We rarely have the front dinette set up in our 17 foot
Escape, the bunk beds are almost always left in the sleeping position. The only time we put the bunk beds away and set up the front dinette is when folks stop by to see if the floor plan would work for them.
The bedding on the lower bunk makes it difficult to get into the front storage areas so we put things we rarely use like a shovel and vacuum in the left storage area but the right front storage area is usually empty. To make better use of this space I modified the right front seat by putting in a small triangular door. This small door provides enough room to put most dirty clothes into the storage areas; we’ll still need to lift the seat to put in some adult clothes. I was thinking of putting in a bigger door but was concerned about reducing the strength of the seat area.
This picture shows the seat area before the mod.
This picture shows the laundry door installed. Note that the corners on the triangular door are rounded off the provide clearance and protect the seat cushion. I relocated the seat a little when I reinstallled it to increase the area that is supported by the seat frame, this required that I trim the aft edge of the new door to clear the adjacent cabinet trim piece. Make sure to check the fit of the new seat before your put the screws in for the original hinges. I put a piece of rubber over the fasteners in the new hinge as the fasteners were not flush I didn’t want to wear a hole in the cushion.
These pictures shows the laundry open with, and without, the seat cushion in place.
Linear Mode
