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Replaced Table and Chairs with U-Shaped Dinette

BurbMan
Explorer II
Explorer II
We converted the factory dinette in our old Sunnybrook to a table and chairs setup and it seemed so much more convenient, we ordered our current Terry with table and chairs. Now after a few years we changed our minds again....

This floorplan is different, and the chairs that came with the trailer were just too big. It was crowded to seat four adults at the table, and now that we are traveling without the kids, we are just as likely to watch TV or surf the net in the evenings instead of building a campfire.

Plus, having additional sleeping space and storage would be a plus.

We finally got the water leak and rot behind us (see that project here) and dove in to get this mod done.

So we found these cushions on fleabay from an RV salvage place:



The cushions fit perfectly in the spot, I just needed to build the benches. I started by ripping some 2x4's into 2x2's and building the frame:





We originally decided on a round table with one leg. We are both tall, and the problem with dinettes is getting your feet/legs past the stupid table legs. Having one leg in the middle solved that:





The round table was a blank that I got at Lowe's, 1" think (5/4 board) and 36" round. The leg is a Sequoia Marine table base that has a very low profile when detached.

I made a separate folding insert that stores under the bench so you can make the dinette into a sleeper:



Here it is getting stained to match the cabinets:



Then I cut and hinged the table so that you can walk to the rear of the coach with the slide closed:



So, we went out for our maiden voyage within 2 days of me finishing this mod and we were absolutely.....disappointed! The 1" thick table was heavy...so heavy that it overpowered the Sequoia table support. After having read great reviews on this pricey product, I found out that it's junk. The "low profile" floor mount is also "low support"...heavy breathing would make the table move. We couldn't put any drinks on it because they would slide off.

Also having a separate piece to make the dinette was a pain, because we had to have someplace to put the round table when it made into a sleeper. Plus the rounded edges of the bases meant the insert would fold up if you sat too close to the edge.

So, back to the drawing board. Decided to stay with one leg, but got rid of the Sequoia and went with a standard RV insert model with 2 bases. We also got rid of the round table, and I built one with the pre-glued wide boards you find at Lowe's (I didn't have time to do my own gluing on this project.)



The square table is only 34 1/2" wide, so we gain a little access instead of the 36" round table. The panels are only 3/4" thick and I used a 1x2 skirt to give the assembly some stiffness. Stronger yet lighter than the round table.

Also hinged it to fold in:



And when it drops down to a sleeper, I sized the table so that the leaf touches the floor and eliminates the propensity to tip over that the last one had:



All in all, very happy with the mod now and looking forward to our next trip!
15 REPLIES 15

Bob_Vaughn
Explorer
Explorer
tenbear wrote:
Great job, looks better than OEM.

The only thing I would have done differently would be to build storage drawers into the seats.

We did that on our previous TT and the storage under the seats was awsome.....I have thought about doing it to our current rv.....

GMandJM
Explorer
Explorer
That is one of the nicest mods I've ever seen posted here. Well done!
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BurbMan
Explorer II
Explorer II
tenbear wrote:
The only thing I would have done differently would be to build storage drawers into the seats.


That was my preference too....but DW overruled me on "design aesthetics". I put our most seldom-used stuff under there to make some other cabinets less crowded so I suppose it will work OK.

westend wrote:
Really nice work! I built a "U" dinettes, too, and am still struggling with the single pedestal. The single aluminum pedestal tends to allow the table to lean if someone puts weight on one side. I'm kind of married to the table size and weight since it becomes the platform for a bed. What type of pedestal mount did you use instead of the Marine one?

I am thinking I may have to build a telescoping pedestal to get the kind of rigidity I need and preliminary concepts have shown that to be difficult because of the two heights needed.


Westend, I bought the Heng's standard table bases and pedestals here. I can say that it's sturdier than the Sequoia mount, but still has some wobble to it. If you lean hard on one side of the table it will tilt some, even though the Heng's parts fit together very snugly.

I may wind up adding another pedestal support behind the existing one and closer to the cushion, effectively cutting the U into two halves. I would still have the legroom on the sides, but you wouldn't be able to sit in the back without straddling the table support. I'm holding back on this as "plan B", as I really like the legroom and ease of movement you get with one pedestal leg. Everything is a tradeoff....

I spent a fair amount of time Googling pedestal table supports looking for the best one I could find...well, let me tell you I found some awesome ones! This Garelick is fully adjustable and has 9" bases compared to the 6 1/2" of the Heng's, but it's also $150. Camping World has this telescoping pedestal on sale for the bargain price of $400....so in the end I went with good ol' $30 Heng's....

westend
Explorer
Explorer
Really nice work! I built a "U" dinettes, too, and am still struggling with the single pedestal. The single aluminum pedestal tends to allow the table to lean if someone puts weight on one side. I'm kind of married to the table size and weight since it becomes the platform for a bed. What type of pedestal mount did you use instead of the Marine one?

I am thinking I may have to build a telescoping pedestal to get the kind of rigidity I need and preliminary concepts have shown that to be difficult because of the two heights needed.
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TxTwoSome
Explorer
Explorer
Very nice! Sadly my skills are in Metal not wood! You did a great job it looks awesome!
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hbillsmith
Explorer
Explorer
I wanted to do the same but found out that all booths are 72" across and our table shares the slide with two theatre seat recliners leaving only 63" to squeeeze in a booth. Whats worse is that 63" also makes for a very crowded table.
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goducks10
Explorer
Explorer
Looks super nice. I like the rounded corners on the seat bases. Great job.

MrWizard
Moderator
Moderator
Great,, work.. worthy of a True Cabinet maker
very custom..and professional
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bluie5
Explorer
Explorer
Awesome work. Why don't the manufacturers use this kind of creativity when they design these things?
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RVcircus
Explorer II
Explorer II
Looks awesome...nicely none.
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fla-gypsy
Explorer
Explorer
That is superb work
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tenbear
Explorer
Explorer
Great job, looks better than OEM.

The only thing I would have done differently would be to build storage drawers into the seats.
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Lantley
Nomad
Nomad
Nice Job Burbman. Funny how plans change/evolve. Currently I like my table and chairs vs. the booth. However I can see how needs change.
Not to mention I had a plain old both not a custom Taj Mahal deluxe model.. LOL
All kidding a side really looks good.
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zweible
Explorer
Explorer
Dang.. I just put all my woodworking tools away from the floor replacement project. Now to drag them all back out for this! Looks excellent!