to get in.
I agree with you on this but, for some reason, people like it and I believe it’s because they feel the connectors remain cleaner and are more secure, although who among us doesn’t have a 751 key?
LOL And RV companies are not the only ones that use the 751 key.