Dinette Redesign

Sometimes you just have to start over.....and since I wasn't happy with the way the dinette was turning out, I did just that.  The benches were scraping on their mid-cabin supports (this week's rain made this rather obvious) and due to their width, they couldn't be opened more than about half way before they'd run into the front wall of the trailer.  These problems along with the need to fit out the table resulted in Friday night's "dinette demolition"!

Out came both benches.....

....and the front wall support sturcture

Prior to this much measuring took place, both for clearances and for redesign.  I found if I were to decrease the width of the bench from 36 inches to 32 inches and then placed a 4-inch trimmer the width of the trailer at the front wall, this would allow me to use the current table material I had for the bed platform.  The only real change was the size of the support piece which changed from a 2x2 to a 2x6.  The following photos tell the story...

New bench configuration

The cushions will still be 36 inches wide

The benches can now open all the way up, even with the table in place!

The table came next.  After carefully trimming it to accommodate the edging and cutting the chamfer relief for easier access to the streetside bench, the initial test fitting revealed things were going to turn out alright.

The corner  was retained will be attached to the table with piano hinge

The bed was also tested and will easily support an adult

Removing the platform and rotating it 180 degrees allows it to be converted into the dinette table.  The rotation is necessary to allow a stiffener to be placed under the platform.  This also locates the "triangle" to  an orientation which gives it much more support and less stress when in the bed position.  Additionally, the hardware necessary to connect the table to the front wall of the trailer requires this rotation (refer to the preceding photos and the ones below).

The trailer only came with the wall channel, the table channel was missing

Hinges and 5/16" rod will duplicate the function of the missing channel

A single support leg holds things up adequately

I still need to get the rod welded into the hinge plates and then trim to length.  I plan on glass bead blasting the support channel and the bench trim pieces next week to remove old paint and scale.  I also will be attaching the triangle with piano hinge and locking it into either the retracted or extended positions with a drawbolt.  The support leg gets a drawbolt, too, to secure it out of the way when necessary.  All in all, I think today's efforts will pay off handsomely in the end.

It's beginning to look like fall might be near....but I'm not ready!

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse!

As an old friend of mine recently surrendered his long-held title of the "King of Scrounge" to me, I feel I should continue to demonstrate my highly-developed recycling skills.  Today was a beautiful day and so I made good use of it. I have been pondering how to store the bed platform under the gaucho.  Suddenly, the 25-watt bulb bulb flickered over my head and I knew how I was going to pull off my plan.  First, let's review the situation....

When the bed is put away it should look like this...

...and when the bed is out it will look like this...

...and I need it to store in here without a lot of ruckus.

I noted that the longerons (that's fancy airplane design talk for ribs running lengthwise) are in just the right place to support some sort of glides to store the bed platform.  I guess I could have bought some aluminum but since funding is limited I had to come up with suitable angle material.  I looked over my supply of stuff in the corner of the garage and I found the solution!  I knew I had saved this for a reason!

These stiffeners came from some packaging....and will work well here.

 Cut to length and some door stop moulding to beef up the installation.  Where does this get us?

Glued and clamped...

...on both sides...

...let's get the air compressor fired up...

...and just like that, problem solved!

I need to pick up some recessed pull rings to raise the gaucho platform and drawbolts to secure it open but the following series of photos shows how well my solution tuned out:

Putting the bed platform away is now as easy as ONE...

...TWO...

...THREE!!

Close the lid and it's stowed away

A view from underneath showing how it all nests neatly

I felt so good after this that I spent the remainder of the day wrestling materials to close in the under-gaucho storage area.  I plan on using the area directly aft of the wheelwells for more industrial stuff (leveling jacks, chocks, shore power cords, etc.) and so to keep the "outdoor" items separate from the "indoor" stuff, some dividers were needed.

First some additional strengthening of the gaucho support across the back

Recycling leftover luan helps keep the budget down

After things are settled under the gaucho (read glued dried and dust settled) I'll seal up the wood with a nice coat of exterior paint like all the rest of the wood.  At some point I should work on getting my vinyl cut and laid.  I know many folks put down the vinyl before anything goes down but in order to maximize my $20 remnant, I'll be installing it later.....but soon.  I want to get it done; it'll definitely make a difference!  My next dilemma is to find a solution of how to have an adequate dinette table and still be able to get seated past the galley cabinet.  This required some time for quiet reflection...and with some help from the cricket in the side yard (he needs to invite his friends - I love crickets!) I think I have come up with just the plan.

I think I'm getting somewhere with this project...

...and who knows?  It may turn back into a Scotty Sportsman someday!

The Scotty makes my other trailer seem tiny in comparison!

Today's total budgetary outlay:  $0

 Next installment:  Dinette dietary solutions for the full-figured guy!