Rear bathroom

[Charliepc]

A Airstream owner told me a person should not own a rear bathroom. I read that the rear bathroom is good due to balancing the front and back.

I cannot find any research to support his statement of rear bathrooms are bad.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Putting the bath in the rear means the "bedroom" will be somewhere else. In some designs the sleeping area is fairly heavy furniture wise. Moving it forward in a trailer that "comes both ways" sometimes makes the trailer tongue heavy. In a design that only comes one way, that's not going to happen.

A rear bath can be a *big* bath. The Atlas MH and Classic 33 trailer are both examples of this. If you need shower space it's the *only* way to go ( = that's one mighty nice shower !!!).

Over the years AS has done an enormous number of layouts with this and that just about everywhere (other than all stacked up in a pile ... ). I would find the layout that makes sense to you and go for it.

Bob

[Belegedhel]

First of all, are you looking at vintage trailers, or new ones?

Regardless, over the many decades of AS productions, there have been many, many layouts with the bathroom in the rear. As far as balance goes, the designer of any trailer is going to have to make sure that the balance left to right, and back to front is "correct," regardless of what the layout is.

It could be that the origin of the rear baths from the good old days of vintage trailers was because before there were holding tanks, your toilet dumped straight down into a "gopher hole" that was dug in the dirt when parking the trailer. Naturally, you would want your eating and sleeping areas as far from the stink as possible, thus were were no "mid bath" models at the time.

Anyway, I recall a certain urban myth being passed around maybe 10 years ago, that rear-end separation was due to the rear end baths, especially in the long trailers. "Research" that has come to light since then has confirmed that long and short trailers, center bath or rear bath, all can get rear-end separation because the design of the bumper trunk since 1969 tends to channel water right into the end-grain of the subfloor. It is this rotting subfloor that causes the rear-end separation, though having a full black tank sitting in the far aft position may aggravate the situation as well.

So buy a floor plan that you like, and respond very skeptically to anyone who starts their cautionary advice with "I have heard..."

good luck!

[Boondocker]

My '68 has a rear bath. Haven't had any issues. I try to empty the black tank which sets right in the back and put maybe a gallon of water in the dumped tank before heading out. In any trailer, you want to avoid putting a lot of weight too far behind the axles but other than that I can't see an issue from a rear bath.

Maybe there is a problem with a newer model? Don't know. Or it could just be unjustified opinion (rare here ).

[s1000pre]

We love the rear bathroom in the 30bunk. I like that it comes with a macerating toilet. It is more of a traditional plumbing design that is less prone to odors.

[GetawA-S]

Your buddy’s assertion seems as simplistic as the line from Animal Farm: “Four legs good, two legs bad”
When we were looking, we weighed how much we wanted the view out the back.
Do you frequently back up to stunning views? Is your enjoyment of the scenery enough to justify a longer heavier trailer ( 25’ vs 23’)? Will you be happy with a mid bath design (frequently involving two separate areas and a smaller shower)?
With the newer trailers, either design will make it down the road without folding above the axles. Step inside the candidates and go with what you like!

[s1000pre]

Originally Posted by GetawA-S

Your buddy’s assertion seems as simplistic as the line from Animal Farm: “Four legs good, two legs bad”
When we were looking, we weighed how much we wanted the view out the back.
Do you frequently back up to stunning views? Is your enjoyment of the scenery enough to justify a longer heavier trailer ( 25’ vs 23’)? Will you be happy with a mid bath design (frequently involving two separate areas and a smaller shower)?
With the newer trailers, either design will make it down the road without folding above the axles. Step inside the candidates and go with what you like!

Good point Don! We were struggling with the thought of giving up our 25’ Int. With the rear panoramic. Reality: 3 out of 30 campsites had a beautiful view at the rear, most were another camper, wall or road. Function over form. After doing a few walkthroughs, my wife and I would really consider a 23’ once the kids are out of the equation.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by GetawA-S

Do you frequently back up to stunning views? Is your enjoyment of the scenery enough to justify a longer heavier trailer ( 25’ vs 23’)?

The one regret that I have about a rear bath is that the john is angled away from the window. I feel like I have missed out on great views during my constitutionals...

[Charliepc]

I like the vintage trailers but no longer than 25ft. It may be me but the vintage rear baths appear to have more room than current.

[Charliepc]

Originally Posted by s1000pre

Good point Don! We were struggling with the thought of giving up our 25’ Int. With the rear panoramic. Reality: 3 out of 30 campsites had a beautiful view at the rear, most were another camper, wall or road. Function over form. After doing a few walkthroughs, my wife and I would really consider a 23’ once the kids are out of the equation.

Thanks for your comment. I wander if people prefer front to rear sleeping.

[Charliepc]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

First of all, are you looking at vintage trailers, or new ones?

Regardless, over the many decades of AS productions, there have been many, many layouts with the bathroom in the rear. As far as balance goes, the designer of any trailer is going to have to make sure that the balance left to right, and back to front is "correct," regardless of what the layout is.

It could be that the origin of the rear baths from the good old days of vintage trailers was because before there were holding tanks, your toilet dumped straight down into a "gopher hole" that was dug in the dirt when parking the trailer. Naturally, you would want your eating and sleeping areas as far from the stink as possible, thus were were no "mid bath" models at the time.

Anyway, I recall a certain urban myth being passed around maybe 10 years ago, that rear-end separation was due to the rear end baths, especially in the long trailers. "Research" that has come to light since then has confirmed that long and short trailers, center bath or rear bath, all can get rear-end separation because the design of the bumper trunk since 1969 tends to channel water right into the end-grain of the subfloor. It is this rotting subfloor that causes the rear-end separation, though having a full black tank sitting in the far aft position may aggravate the situation as well.

So buy a floor plan that you like, and respond very skeptically to anyone who starts their cautionary advice with "I have heard..."

good luck!

I was looking at the vintage. I am loving the retro look.

[Belegedhel]

If it is vintage you are looking at, then I would agree with one of the above posters that in some of the vintage rear-bath trailers, the bathroom is relatively enormous. The bath in my trailer occupies about 25% of the total floor space, and that is exactly what I wanted.

Now, the caution I would offer when buying vintage is to know what you are looking at. My broad-brush opinion is that any 50 year old trailer (and some newer ones) probably could use a shell-off rebuild. The notable exceptions are the trailers that have already had one. That being said, if it has had one, then you need to know what "good" looks like in terms of repairs and rebuilds.

Lots of good "full monty" threads on these forums that go into the details...

good luck!

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Charliepc

Thanks for your comment. I wander if people prefer front to rear sleeping.

Hi

Front bedroom puts you *here* on this campsite and *there* on that campsite. Usually the best view is to the rear. Since hookups (and the need to back in) limit your ability to "flip" the trailer is limited.

In an area that has close up traffic at night, it's more likely to be past the front of the trailer.

Front door / rear door is sort of the same thing.

One thing we knew when we shopped was that windows are an important feature. Sitting here on a rainy day, I don't thing we *really* understood just how important they are. Open up all the shades / skylights and it's a very open feel. Way different than the tents we spent decades camping in ....

Bob

[Bubba L]

Charliepc, we have a 66 California made 22’ Safari. It has a roomy rear bath/toilet. I really like the shower. The beds are comfortable. One thing I like about that size vintage is we open the front and rear curtains while towing and have a clear view through the trailer. Good luck

[uncle_bob]

Hi

There are a ton of variations out there. On top of that, you can customize this or that trailer. It's only money

On some rear bath designs, you pretty much loose all the big windows in the rear of the trailer. That bothers me, but others are fine with the compromise.

It's all very much up to you !!

Bob

[21Airstream]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

… One thing I like about that size vintage is we open the front and rear curtains while towing and have a clear view through the trailer.

Same thing with our ‘14 FC 27FBQ, a really nice feature.