removing couch/sleeper 210WBS

[Jack-FUN]

We have a 2010 210WBS Fun Finder and have used it this season three times.
We are finding the couch/sleep to be clumsy and in the way and not all that comfortable.
We'd like to remove it and the board supporting it, except for the half which extends beyond the trailer proper and use moveable chairs and the provided folding table.
Questions are these:
1-Will this endanger the support for the slide-out?
2-Does the couch and support provide counter balance for the weight of
the slide-out?
3-Or does support come from the extending mechanism being anchored
to the floor?
Can anyone offer help or opinions?
Thank you very much.

 

[funnygirl]

X210WBS

Not to change the subject, but .............. I have a 2009 X210WBS and wrote a previous forum about electrical outlets. Do you have any in the bathroom and kitchen area? Just interested. Hope someone can help you with your answer. I like my couch as I like to knit, play cards, etc., the table is heavy. I might get a couple of TV trays to put in there instead of the table.

 

[Jack-FUN]

electrical outlets

Hi. Yes, we have an outlet on the right side of the bathroom cabinet and one on the left end of the kitchen cabinet, but behind the fold-down shelf! So it isn't very convenient, but we do use it w/the shelf up.

 

[bobandmuriel]

X210WBS couch

I am new to this site, so I hope this works.
We have a 2010 X210WBS that we have used twice. This is our first trailer and have enjoyed it so far.
We too would like to remove the fold out couch and get something more comfortable, we don't need the additional bed.
You obviously know a great deam more about these things than we. I will be watching for more input.
In response to electrical outlets, we too have an outlet in the bath and one at the end of the kitchen counter, behind the drop down extension....not usable unless the drop down is up, then it is a little unhandy to get through the door...but not a big deal.........had they lowered the outlet it would be more useful.

Bob & Muriel Mickel
Tacoma, WA

 

[Jack-FUN]

tha couch

Hi, Bob & Muriel.

These are really great camper trailers.

Well, I bit the bulletand removed the couch only to discover that the glide out mechanism is just below it, in the middle and is attached to a 1" thick plywood shelf which runs from the front of the couch out under the glide out section itself. We thought we could cut around that and remove about half of it, but in addition the wheel well sticks out about half the depth of the couch. So, bottom line? The amount of space gained isn't worth it to us. We reset installed the couch, tho we moved it back about 6", tight to the wall behind the couch and will store the table on the floor for travel. It's a bear to lift up from behind the couch!
I also raised the front panel of the couch on reinstallation so the table "feet" will slide under to allow more room in ront of the kitchen area, when we're not seated.
I'd still like to replace the couch with two small comfy chairs, but we'll see.
Appreciate your note.
We've had some leakage when the glie out is open since we came home. Water gathers on top of the aluminum wheel well.
Other than that we love the unit. The quality is excellent and it pulls well
behind our '08 4Runner V-8.

 

[bobandmuriel]

Couch replacement

Jack & Kathy:
Thanks for the report on your experiment. I read last night, but did not get it, and thought that it would be clearer this morning without the Chardonnay. I'm sure that your description makes perfect sence to most, but even sobor I am a little slow in my old age.

We had hoped to remove the Fun Finder couch and replace it with a deeper more comfortable couch of the same length. I considered the possibility that I might have to build something in place because we might not be able to get something larger through the door.

Does the slide mechanism extend above the floor level? Is the 1" plywood unfinished?

I wonder if Fun Finder might be able to provide a blue print for that area to assist the project.

I don't suppose you folks are in the Seattle / Tacoma WA area are you?

You mentioned some leakage...what did you do about it?

Thanks

 

[Jack-FUN]

couch again

I do ramble.
We'd hoped to be rid of the couch.
However, I think replacing it with a different small couch is easily possible.
The mechanism is about a foot off the floor; the plywood is attached to it and is painted with a heavy glossy black paint. It's really solid and I'm not likely to cut it for our purposes. You could merely remove the present couch and place the new on top of the plywood.
We're in Britton, South Dakota! I really ought to round out our profile.

 

[bobandmuriel]

Jack & Kathy:
The trailer is stored about 50 miles from our house, so it makes it a bit inconvenient to jump into a project in the few minutes here and there that I have spare. The couch will be a winter time job I hope.
Do you do any cold weather "camping" with the Fun Finder? If so what sort of modifications did you make to keep it from freezing up?
I expect that at least this year we will put the trailer to bed for the winter, I am reasonably handy...do I need to take it to a dealer to winterize, or should I be able to find instructions on the web to do it my self?

Have a great day.

 

[webslave]

You can easily examine the slide mechanism and how it works... On the front of the "sofa" there is a padded full width board with a decorative "button" on each end. Gently pry the button off and you'll see a screw under it. Remove the screws and you can lift the entire front end off (there are two bent steel brackets that hold it up and they are hung on the front of the jack knife sofa frame; lift the front of the sofa up about 6" and you can lift it off). Once that is off, you'll see the slide motor, shaft, gears and the ladder track attached to the underside of the board that the jack knife sofa sits on. That's why you can't do away with that style jack knife sofa and substitute chairs and table...the slide mechanism is dependent on that board being there.

One of the mods that I did was to change the screwed on front of the sofa to "snap on"...also made panels that screw to the floor that keep the ends closed off when the slide is open or closed. We travel with three cats and they just loved to get up under there. Of course they'd love to get under there when we were trying to pack up! Also added insulation over the wheel well and put a couple of baskets under there (screwed to the floor and in positions that don't interfere with the slide motion) to hold our hiking boots and some other odds and ends that we don't need quick access to, but, remember, my front now snaps on and it is easy to get the stuff out. Look at the ends of the "sofa" when the slide is in...you'll notice the big "gaps". Went down I40 near Oklahoma City and a book bounced off the shelf under the television shelf and went under the couch. Lodged between the wheel well and the front of the couch (before my snap on mod) and effectively blocked the slide from going out. DW actually fractured some of the front sofa framing when the slide got jammed. Now with the snap on front, and my blocking screwed to the floors to seal those gaps, if anything does get in there, the front will just "pop open" without doing any damage to the structure. The snap off front also allows easy access to the slide mechanism for inspection or emergency hand crank use...

 

[bobandmuriel]

Thank you again WEBSLAVE

 

[Jim T]

Snap on front

Don,
Thanks for the idea about the snap on front to the couch. Where did you get the snap on hardware?

 

[webslave]

I got my catches from Rockler:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=148&filter=latches

These are pretty common at most any hardware store, but, I was ordering some other cabinet making supplies from them anyway, so...

I used 4 on each side, located more towards the floor. Probably overkill, but, I didn't want it popping open just from vibration or bouncing down the road. They really serve two purposes: 1) makes getting to added storage under the sofa easy 2) If something falls down behind the panel (the cats knocked a book off the shelf under the television and it was a bear to get out prior to the mod) and we don't know about it (another book), the front will actually "pop" off when opening the slide as opposed to shattering the wood...been there, done that.

That's just one of my many "mods"...full listing, for ideas:

Webslave's Mods

 

[Jim T]

Don,
Thanks for the links and the reply. Great mod ideas. Makes me want to get the trailer out of storage to work on it.
Jim T

 

[webslave]

You are more than welcome

One of the disadvantages of having it sitting right outside the workshop; a little good weather and I'm out tinkering. Wife thinks of me as a "Tool Time" Tim Taylor wannabe

They are great little trailers, but, I can't seem to leave well enough alone...won't go into some of the bone-headed ideas I've had, but, was smart enough to not do...

 

[jannypan]

I also raised the front panel of the couch on reinstallation so the table "feet" will slide under to allow more room in ront of the kitchen area, when we're not seated.

 

[webslave]

Good idea, I had raised mine also, but, we found that table to be too "obtuse" for our use. Heavy and it always seemed to be in the way. It now resides in my wife's dye kitchen...

We use tilting television trays:

Tilting TV Trays

They fold up kind of squarish (the legs extend / collapse / and can turn) and fit behind the couch for when we don't need a table. They stay out of the way, but, if we need to eat, they set up in jiffy. The tops also tilt in varying degrees downward, and along with the height adjustable feature they make using the laptop much easier. If only one of us needs a tray/table, the other stays put away and out of the walking area.