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Old 01-29-2015, 11:25 PM   #1
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24SS: Improved dinette comfort and storage

Our 2005 24SS came with a comfortable dinette with very good storage, but the seats seemed a bit low to get up from easily, the huge steel frame inside (for seat belts) got in the way of my wife's sewing boxes, and some wine bottles were too tall to store upright.

I removed both steel frames (25 lbs each!), screwed 1" boards to the top of the seat lip to raise the seat, and hinged the seat platform to make it easier to get into the storage. It's more comfortable now, the wine bottles can sit upright, the sewing boxes fit perfectly, and it's easier to get stuff out of the seat storage.

The photos in order:

1) the original condition of a dinette seat interior
2) this shows the 1"x3" board along the front of the seat, the 1"x2" boards along the sides, and the original rear board now screwed to the top of the 1"x2" boards
3) with seat platform closed, you can see the hinges on it.
4) the appearance is unchanged, but the seat height is 3/4" higher (1" boards are really 3/4" thick)

Not shown is the 12"x15" or so piece of carpet that was removed from the far end. The 12 bottle cardboard wine box has to sit directly on the floor, or it's just a bit too high for the wine bottles to fit in upright.

With the seat higher, the table is lower (relatively speaking), which is more comfortable for us, especially when using the laptop on it.
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Old 08-19-2018, 07:15 PM   #2
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Very interesting. My wife and I love our Melbourne but hate the mattress and dinette seats. We ordered a new hinged mattress that should be delivered in a week or so. But we are still trying to figure out a solution to the dinette seats. How did you re-attach the seat belts? We need someplace for our young grandson the sit when he travels with us.
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Old 08-19-2018, 09:14 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by RVJayhawk View Post
How did you re-attach the seat belts? We need someplace for our young grandson the sit when he travels with us.
We did not replace the seat belts, as no ever travels with us. The couch still has it's seat belts pushed behind the. They could be used if needed.

If I wanted to use the dinette seat for a small person, I would consider using the forward dinette seat, where the grandson could sit facing backward, a safer position, I think. I might modify one of the original frames so it was just wide enough for one person, and bolt that under the seat, which would duplicate the original arrangement. I'd also make sure there was a "headrest" to keep his head in place in an accident.
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Old 08-19-2018, 09:56 PM   #4
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Very nice job and it sure looks comfortable .
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Old 08-31-2018, 02:38 PM   #5
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RVJayhawk - where did you order your new hinged mattress? I don't believe there's one person on this forum who likes the Melbourne mattress, so please let us know the details.
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Old 08-31-2018, 04:50 PM   #6
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We ordered it from Tochta. I ordered by phone and the lady who helped me obviously was familiar with the Melbourne hinged mattress. When I asked her if she was familiar with it, her response was "yes, I understand they are crap" My wife and I are so uncomfortable on the Jayco mattress that we agreed to spend $881.00 and keep our fingers crossed that the top of the line Tochta will be comfortable. I provided the dimensions by phone and Tochta immediately sent me an email with a drawing and asked me to review the order which we did. UPS delivered the mattress yesterday and we will be installing it on Monday. Give me a couple weeks and I will provide a review.
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Old 09-04-2018, 10:06 AM   #7
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Well I said I would post the review of our new mattress after sleeping on it for a few nights. I simply can't wait. The results after one night are so wonderful that I must let all you Melbourne owners in on them! Of coarse any mattress other than the original Jayco would be a vast improvement, but I a m going to give our new Tochta a 10! Here are the details: Jayco 2017 Melbourne 24L. Called Tochta on August 17 and spoke with Charly and gave her the dimensions of our hinged mattress. She immediately sent an email with a sketch and asked me to confirm the dimensions. I then called back and ordered the Utopia mattress. UPS delivered it August 30. It is heavy, probably three times the weight of the original one. We were not able to unite the new mattress with the motor home until yesterday. That was a simple process but it took both my wife and me to install it. No odor! Excellent workmanship including the hinge. It fits the bed frame perfectly, it may be an inch longer than the original. We went to bed early with high hopes our $881.00 had been well spent. The mattress is fairly firm but not hard. In my opinion it is the most comfortable mattress I have ever experienced in an RV. I think it makes our Melbourne a keeper! If anyone is interested in ordering a similar one, check with Charly at Tochta. Our order number was 5466. www.tochta.com
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Old 04-16-2019, 07:33 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVJayhawk View Post
Well I said I would post the review of our new mattress after sleeping on it for a few nights. I simply can't wait. The results after one night are so wonderful that I must let all you Melbourne owners in on them! Of coarse any mattress other than the original Jayco would be a vast improvement, but I a m going to give our new Tochta a 10! Here are the details: Jayco 2017 Melbourne 24L. Called Tochta on August 17 and spoke with Charly and gave her the dimensions of our hinged mattress. She immediately sent an email with a sketch and asked me to confirm the dimensions. I then called back and ordered the Utopia mattress. UPS delivered it August 30. It is heavy, probably three times the weight of the original one. We were not able to unite the new mattress with the motor home until yesterday. That was a simple process but it took both my wife and me to install it. No odor! Excellent workmanship including the hinge. It fits the bed frame perfectly, it may be an inch longer than the original. We went to bed early with high hopes our $881.00 had been well spent. The mattress is fairly firm but not hard. In my opinion it is the most comfortable mattress I have ever experienced in an RV. I think it makes our Melbourne a keeper! If anyone is interested in ordering a similar one, check with Charly at Tochta. Our order number was 5466. www.tochta.com
Do you still love the mattress? We are considering an upgrade and are willing to spend the $ if it's a good fix.
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