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

Modification: Going under (stove) cover

An advantage (and pitfall) of actually researching purchases is that you start to learn inane trivia about the product. (Hence, this blog.) One of those things that you pick up are what changes happened from model year to year.

RV manufacturers are a lot less consistent at this than car companies. They can get away with it: hand construction, and the various components aren't that critical to one another. Consider your house: you can replace the dishwasher with another one, and the rest of the house still works OK. (Not so much with cars.)

2007 was a pretty good vintage of T@B, at least in my point of view. It has the newer Alufiber construction and they offered the floorplan that I wanted. But there are a few things I would have liked: a city water hook-up, 12 volt outlets inside, and the sleek flat-top SMEV cooktop.

Of the three, it's that cooktop I'd like the most. The flat top gives more countertop space when it's not on. And it looks cool. But not worth paying several thousand dollars more, the cost of a 2008 T@B.


Our more pedestrian cooktop didn't have a cover. Thanks to the enabler that is the T@B Yahoo group, we learned of an eBay listing from an RV surplus place that was selling them for $22. Sold. (You'd think an RV company would hold onto surplus as spare parts, but I guess not. I'm trying to get a replacement screen, but need to wait 3-4 weeks and buy an entire window surround unit.)


The cover works well, giving us another surface and it keeps cooking splatter off the back wall. For some reason, we attached it with Command adhesive strips, keeping the countertop free of holes in case we do that concours restoration, I guess.

Tom