Couch to Two Person Dinette

[Jackie]

In the re-do of my 1977 Scamp, I took out the rear dinette and built in a permanent bed. Then, I needed a place to sit and eat, so wanted the front couch to become a dinette...but also wanted to keep the bunk beds, so my grandsons can have a place to sleep when the go with me (they are way to young to sleep outside in a tent).

I removed the fiberglass couch bottom, and used it as a template to cut the new plywood top. I cut out storage doors, re-inforced the openings on the underside, and made plywood sides to finish the storage compartments. Painted all white to keep it light in the trailer. Since the photos, I have cut a piece of plywood that spans the middle section of the dinette, but also has screw-on legs so it becomes the table to eat on, or hold the TV, or whatever. With it in place, I can then lift the couch back (I kept the original back and put a homemade slipcover on it) to make the bunk beds. A Thermarest pad works great for the boys to sleep on. I used shower-rod holders as keepers for the bed-poles.

I found some old couch cushions at a re-upholsterer shop, and cut them to size and covered with material. I found a couple of couch cushions to make back cusions for the seats.

I have not yet completed the table. I want to resin it, with some pretty material in the resin.

[Gina D.]

You'll have fun with that! It's a very liberating mod!

[Gerry]

Jackie
Great looking job and a great Idea too.
But I have so much junk under the seats when I go camping I would hate to give up that center hideing place.
My port-a-potty fits so nice in that center cubby along with extra small gas bottles that I just could't do it.
I had a tread a while back about keeping it original and I guess my 1980 Boler 13ft is just the way I want it but your idea is not so radical a change expecialy if the bunks can still be made.
Gerry the canoebuilder

[Joy A]

Jackie, your mod looks great. I'd thought about doing just what you did. I've since taken the couch back off though, deciding I wanted more seating area. Plus, I found without the couch back my solar panel stows nicely against the front of the trailer hidden by pillows.

Gerry, I've been thinking about a front dinette for sometime now and like you am not sure about giving up the center storage area. My porta potty is stowed under the permanent bed in the rear but I do have quite a bit of stuff up front.

I been wondering if I could just cut a portion of the center out to make a small foot well. In other words, just the front portion of the center area going back 1/2 way. Then I'd only loose half the storage and that might be liveable.

[Doug & Anna-Marie P]

When we re-did our Boler to make a front dinette---we have a nice storage area under one seat---the other the port-potti is in (flip up the seat to use ) and between the two seats we have storage--- not all that deep (about 4-5 inches) but goes from one seat to the other across the very front of the trailer---great for bread, chips, etc --all the things you don't want squished---wine bottles...etc etc...Just a little flip up top...

We also permanently mounted our table to the rail where the bunk beds were--makes it very sturdy and we only hvae one middle leg for the table.
Also our Boler had the "step" at that end and the middle (where the porta potti USED to be stored) was level with the floor---it made it too high to rest your feet on the floor ( with our modification)(we are not that tall) so dh built a "box" to make it all one height and we store our shoes under that area...

[DianeP]

Greetings,

Good job!

We did the front dinette mod a year ago and love it. It was posted here with pictures about a year ago 92S13 front dinette finished

Dave and Diane

[Suz]

I decided to try my side dinette out as a sofa. Seems I'm always going the opposite direction as everyone else.