Can You do Front dinette mod and saving the bunks..?

[Pat B Ohio]

Is it possible to do the front dinette mod and save the bunks?

[Bill F.]

Is it possible to do the front dinette mod and save the bunks?

Hi Pat,
Yes it is possible. A lot of the 13' trailers have the upper bunk hinged to the wall at about table height so you can't attach the table to the wall like they do at the back of the trailer. My 93 Bigfoot 13.5 had three possible configurations, twin bunks, couch(top bunk hinged down as back rest), or dinette. The table has to be supported from the floor by one or two pipes like those used in van conversions in the 80's. The pipes fit into fittings bolted to the floor and the underside of the table. To drop the table just remove the pipe(which can likely be stored in the cabinet under one of the seats) and lower the table to support lower bunk cushions. If you decide to make the modification the cabinet closest to the door is a convenient place to store a porta pottie. My Bigfoot had a 3/4" plywood cover under the seat cushion that encircled the lid of the potti and was easily removable so the potti could be lifted out through the top of the cabinet. If we could have found some way to add a shower we would never have sold it.
Bill

[Raya]

I've seen this done on a Boler - where the bunk (couch back) was left in place and then a front dinette was made too (the couch back would just be beside your forward arm while you sat at the dinette).

But... the U-haul front couch seat looks pretty narrow to me; looks like it might make for a dinette that's a bit too cramped with the bunk cushion there (the Boler gets wider in the middle but the U-haul doesn't look like it does). Of course you could easily still have a lower "bunk" by putting the table down, but that's only one.

You might be able to get creative by just having an un-foam-padded bunk "board" swing down (so taking up less room at your side) and then using something like a Thermarest pad on the bunk board when you wanted to have someone sleep up there

Raya

PS: One week to Sue-Haul oowoo

[Patty S.]

Pat, I have done that on my Uhaul. I took out the bunk assembly I made three cushions where the couch was. Makes accessing the two front cubbies a lot easier. I bought the same size foam that the couch cushion is made of & made my own covers for the cushions. Just save the bunk assembly & cushions in case you may someday want to part with your trailer. I use a small wooden TV tray from walmart (about ten dollars) to set up in the dinette area-that way if i want a permanent bed set up, I can .

[Coach George Jessup]

...You might be able to get creative by just having an un-foam-padded bunk "board" swing down (so taking up less room at your side) and then using something like a Thermarest pad on the bunk board when you wanted to have someone sleep up there ...

Take Raya's idea but instead of thermoarest pad.... inflate an air mattress or a narrower inflatable camp or swim mattress. Could just keep it laid out, deflate it, fold it up agains wall.

[Pat B Ohio]

Thanks for the input. I like the Idea of the tiny table and bed. We shall see the evolution.

[Bill F.]

Is it possible to do the front dinette mod and save the bunks?

A picture is worth...

[Raya]

That's a U-haul 13 The ones I've seen have a couch cushion that's only about 14" wide (or so) when the couch back is flopped down. That is the concept Pat is asking about, but I thought the U-haul seat would be a bit too narrow with the back flopped down like that.

Edited to add: Here is a photo of what I am 100% sure is a U-haul 13 front couch/bunk. You can see here why I'm saying it looks like it would be a bit tight to have a dinette there with the couch back in place:





I was saying that maybe you could do it with an unupholstered couch back (essentially a piece of plywood shaped like the couch back without it's padding and fabric) that you could add a pad to when it was flipped up in bunk mode.

Pete: The Thermarest is an inflatable pad. It has a little bit of foam inside which makes it self inflating. Depending on which model you get, they are about 1" to 2" thick when inflated, and deflated roll up to tube (like you roll a sleeping bag but much smaller in tube diameter). They are very comfortable. Not that an air mattress wouldn't work also.

Raya

[james kent]

Just a thought....How about a free standing table shaped like a letter "U" on it's side? You could leave the bunk as is and slide the table into place when you want it or use it outside separately.

[Frederick L. Simson]

That's a U-haul 13

It's a '92 Bigfoot 13.5
Link to album photos
The factory wood interior was a Bigfoot feature.
It's also what Bill F. owns.

[Raya]

Thanks, Frederick. Looks like the Bigfoot 13 must be made on something that looks more like the Boler molds. The U-haul just doesn't have that kind of room up there with the bunk folded down; hence my feeling that if you really wanted a bunk too, you could (maybe) just have an unupholstered one and then add a pad when bunking. Not even sure there's room for that, but there might be.

Raya

[CindyL]

Just an FYI, although it might not help the mod you want, Pat. The VT has a dinette in the front. The table drops down to form the center of the bed. The chairs are made of two cushions, bottom and back. When made into a bed, the table drops and the cushions form the bed, as in the pix posted by Bill F.
The upper bunk is a canvas cot that hangs from the wall and rolls up.

On our 13' Burro, we used a wooden TV tray with the legs removed. It was held up by the back dinette post. Our seats were the tops of old captain's chairs that Kevin attached to swivels attached to the storage covers. Of course, they would need to be removed for a bed.

CindyL