Bigfoot 17 gaucho bed conversion to dinette - Fiberglass RV
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Old 04-16-2020, 08:51 PM   #1
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Name: Justin
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Bigfoot 17 gaucho bed conversion to dinette

I am looking for others who have done this modification or have good ideas for me. We have turned our front dinette into a more permanent bed with minor modifications and a mattress etc. So we no longer have a good table to sit and eat at. I am considering chopping apart my gaucho bed and turning it into a small dinette for 2. There is enough room in front of the fresh water tank to make it happen. I would convert the rear half of the bed area into further storage as well as a more permanent mount for a 12v fridge/cooler.

This mod would end up with one seat on top of the water tank and the other being some sort of box right behind the mini wall by the door. And I am considering some sort of small table hung from the wall.
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Old 04-17-2020, 05:27 AM   #2
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I would like to see the front bed conversion. I have thought about the same thing but didn't think I was gaining much. My plan would have involved using the gaucho as is and just making a table mounted on some sort of locking swing bracket so you could sit down then pull the table close to you.
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Old 04-17-2020, 07:25 AM   #3
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In terms of the front bed mod, all it is is a simple piece of 3/4" plywood. I never even added a support under the extension piece. It's not needed. I bought foam and memory foam mattress from Amazon and cut it down to size. We love it. Sure it would be nice to have more width, but we are at least 2 thin people!

The last photo is of the cabinet under the gaucho bed. I still might consider a swivel table and simply leave the bed/couch as is. I am still processing options.

Hopefully these photos load properly
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Old 04-17-2020, 08:37 AM   #4
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I don't have advice for you, other than go for it!

For whatever reason, side-dinette trailers have always spoken to me. If I had bought a Scamp or Casita, I'd have a side-dinette. But I got a Bigfoot, so that's that. I sleep on the Gaucho bed, so this wouldn't work for me, but it's definitely a thought I've had, if I were to ever gut my trailer and start over.

It seems to me like the design is fairly easy. You just need to cut a gap in the bench, box everything back up, then build a table. Depending on your skills, the execution of that simple design may or may not be a pain, but it's all very doable.
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Old 04-17-2020, 08:49 AM   #5
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I’m for preserving the gaucho with a Lagun swing-away table or a pedestal mounted table in front. Eat side-by-side. Card game? A small folding chair in the aisle, maybe?

In my opinion small dinette seats are very uncomfortable for sitting longer than a meal. The gaucho gives a lot more room to sprawl out with pillows for an evening movie or lazy afternoon reading a book.

I love the way you widened one end of the front bed, BTW. It addresses one of the biggest drawbacks of that layout for a couple.
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Old 04-17-2020, 09:02 AM   #6
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Of course you could have the best of all worlds. No reason the dinette couldn't convert back to a Gaucho just like your front dinette used to convert back & forth.
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Old 04-17-2020, 09:13 AM   #7
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Except you’d have a bunch of small cushions, which tend to slide around and make for less comfortable seating or sleeping.

Nothing insurmountable, whatever you decide to do. My preference is to try simpler solutions first.
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Old 04-17-2020, 09:29 AM   #8
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It's all true.

Lots of options.
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Old 04-17-2020, 12:01 PM   #9
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Man, you all have got the wheels a turning in my head! Id love a side dinette instead of the front dinette looking out at the street and the tow vehicle all the time. This down time we all have right now is great for such projects.
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Old 04-17-2020, 12:36 PM   #10
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Yeah I agree. It's my only real complaint about the layout of my Bigfoot. Rear dinette is so much nicer, since I'm almost always backing in to where the view is.
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Old 04-17-2020, 12:42 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Glass House View Post
Man, you all have got the wheels a turning in my head! Id love a side dinette instead of the front dinette looking out at the street and the tow vehicle all the time. This down time we all have right now is great for such projects.
Don't forget about the wheel wells and its impact on the space. Also, unless you remove or shorten the height of the overhead cabinet, it will be in your way as you slide in to sit down or slide out to get up.

So far a a rear dinette, I am not sure how much you will see out of the small rear window; lot's out of the side window there.

I've never found any dinette very comfortable to sit at so I took out the seat on the door side of the front dinette and brought a Lazy Boy recliner out of the house. It fits well in that space and is way more comfortable.
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Old 04-22-2020, 06:26 AM   #12
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We sleep on the Gaucho. The biggest problem is getting in the bathroom with it slid out. I can barely get my self through the door.
Also I sleep on the aisle side of the gaucho so there is nothing at my head to keep my pillow from falling off the bed. If we put our heads under the window it seems to cramped. I have measured the front dinette and thought it was too small to make a better bed out of but maybe I will have to rethink this after seeing yours.
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Old 04-25-2020, 11:08 AM   #13
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Renoed ours last year and converted the front table bed to a permanent bed, and we enjoy the luxury of a king size bed.... If you want some ideas I'm willing to sell them for a few thous... just kidding! But if you want some pictures I'll go to the trouble. You have to lie down along the length of the trailer towards the bathroom and add about 8 inches along the bed, it blocks the exit door a little, but not enough to prevent its use. The fridge door is also somewhat a little compromised but still very accessible. It's a small price to pay for a king size bed. I am also still toying on the best option for the Gaucho...
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Old 04-28-2020, 12:10 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Hettinga View Post
I am looking for others who have done this modification or have good ideas for me. We have turned our front dinette into a more permanent bed with minor modifications and a mattress etc. So we no longer have a good table to sit and eat at. I am considering chopping apart my gaucho bed and turning it into a small dinette for 2. There is enough room in front of the fresh water tank to make it happen. I would convert the rear half of the bed area into further storage as well as a more permanent mount for a 12v fridge/cooler.

This mod would end up with one seat on top of the water tank and the other being some sort of box right behind the mini wall by the door. And I am considering some sort of small table hung from the wall.

Your idea would work fine. We were going to remove the front porta potty and put in a small front dinette, now thought has changed to keeping the potty, but still want to use front area for dining when required. There are a lot of good suggestions on this site. A simple suggestion given to me is to attach a 90 degree conduit to a straight piece (that thread metal pipe) then insert it into a 9" plastic pipe that is strapped to the gaucho base. Thinking this is what I might do as it is within my skill set. Google How to build the perfect campervan table, there is a UTube video by a guy a girl and a camper van. Might give you an idea how to do one in your unit.
Have fun let us know what you do.
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Old 04-28-2020, 02:05 PM   #15
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I made the following modification and I am very satisfied 'I now have a 50 inch bed and the gaucho remainsEven when the bed is wide open, the bathroom remains accessible
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Old 05-04-2020, 03:54 PM   #16
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Check out a 2005-09 Jayco Fay Feather Sport 165. It has an L shaped dinette just add a base and a round table top on a removable pole. Now if your are planning on seating three or more I don't think you would be happy.
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Old 05-04-2020, 04:19 PM   #17
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That's an interesting layout, and really relatable to a Bigfoot 17. I set up the dinette bed in my Bigfoot for the first time over the weekend and it got more ideas flowing for me.

I would really like a full size fridge, and have thought about where to put it. I wouldn't want to put it where the current fridge is, because then I'd have zero counter space. But if I turned the dinette into a...not quite complete U shape, that could work. I would put the full size fridge right next to current fridge location, cutting into the dinette a bit and losing half that window. Then add the lost dinette seating space to the front of the camper, where the table attaches now. So there'd be less table space, but seating in a partial U around the table. And it could still convert to an even more cramped bed.

Not sure what that would do to how it tows. More weight on the side that already has all the weight, and it would be a couple feet farther forward toward the tongue. It's an idea though.
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Old 05-04-2020, 09:56 PM   #18
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I've been trying to find the time to respond to this thread.

https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...1&d=1588650422

This is a picture of another BF19 configuation. I spoke with the owners and they told me they use the dinnette for sleeping and eat breakfast on the Gaucho couch. They eventually convert their bed back into a dinette for the rest of the day. The Gaucho dinning top would need to be resized to fit a BF17.

If I kept my '92 BF19, I planned to do something similar using a Lagun Table system. This would allow you to change the height of the table from a dinning height to a coctail table height, and even use it as a desk. It can be moved out of the way to make room when accessing the bathroom.

Here's some more links for the Lagun table. If you don't belong to Escape Forum, you'll need to join to view the photos. Here's your excuss.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...hts-12137.html





The 2 part videos gives you an idea of the versatility of the Lagun in a confined area. This is an older video and the price for the table system has droped considerably.

Personally, I'd keep the Dinette as is, as well as the Gaucho couch. I really appreciated having a separate couch to sit on and read, stretch out to listen to music (or watch TV) and take a nap, fold out into a bed.
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Old 05-04-2020, 10:24 PM   #19
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Name: john
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I cannot believe the picture of the table cut to that shape, simply because if I sent you a picture of the table I cut to fit the same dimensions as the one I see in the picture, it is identical. Wow! If you wish, I can certainly take a picture and post it. I don't know if your table rotates or not, but the one I have just swivels of the center post, making it easier to squeeze in and out of the back side where the back window is located. I have a 17 ft Bigfoot...
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Old 05-05-2020, 07:49 AM   #20
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So many options...

I love that table.

My “problem” is that I have ideas for how to make my camper work better for me. But what works best for full-timing works less good for weekend or even somewhat extended camp trips. I’d hate to tear apart the interior and rebuild it, then 6 months later decide I’m done living in it.

The layout as-is is a pretty decent compromise.
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