dining area

[nomoney]

I would like some opinions on a booth vs standing dining set-up. We now have a booth, but will be upgrading, and alot of the newer 5th wheels have the standing dining area, with chairs & table vs the booth type. The fact that the booth converts to a sleeping area is a given, but we've never used it, so that isn't necessarily a selling point for us. Just wanted to hear the pro's & cons of both options. Thanks!!

[Only_True_Mosno]

We had a table and 4 chairs...all it did was gather clutter. Trying to actually sit at the table was nearly impossible due to space. We have frequent visitors and not enough beds, so we decided to take the table and chairs out and replaced it with an additional futon. We now have an extra bed and an extra place for a couple people to sit. Just my two cents...

[Dtank]

Had TTs with booth/s.

Space is/was limited then - store stuff under base.

Even with two kids then - they would prefer the o/head bunks,
so the booths were rarely -if ever- used for sleeping.

Fifth has plenty of storage - and for all the reasons mentioned, would never have a booth again.

Plus - as someone else mentioned, with a table and chairs you can completely reconfigure your floor plan if you desire.

Also, you can pull the table out from the wall.
(Mine's *not* anchored to the floor - it only moves if I want it to.)

The booth is there to stay - where the RV *Manufacturer* decided it should be.

But, if a booth works for you - that's great!..:C

.

[NJRVer]

We currently have a booth and I hate it. Very uncomfortable to sit at with straight up seat back.
Wife does like the storage under the seat though.

[boiseidaho]

I have had both, and the table and chairs are now what I have. The
chairs are so much easier for this old boy to get in and out of. Father time has a way of wearing me down.

[john_bet]

We prefer free standing. Our choice.

[rhagfo]

Personal choice, not one size fits all! We don't need to sleep six, so no need for a booth.

Table and chairs was the #2 must have for our current 5er, right behind the large kitchen, to cook great meals to enjoy while sitting at the table. 🙂

[Allworth]

We had booths in our first two fivers and a table/chairs now.

While the extra storage beneath the booth seats was nice, the flexibility and sitting comfort of the chairs wins hands down.

My back is too old for booths, even in restaurants, and you just can not haul part of a booth seat over to the living area or out under the awning if you need a place for one more person to sit.

[Lantley]

I have had both. Booth is more beneficial if space is limited. A booth can provide additional storage and sleeping space.
A table is more comfortable and a bit more versatile assuming you have the space to spare.
If space and efficiency is a priority advantage goes to the booth however if comfort is your priority advantage table!

[Uppercrust]

I prefer free standing. I hated the booth, had to move when the person sitting next to you got up and not comfortable.

[GON2SKI]

All of our past and present rigs have been with a booth. It has worked well for us for 50yrs. No complaints here.

[Dutch___Di]

We're in the table and chairs side of this topic. Many reasons were already covered above but my main ones are to be able to adjust how close/far we are to the table. I have an extra chair or two for living room company if I need one and I can just remove the 4 chairs to easily vacuum under the table. Hugs, Di

[getontheroad]

I have the u-shaped dinette booth, and I have to say it is the one thing about my current TT that I absolutely hate. The back of the u-shaped is useless unless you are a small child, my 13 year old daughter who is slim has a hard time sliding in. I also feel like the u-shaped dinette overwhelms the living space of the TT. Again, just my opinion.

[hbillsmith]

Our new 5er has free standing table on slide that closes to flush with island, thus no booth order is possible. Decided we'll move the table out an throw an air mattress on the floor for the grandkids. To do this we're ordering Oasis Concepts Folding Dining Table Model FT-2005X2 the 5er comes with folding chairs and replacing the 5er table with this folding one. It's $275 shipped free at Overstock.com. Guess I'll put the factory table in the attic or on craigslist.

[Allworth]

Our first two fivers had booths and we were satisfied with that. The Titanium has table and chairs and we will never go back to a booth.

The flexibility more than makes up for the lost storage even after I had put hinged tops on the booth seats to access all of the hidden space.

We generally do not camp. We "travel by RV" and eat a good percentage of our meals in the trailer. Again, flexibility is the key word.