Maybe one for the ladies, but generally asked. Thinking of changing our van to a rear entry-kitchen set up. Some people we met a couple of years ago had a rear kitchen and experienced what they described as "bouncing" whilst travelling. This caused mayhem in the kitchen cupboards with a general mess. They  had the normal non slip etc. that we all use. They were able to offset this by packing around the contents in the cupboards with pillows etc. Which did work. As we are getting a pop top there will not be a lot of room for this. So before we spend a substantial amount of hard earned our question is has anyone out there with a rear kitchen van had similar experience.

Thanks for any input,

Rosemary and Terry.

Our kitchen is in the front... the reason we decided on this was that its generally heavier when all those cupboards are filled with pots/pans/food/etc etc. We wanted that weight up the front of the van, from what we understand its more stable to tow with less weight in the rear.

Hey Guys n Gals, I would tend to agree with GD on this, my understanding is the more weighty items shoudl be ditributed accross the axle and forward, while trying to keep a balance between front and rear. Having a heavy bum is never a good thing when towing anything, when towing the boat I always pack the heavyer stuff from the axle forward..... the under floor fuel tank is also just forward of the axle when its on the trailer. JMHO Hoo Roo Happy Days Grumps

We have friends who have a rear kitchen which then puts their bed at the front with the front having a big curve at the top you get restricted hanging space in your hanging cupboard beside the bed

As the vertical movement (bouncing, etc) tends to vertically (up and down) pivot around the towball this movement will be greater the further aft of the towball it is. Well designed suspension preferably with appropriately matched shock absorbers should help.

Thanks for your replies and concerns. There is some confusion over the question we asked. We have been caravanning for 34 years and have had many different styles of van but never a rear kitchen. All we wanted to know was if anyone else had experience the same problem as the people we met as mentioned in our original post. We have consulted a couple of engineers over the weight distribution.Today the vans are engineered to offset the weight at the rear by moving the axles towards the rear of the van. Armed with this information today we ordered a rear kitchen van with delivery later in the year. Thanks again for your input and concerns. Much appreciated.

Rosemary and Terry.

My thoughts Terry - Something that you have done for so long . WHY Change - Keep IT Simple . Irrespective of any weight issues , I can't see any advantage of a rear kitchen . Allthough , as I have mentioned . I have never towed a van , but I lived in one for 6yrs . Before I met my Mrs , I lived at Barmera SA , I can't see me wanting to cook in 40 + degrees in the back end of a van . Richo

Terro, have heard a lot of stories of multiple breakages with rear kitchens.

I have a rear kitchen and have lost nothing, yet. My plates are stacked on one of those plate stackers with non-slip mats on each level, but not each plate. I just make sure they are packed tight. Packing things firmly together reduces movement in all directions reducing opportunity for bouncing around to break. The bathroom/toilet is adjacent to the kitchen. I learned how to pack a caravan when I worked on boats. We did all sorts of things to stop stuff sliding and bouncing in the galley. In those days we used wet tea towels, because non-slip matting hadn't been invented yet. You can pack towels etc around your dishes etc if you want to muck around every time you take off. I avoid glass where possible, and my crocker is Corelle. I even drink my wine from acrylic "glasses". No glassware snobbery here. I'd have more weight under the front double bed than behind the axles, of which there are 2. I don't know what you need to hang in the wardrobe, but I don't have any long, formal evening wear to hang. One thing I've noticed, especially driving on wet roads, with the door behind the wheels the step well gets water through the vents, consequently there would be more dust as well. I usually close off the bottom vent, but on the last trip I didn't get around to it. No damage, just a wet mat. It's still personal choice. Look around every option to suit your needs.

Thanks Granny. The storage of the crockery isn't a problem. Plenty of experience there but the info on the door vent is very interesting. We are commited now so we will have to wait and see.

Rosemary and Terry.

You can block off the vent on the inside using plastic sheeting or something waterproof. I guess dust is also the problem with the door behind the wheels. These aluminium and fibreglass boxes with staples and pop rivets are designed and built by blokes who never go on the road with one. (Sorry fellas). Maybe we should all provide feed back, based on our personal experiences, on how the particular brand van performs on the terrain we negotiate. There's an idea. What do you reckon?