Why does it seem that all RV entry doors open to the outward?

Doesn't an entry door that opens outward;  

a) expose the door to the elements like rain, snow and dust when open?

b) cause the door to swing open fast in unforeseen windy conditions?

c) result in the door interfering with awnings that are angled low?

d) require in some cases when entering that you unlock the door first and then have to step back down from steps and it's swing out to open it and then pin it back to enter?

e) require you to go outside and get wet when it rains unexpectedly to close a pinned back door?

---> The doors 99.9% of people have on their stick homes open inward, so why do RV doors do the opposite?

Does anyone have a real good answer for why?  AND... would anyone find benefit in a door that opens inward?  

True. On our house the back door opens out because there is no storm door there, nor is there any provision to add one. The front door has a storm door, so it opens out. The main door has to open in. I like having the coach door open out so that it is out of the way when I'm moving stuff in or out. Our coach door has a screen door attached, so we can leave the solid door open and just have the screen door there or it can latch to the solid door. Sure wish the house door was that way.

In addition, with the door "pinned" open, it frees up space to bring things in through the entry door, such as a chair or whatever.  If it were to open inward, the door itself would have to be taken off to allow that.

Even with the weather, and we get some good driving rains here in Oklahoma, our door has never leaked.  As for getting wet when they are opened, the doors are designed for that.

Also, unless there is one humongous guy trying it, I really doubt that anyone can kick in the door like can be done on a regular home.

Oh, and welcome to the forums, Billy.  I must say that you've asked something of a unique question with your very first post.  I don't recall ever seeing that topic brought up before.  Thanks for a new perspective.

Terry

YEA!!! BILLYBUNKER!!! THEM STINKIN' DOORS!!!

Thanks for all the great replies!  I did some research;

a) Allie & Jim's suggestion that RV doors open outward because of a safety requirement certainly makes sense to me, but I can not find anything that would support that there is such a requirement.   After all, many tiny homes on wheels built today have doors that open inward.... so do modular and park model homes.... and so do office/construction trailers.  So from what I can see it's really a manufacturers choice....but I think a bad one at that.

b) Barb's point that an inward door would interfere with stairs is true with motor homes, but from what I can see those doors are typically lower to the ground (so stepping off retractable steps to open them is not required) and might be less susceptible to wind as I don't think they get "pinned back."

c) Terry & Jo's point that an inward door might prohibit the entry of items might be the case in some circumstances, but a 28" opening is a 28" opening either way.  While it might not work in all floor plans, a door that opens inward has so many advantages that I think most would opt for it.

If as some believe that a comfortable RV is one that has the most residential-like features wouldn't an inward door (like the ones on most houses) make sense?    Thanks!

None of the above are true RV's.  Tiny houses are simply small houses, construction offices are not generally open to the public, and as for the door opening inward being the same with a 28" opening, the door would have to be located in a location where it would have to be able to open flat against a flat wall.  In most RV's that I've seen, at least with fifth wheels, the door opens up at a closet area, a hallway to the front of the trailer, and with a slide just inches away from the entryway.  In the case of most of those fifth wheels with closets or hallways, the door would then be in the way of other interior places should one decide they wanted to keep the door open for fresh air.

I'm sorry if you haven't received answers that please you, but you did originally ask for reason for an out-opening door.

Terry

Hi Terry,

I am reminded of this story... A little girl watches her mom prepare an Easter ham and she wonders why her mother cuts off both ends of the ham before putting it in the pot. So, she asks why, and her mom realizes that she doesn't know. That's the way her mother prepared the Easter ham.  So they call grandmother and pose the question about cutting off the ends of the Easter ham.  The Grandmother admits to not knowing either. She just prepared the ham the way her mom did it.  Their next call is to the Great-Grandmother. When they ask her about her method of preparing the Easter ham she says "It was the only way I could get the ham to fit the small pot I had!"  Bottom line:  Maybe outward doors are just the way manufacturers have been doing it for years and no one is thinking about why or thinking outside the box?  There is just no feasible reason to have the door swing outward.  I disagree in that tiny houses on wheels are not really just small houses they're just another type of RV so that is why I made the comparison.  Well, it doesn't have to open to a "flat wall"... you just need the same 28" interior clearance (nobody ever opens their front door at a sticks home all the way back to the flat wall when guests arrive...LOL) 

Thanks again, Billy  (the soon to be inventor, patent holder and rich developer of the SMART INWARD RV DOOR  :--)    

Aside from the aforementioned reasons, I like the fact that these doors all open out for another reason; security. It's easier to break down a door that opens inward than it is to pry one open. Likewise, for safety's sake, I'd much prefer an outward swing door if I had to exit the unit in an emergency.

BillyBunker wrote:

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..."It was the only way I could get the ham to fit the small pot I had!" 

-- Edited by BillyBunker on Monday 17th of February 2014 05:34:30 PM

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I think it would be a lot more homey if the door opened in.

Yuh. It's the 'inside the box' thinking that's retarding, Billy.

This is a pretty interesting question in which I never gave much thought. I live in a large apartment complex and our front door opens inward... which is the opposite of the house we just sold (getting ready to full-time in October... yeah!). There are obvious pros and cons... but the biggest arguments (in my mind) for outward opening is fire escape and security (you have to pry the door open or bust the frame to get through). On the other hand, I really like inward opening when I'm carry a lot of groceries or other stuff... you just lean on the door and it opens and you walk through (no dancing with the door to get around it).

This will require more pondering... of course now I will likely notice every door I go through for the next week! I'm not sure that's a good thing...

Ron

Passenger car engines were once built into the rear of autos until rethinking years down the road changed that.  

Very interesting replies.  Thank you.  I think the RV manufacturers would do themselves a service if they took what they created on paper and applied it after actual use first.  I went to an RV show in Atlantic City this past weekend.....400 RV's and if you went into 5 of them you went into all of them.  There is very little originality....very little in new ideas.

- I am not suggesting that an RV should not have a 2nd point of egress such as another door or a window that opens outward, but an outward door as a main entry door is just a really bad design.  Yes, I am sure manufacturers install them in part because it's cheap or it presents a lower liability, but I can find no evidence that an outward door is a requirement or that it's even safer.  In fact, I see an outward door as more likely to present a safety hazard or cause damage.  There are just as many scenarios (in fact more likely scenarios) in which an outward door could present a safety hazard over an inward door.... a tree could fall against the outside door pinning the door closed, another RV or vehicle could hit or come into contact with the door preventing it from opening outward, etc.  (An outward door with a screen door would not exactly be a piece of cake to open in a smoked filled RV)

- A small child or pet is absolutely more likely to be injured by those sharp bottom corners of those outward doors...I've seen it happen.

- Approaching a locked outward door on a travel trailer with grocery bags in my hand I'd rather unlock and just push in than to have to balance myself on the retractable stairs and get that door to swing open in front of me.

Sometimes a fast rain comes on unexpectedly... if I'm inside I'd rather just close the door than have to go outside in the rain, run down the stairs, unpin the door and run back up the stairs while grabbing the door.    And.... all that rain on the door is now dripping down the door in my living space....in addition to all the rain I sprayed when the door was slammed shut.

This also happens.... an unexpected gust of wind comes by just as one is opening their outward door and the door flies back against the RV possibly damaging the fiberglass or aluminum side.  (Remember me the the next time it happens :----)

AND... I just thought of this;  an outward door could prevent one from angling their awning downward to provide better shade.  This is not an issue with an inward door.

Billy Bunker..... all it takes is an idea!

Hi Wendy!

Thanks for adding to this discussion.  I want to agree with you about it being a safety regulation, but I can find no such regulation anywhere.  If it was regulated then as I pointed out above there are other road vehicles (tiny homes, office trailers, park models) that are circumventing compliance.

Yes, you are absolutely right that in commercial buildings and buildings that are accessible to the general public exit doors must open outward.  The reasoning behind this that in the event of a fire or evacuation a crowd rushing to an exit door would push forward and out.  In fact, regulation exit doors in commercial structures are typically made with over-sized push open bars for that very instance.

I am questioning whether it's really safer in a private enclosure (where crowds are not a factor) to have a door open outwards. If sow why don't all homes, apartments and condos have outward doors?  Why do most hotel and motel rooms have doors that open inward?  In addition to the reasons I previously cited a person I met at Camping World today told me that with the abundance of snow in some areas of the country it wouldn't take much to get snowed in behind the door of a trailer or 5th wheel overnight.  I have seen some pretty high snow drifts up north.

All the best.... Billy

                       ENOUGH SNOW ALREADY !!! 

If the main door opened inward, what would you do about the screen door? It would have to be on the outside and would surely be damaged while traveling down the road. Also with the door opening inward, the outside of the RV would not be smooth and I would imagine that it would be very difficult to stop water from entering while traveling while it's raining.

Jim 

Some interesting thoughts on this subject... here's my two cents, FWIW, why not make the door slide on a track like on many mini-vans?  The designers could make the door as wide as they wanted. Haven't worked out the screen door yet, but there would have to be a solution. 

Most RV manufacturers do both MH and trailers. You can't have inward doors on MH because of interior stairs, so if you are also designing trailers you use what you've already developed and train people to do. You're not likely to change manufacturers minds.

Barb

I agree that inward doors on a motor home might present a design challenge, but motor home doors are less likely to experience the same issues as outward doors on travel trailers and 5th wheels.  (I don't have a motor home, but I don't think the doors can be ripped from your hands and slammed against your side wall by opening them into a gust of wind?)

Screen doors on an inward door would also require some design thinking, but maybe there is an opportunity to improve on that since I don't know of any travel trailer screen doors that lock from the outside.  When I take a short walk at a campground I often like to leave using my screen door.  I like the consistent fresh air and it's a pain to unpin the outside door for a few minutes and lock up.  But I am leaving my rig unattended and there is evil in the world.  If perhaps the screen was built into the door (like a small window I could secure the door and leave the screen open.) 

Barb, while I am sure many question what their manufacturer were thinking on things they built... the tide is changing!  The marketplace is starting to dictate that they listen to the people.  See below.

Billy (not the goat) Bunker

Now that you mention it, a sliding door would be an interesting option, and make a lot of sense. Especially when I think about the automatic sliding doors that are available on many mini-vans. 

Just as a thought, what might a sliding door have with the structural integrity of the RV?

Terry

Don't know that I would use Monaco as an example of a company  -  they keep going out of business, resurrect, go out of business again.

Barb