Trailer Unit without Dinette

tlieder wrote:
thank you westend!

You're very welcome.
I see you are based in Mpls. You probably know about all the great camping spots we have in MN. If not, the MN website has maps and pictures of some hidden spots I did not know about. There are some gems in there but many with no hookups.

First 2 camper we owned had dinettes. They were worthless in my opinion, uncomfortable, crowded, and just in the wrong position. Never used them as a bed.

Last camper (my Outback), came with a free-standing table and 4 chairs. After a year and a half we removed the table and chairs completely and put in it's place a full sized household 3 seater reclining couch. Love it so much, we bought an identical one for the house.

Do we miss the table and chairs! Absolutely NOT! The table was just a catch all for every item in the camper. It was always piled up with stuff! We never used it as a place to eat. We have camping TV trays we use outside the camper. We now use them inside the camper. Been using them for years now. They work just fine. They can fold up out of the way, be taken outside for around the camp fire, and used as an extension for the counter top when doing dishes.

And by the way ... doing dishes and counter top space! ALWAYS put washed and dried dishes away in the cabinets immediately and you won't have clutter!

Do we miss the table and chairs? Absolutely NOT! It was the best thing we could have done. It gives us more space, and gave us a piece of furniture we now enjoy!

Original configuration:



After we moved some of the original furniture around (which didn't work for us either) :



Now:



I put wheels on the couch so it can be rotated. Now we have the best of everything:

thank you westend!

Linky of floorplan

I guess the sofa serves as an additional bed and you may need that (we don't know). Otherwise, I read all sorts of complaints with the comfort of these expanding couches. If you don't need it, remove it. Try it out for awhile and see if the stock setup works for you. A year of camping will promote things to change.
One of the things that the layout diagram uncovers is that you will have a narrow walkway between the table and the counter. With the sofa removed, the table can be slid back into the slide area for a more open kitchen area.

tlieder wrote:
We are downsizing and purchasing a smaller travel trailer--my question is to those of you without a dinette...Is it something we will miss?

Our trailer came with a dinette. We removed it and replaced it with swivel, rocking, reclining chairs which are much more comfortable. So no, we don't miss the dinette at all. We use a small folding table when we eat inside.

We also have a small trailer, 20 ft, with rear dinette , been talking about removing and replacing with swivel/recliner/rockers.....looking for a more comfortable place to sit watch TV and read...of course swivel around to look out picture window on our Alaska road trip! Anyone done this? Where you happy with the results?

Here's the floorplan:

http://www.dutchmen.com/coleman/floorplans-and-pictures/floorplan-details/?modelId=24734

If I had to give up either our couch or dinette for some reason, it would be the dinette. I guess TV trays at the couch will work when we would need to eat inside. Most of our campin' is spent outside and the dinette is used as a counter top.

Sorry not a direct comparison but....

My RV does not have a dinette. It has a table that you set up on pedestals in front of the couch instead. When I replaced the flooring, I did not put the mounts for the pedestals back in thinking I wouldn't miss the table. But...I miss the table. So in answer to your question, I don't miss having a dinette as much as I do the table/prep space. If you have a table that can be easily set up in front of the couch then I think you'll be okay. The upside is that the lack of a dinette makes for a nice lounge area when the table is not set up.

Can you share a link to the floorplan of the trailer?

Many folks remove dinettes and couches to install a better configuration for their needs.

FWIW, I have a 22' trailer that has a dinette. The table was not working out with a single pedestal. I changed that to a pair of folding legs. Now, I can move the table to any location, even outside, if I want to. I find that is the best configuration.

You might want to think about fold-down countertops or small folding tables to increase available working areas. I have a lot of counter space that I built in but you know how that goes, coffee makers, toasters, and all that other kitchen stuff tends to migrate onto the counters and eats up space. I may make separate shelves for the coffee maker and some other things, it is not a difficult project.