Amazing Swing Up Table :)

PaintyLiz

PaintyLiz

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2012
Posts
500
Hi!

I finally got photos of the table I built for my 2007 189FBR. When I removed the dinette and built a couch, I wanted to make a place to put things, okay food, while we sat there. You can't sit on a couch without food within reach. Even though the kitchen is technically in reach, I wanted a snack table on the arm for hubby to put his snacks :)

I searched the internet thoroughly and did not find anything that fit all my requirements -

1 - folds FLAT - no more than 3/4" thick
2 - takes no special hinges or accessories
3 - can build with what I have on hand
4 - costs nothing
5 - can be mounted on any flat surface that will accept screws.
6 - very sturdy
7 - stylish design

All I could find on the net were tables that were 2-3" thick when folded, or took special expensive hardware. So I designed it myself, and I'm glad I did - it is exactly what I wanted!

You can see the whole article with instructions and pictures here: Wacky Pup

Let me know what you think :)

Liz
 
Excellent ! I love looking at other folks mods. It's all these small things that we do to the trailers that make them so usable !
 
Excellent job. I particularly like the groove under the table to engage the top edge of the support arm -- I have looked at a lot of folding tables (often called "gate leg" tables) and have never seen that particular feature!

What did you finish the plywood with? Wipe on poly would be my choice, because I am lazy -- I find that I do not get good results with the brush on poly products.
 
Thank you for posting the pics Liz,
I've been wanting to add a small extension to the counter of our FF, near the doorway and another one to the Cargo Conversion near the sink area. I like the brace rather than adding metal hardware and I think this idea might work... Nice job...
 
Thanks for the comments. I was kind of on a hurry when I built it, so I think I might have used some old spray poly I had laying around. Either that or just some water based poly that you paint on.

It is very stable when it's up. I wanted to make sure, since it's right in front of the door, that if I ran into it while hubby was sitting there with food on it it did not all crash to the floor.

By the way, even with it up the bathroom door can open and close and there is plenty of room to walk past it. I am so happy I replaced that dinette.
 
Great job. I just spent some time looking at your mods and think you have some great ideas. We have the same year and model FF so it is even more interesting. I can see why you exchanged the dinette for the couch. We are small folk so we may not have the problem your 6'4" husband did. Also the dinette made into a bed will probably be used for our three small dogs to sleep on. But time will tell. It may not work.
Did you consider using the right and left ends of the over-dinette cabinet? Other than speaker wires I can't think that they are used for anything. We might make access into them from the inside to store seldom needed items. That would not change the outside look. What do you think?
 
mods to the trailer

Opening up all that wasted storage in the cabinet was one of the first things I did. I have put pictures of almost all of them on my blog Wacky Pup

General:.
Raised handles on all lower cabinets!! Yay! I just did this and it is such an improvement!.
Removed or raised blinds & headers that were covering part of the windows..
Replaced the white panel on the screen door with a clear one - what a difference!.
Added hooks everywhere :).
Made vinyl overlay for screen door so that we can have the door open when it's hot or cold. It's held on with velcro.
Put chalkboard contact paper on all doors for contents & notes (love this!!) use upside down cup handle to hold chalk.
Made sayings to stick all over the outside of the camper :) like: Camping is cheaper than therapy

Dining.
Opened both ends and middle of storage cabinet - used lifts & handles from removed bunk. <---- great photo on blog
Removed dinette & built couch with storage boxes that uses the dinette bottom seat cushions.
Back & arms of couch are spare bed pillows for reading in bed & body pillow for night.
Built removable tables that fit into bracket in front of couch.
Built rolling trolley for space between couch & bed.
Built swing up snack table.
Made dog cover for bed & couch so dogs can sleep on couch at night and bed while we are out..
Made removable chalkboard for over sink so that list or notes can be taken out of the camper.
Modified boxes so legs of table can slide under couch.
Replaced clock with clock with indoor outdoor thermometer.
(Before I removed the dinette, I added access doors & lights).
Insulated the wheel wells.

Bedroom.
Installed ikea led reading lights on each side of bed - unfortunately they are not 12v so can't wire them in.
Made hinged access door for pump & tank drain valve - YAY!!
Removed bunk door panel and built shelving, covered by curtains.
Replaced mattress with memory foam mattress.
Installed wire shelf over foot of bed - holds laptops & box of wine lol.
Made wall pocket by bed for clock, kleenex, sleep mask etc.
Hung wire racks over head of bed for books, magazines and movies.

Bath.
Rebuilt medicine cabinet into corner cabinet. <-- check this out
Installed 2 sets of towel hooks plus single hooks by bathroom sink to hold washcloths.
Installed stick up hooks in shower area.
Put loops & names on all towels, buttonholes in all washcloths so everything can go on a hook.

Electrical.
Added outlet at head of bed (orignally under dinette).
Added outlet under the front (side?) of the bed (kitchen/hallway lol) I need to box this in and recess it because you can't have something plugged in when you pull out the rolling trolly.
Added shelving to large found storage area under head of bed.
Made USB charging area on end of cabinets holds multiple tablets, phones & gps.

Kitchen.
Installed new faucet!!! Just did this, can't wait to use it!
Added magnetic knife rack.
Added pull out basket allows use of area under the sink.
Built dog food & water area under refrigerator <-- that was fun :) and now I don't trip over the dog food all the time and the water can't be spilled!!
Dog food storage in wardrobe.
Made fruit & vegetable net over foot of bed.
Made new wooden cover for stove & sink. <--- safety issue - I need to post about this.
Replaced furnace thermostat - haven't used it yet.
Made tea & spice holder on side of range fan.
Hung utensil rack next to sink.
Added wine glass rack over sink - dollar tree socks protect them while traveling.
Made wrap & bag holder.
Enlarged the holes for the drawers so more stuff would fit.

Wardrobe.
Net bags screwed to wardrobe & clothing doors.
Permanently mounted dog waste bags by door.
Raised wardrobe bar to gain almost 2". (just remove bottom screws and swing it up - put screws (now top) in new location - easy peasy
Shoe rack on bottom of wardrobe.
Sterlite drawers above wardrobe.

Maintenance -
Removed & reseated front window and one side window that were really badly installed and leaked

Planning.
Cutting board to fit sink.
Insulate front window.
 
Michigantraveler said:
Also the dinette made into a bed will probably be used for our three small dogs to sleep on. But time will tell. It may not work.
Click to expand...

I put a picture of our big and little dogs on the couch. It is made from the seat cushions from the dinette. There is plenty of room. We could bring 5 more dogs, thank heaven we don't haha
 
Wow! You have been very busy. I just want back to look further at your blog but for some reason a lot of the photos are just showing up as gray circles with bars across them. Not sure why? I can see: your lid rack, Your rolling trolley pulled out, your pups on the couch, and your snack table. The rest aren't showing. I'm looking at your blog on my iPhone. April 12, 16 and 19 are fine. Just today is messed up for some pics. Also not showing on my Macbook Pro. hmmmm....
 
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PaintyLiz said:
I put a picture of our big and little dogs on the couch. It is made from the seat cushions from the dinette. There is plenty of room. We could bring 5 more dogs, thank heaven we don't haha
Click to expand...

Our dogs are bigger...15#, 30# and 38#. Do yours bark at lot? I worry about that in campgrounds. They are barkers!
 
wow thanks for letting me know - hmmmm not sure what the issue is I was using photos from my google photos account, maybe they are only visible to me. I will work on this asap, and post again when I have it fixed.
 
Michigantraveler said:
Our dogs are bigger...15#, 30# and 38#. Do yours bark at lot? I worry about that in campgrounds. They are barkers!
Click to expand...

Oddly, they only bark when we are in the camper with them. When they are alone, they just sleep :)

I have been parked next to people who went off and left their annoying barking dogs in the camper. They barked the whole time the people were gone. We usually take our dogs with us wherever we go, but when it's hot and they would have to sit in the car, they stay in the camper, and I've asked the neighbors who didn't even realize we had left dogs :)

Don't know how you can fix them.

Our big dog is 70+ lbs and the little one is 7 LOL so it's like having 8 little ones? or 1.1 big ones? The big one does not like the little one to touch her, but she suffers the indignity of having to sleep with her sometimes. Usually, she gets down and sleeps on the floor. (Also, she gets hot)
 
Probably something simple. Will look forward to seeing them. Thanks Liz.
Oh! I guess I could only see your big dog's head!! We too take the dogs with us when we go just about anywhere but never leave them in a hot car alone. I really hate to hear barking dogs, not only because they are annoying but because they are generally in distress. The UPS driver barking is just annoying. It must be the sound of their engine.
We just received a training collar that we are scared to use. It would be for our middle terrier. We may need one for each dog and the woman who owns the company said we could try to move the collar from dog to dog during training or buy two more for the price of one. We will see how it works.
 
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Hi again,

Ok, I think I have it fixed. The issue was that I used Google photos and they were private. You would think that since google owns the photo site and blogger they might mention that when you drag a photo onto a blog. I could see them on my computer when I looked at the blog, because I owned them. Anyway, all the photos should be there now, let me know what you think. I love to work on things, hubby always says "they're fine just the way they are" but he usually likes the improvement....usually ... lol

Wacky Pup
 
Yes, they do enlarge now!! So glad you did that. Where did you get the extra door handles for over where the dinette had been. Someone on here is looking for them. Did you find s source?
 
The handles came off the bunk doors that I removed, as did the hydraulic (?) props that keep the doors open. Before I remembered them, I removed the bathroom handles and used them in the 'main' area, and put 'non-matching' ones in the bathroom where they would not be noticed :)
 
One more question (for now) where did you get your blinds? I was thinking of just buying cellular shades at Menards, but even those would be pricy.
 
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