Patent Application
20220111781
The present invention relates to floor plans for recreational vehicles (RVs), and, more particularly, for fifth wheel RVs used as “toy haulers.”
Generically, fifth wheel RVs are travel trailers having a raised front end which fits over a portion of the towing vehicle, with a hitch placed on the underside of that front end which is received within a hitch retainer on the towing vehicle. Toy hauler fifth wheel RVs have a ramp door which serves to allow vehicles (motorcycles, ATVs, sand rails, etc) and/or cargo to be loaded into the rear portion of the travel trailer. That ramp door is also typically raisable to a generally horizontal position so as to serve as a patio for the travel trailer when the travel trailer is parked.
In addition to all the usual design constrains and considerations for RVs, such fifth wheel travel trailers generally need high ground clearance, since they are more often driven off-road for unloading and use of the vehicles being towed/stored therein. Conversely, the internal flooring of these RVs should not be so high as to impede loading and unloading of vehicles through the ramp door. Further, since RVs typically need space under the flooring for storage, water tanks, furnaces, and the like, high ground clearance can be necessarily restricted. Also, in general, it has been found especially desirable to use “pass-through” storage areas under the interior floor of an RV, which allow users to access storage areas from either side of the RV and have a wide, clear area from one side of the RV to the other. However, safety and construction codes and standards limit the use and/or placement of certain appliances in connection with pass-through storage areas. Moreover, standard highway construction and towability factors limit the overall height of RVs, thus establishing conflicting purposes and objectives in RV design and manufacture.
Moreover, these types of travel trailers often have higher than normal interior ceilings, for both aesthetic purposes and to allow greater use of bunk bed and other high occupancy/entertainment features, including storage cabinets. However, placing such features overhead (such as overhead cabinets (“OHCs”) can limit accessibility for certain users. Further, it is often desirable to allow certain RV compartments having different functions, such as the kitchen and lounge compartments, to “flow” into each other so that users in each compartment are not isolated from activity in the adjacent compartment.
Fifth wheel RVs also typically include slide-out portions to expand usable floor space. Larger slide outs are often desirable, and must take into account drive synchronization and weight differentials in order to operate effectively and reliably over time. However, with fifth wheel RVs, the raised front portion of the trailer can limit the use and/or size of slide outs due to the construction difficulties in applying multiple elevations within a slide out. Also, construction codes and production difficulties limit the use of certain appliances near and/or under slide outs. Further, inside of the RV, it is often desirable to minimize the number of floor elevation changes that the user must encounter, so as to avoid inadvertent stumbling when the user moves from one compartment into another.
Moreover, RVs must typically be designed and constructed with cost minimization in mind, since they are, by their nature, often considered to be luxury products subject to discretionary spending by consumers. In part, production costs are kept low by streamlining production time and material expense for RV features, such as by using fewer fluid storage tanks.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide improved floor plans for fifth wheel types of RVs. These improvements include providing such arrangements which:
These and other objectives of the present invention are achieved by the provision of a raised kitchen in a fifth wheel RV, placed on the same floor level as the front sleeping compartment, and elevated above the floor level of the rearward lounge compartment and/or the garage compartment. An enlarged, pass-through storage area is formed under the raised kitchen. A common wall slide out portion is formed within both the lounge and kitchen compartments, wherein the slide out contains features of both compartments, including, for example, a sofa and a refrigerator.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following drawings and detailed description of certain preferred and alternative embodiments.
The following features are illustrated in the drawings:
Although the present invention has been shown and described herein with respect to certain preferred embodiments and alternative configurations, those were by way of illustration and example only. For example, door 18 can be placed in a variety of location, and the slide out portion could be on the opposite side of RV 10. Also, aesthetic appearance is an important consideration in floor plan design and construction.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16974008 | Sep 2020 | US |
| Child | 17300529 | US |
