Modification: Bye-bye table

Part of what makes the T@B (and a lot of other RVs) so flexible is that you can convert an eating area (a dinette) into a bed. You do that by folding down the table to form a platform. By rearranging cushions atop the platform, you get a bed. So why is this picture of the table taken in our basement?

Well, the T@B table is heavy. (After all, it has the TUV - an European version of UL - sticker on it. That means it's probably built stronger than the trailer itself. Did the US builder of the T@B really need to import this mechanism from Europe?) It takes up a lot of the limited floorspace inside; removing the table makes the trailer seem bigger. Trust me - every bit helps on that front.

So out went the table. But that also means you lose the bed, unless you come up with a substitute for the platform. I did just that, using a common modification among T@B owners.

First I put two "rails" on the front of each side of the dinette. (This was made out of a leftover "wood" piece I found in IKEA's as-is section. It's a really good match to the cabinets.)

Then I cut a bunch of slats out of 1/2"x4"x36" "craft board" (I think it's pine) found at Lowes. I just cut the end to length and sanded off the edges.


These slats fit in the curbside cabinet. They're thin, so they don't take up much room. (Most people seem to use thicker boards, but we haven't had any scary creaking sounds or breakage when we both sat on them.) When it comes time to go to bed, we put the slats across the rails, arrange the cushions, and there we go - bedtime.

One more thing - our trailer's floorplan had cushions that continued the dinette's backrest back to the rear of the trailer. Curved on the top, these cushions had to be stowed while sleeping, since they didn't make up part of the bed. Since we aren't worried about seating six for dinner, those cushions were yanked out of the trailer and put in the box of "stuff to give the next owner that we never used" - along with the table, I guess.

Tom