I love the 154BH for our family of four. Easy to tow, cheap, light, etc. But the hassle of converting the dinette first thing every morning in such a small trailer had me looking for something larger.
In this floorplan when you wake up you have two choices, start converting the dinette or go outside.
The particle board table is heavy, clumsy, the folding legs are constantly in the way, it's the biggest downside of the trailer in my opinion. Even though I've spent thousands getting this trailer perfect for our usage (solar, inverter, flipped axle, fantastic fans, etc.)
It alone had me looking at starting over with the 184BS.
After much research online and not finding anything helpful, I finally got fed up with it, pulled out Sketchup to start designing a better solution.
This is what I came up with:
Consists of:
- Two 30" piano hinges
- AP Products 013-071 Folding Table Leg (cut to length)
- 3/4" Plywood cut to 31.5" wide by 5.5", 11.5", 37.5"
(clean up the edges with a chamfer bit in the router, finish as you choose)
- While in there I did a little editing/strengthening on the table support ledges and interior dinette framing which was a little on the flimsy side to start with.
Complete game-changer. I love this trailer again. Converting from Bed to Dinette and back to Bed is a simple quick motion: Drop/lift table, swing up/down leg. No back straining, finger-pinching folding legs.
I hope others try this because it really changes how I feel about the whole trailer.
My initial worry was that the smaller dinette table would be a liability, after executing and using this new layout, the smaller table is actually an improvement. It is MUCH easier to casually get in and out of the dinette, without all the scooting. It also makes the trailer feel MUCH larger inside, the few extra inches of floorspace really help. It turns out that 31" x 37" is plenty of table for drinks, a meal, or playing cards with 4 adults.
You can see that I let the table hang an inch long in bed-mode, which doesn't get in the way of the fridge opening. I was trying to maximize the table surface as much as possible, but in hindsight, if I were to redo, I would have the table flush with the dinette. As stated earlier the smaller table is still plenty big.
I hope this helps some other 154BH or 184BH owners out there!
In this floorplan when you wake up you have two choices, start converting the dinette or go outside.
The particle board table is heavy, clumsy, the folding legs are constantly in the way, it's the biggest downside of the trailer in my opinion. Even though I've spent thousands getting this trailer perfect for our usage (solar, inverter, flipped axle, fantastic fans, etc.)
It alone had me looking at starting over with the 184BS.
After much research online and not finding anything helpful, I finally got fed up with it, pulled out Sketchup to start designing a better solution.
This is what I came up with:
Consists of:
- Two 30" piano hinges
- AP Products 013-071 Folding Table Leg (cut to length)
- 3/4" Plywood cut to 31.5" wide by 5.5", 11.5", 37.5"
(clean up the edges with a chamfer bit in the router, finish as you choose)
- While in there I did a little editing/strengthening on the table support ledges and interior dinette framing which was a little on the flimsy side to start with.
Complete game-changer. I love this trailer again. Converting from Bed to Dinette and back to Bed is a simple quick motion: Drop/lift table, swing up/down leg. No back straining, finger-pinching folding legs.
I hope others try this because it really changes how I feel about the whole trailer.
My initial worry was that the smaller dinette table would be a liability, after executing and using this new layout, the smaller table is actually an improvement. It is MUCH easier to casually get in and out of the dinette, without all the scooting. It also makes the trailer feel MUCH larger inside, the few extra inches of floorspace really help. It turns out that 31" x 37" is plenty of table for drinks, a meal, or playing cards with 4 adults.
You can see that I let the table hang an inch long in bed-mode, which doesn't get in the way of the fridge opening. I was trying to maximize the table surface as much as possible, but in hindsight, if I were to redo, I would have the table flush with the dinette. As stated earlier the smaller table is still plenty big.
I hope this helps some other 154BH or 184BH owners out there!
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