FW24F dining area redux

[JimOIB]

We purchased our Four Winds 24F in May 2017 off the lot - it was sent to the dealer in Jan 2017. It was the first year Thor offered this model. We’ve been working off a “to do” list of modifications and after getting the little stuff out of the way we started tackling the dinette space. We haven’t been happy with the dream dinette arrangement to include the table and lack of lighting.

The 2018 model has 4 lights in the dining area but our 2017 only has 2 - both are under cabinets towards the side wall and do not light the rest of the table. Some 2017 have 4 lights but ours was made before Thor made the change. Working from some 2018 pictures, we added 2 additional lights over the other end of the table. I connected to the existing light wiring and ran the wires out of the cabinets and over to the new lights. I had to do a surface mount with a cable race since the slide ceiling is solid foam. It looks ok and has been a welcome addition to the overall lighting in the slide. I’m a firm believer of function over form - the engineer in me.

It has taken a while but after many drawings, internet research and quite a few beers we came up with a U dinette design that meets our needs. It would have been nice to put a couch in but there is too much going on under the dinette benches. One bench has the HW heater under it and the other all of the plumbing and electrical between the main coach and the slide. No way to overcome those challenges.

I started by removing the existing table top. The top is heavy and awkward after taking the screws out so it was best to have a helper. There is a carpeted kick plate on the slide wall that is held in place by two panel screws. I had to dig around the carpet to find them. Once that is off the bottom of the dream dinette hardware is exposed. Plumbing and electrical was also exposed and wouldn’t you know it but it runs over the top of the dinette hardware. After getting all of the attachment screws from the hardware it was easy to work around the plumbing.

Before removing the plate from the wall I removed the piston and arms from the plate. I didn’t want to have to work under the articulating arm so I just got it out of the equation. Screws - as you can see, many of the screws have started to rust. It might be a bad seal in the window or just a result of condensation in the wall. Whatever, water had gotten in.

With table top and hardware out of the way it was time to start on the U dinette modifications. I took a simple approach and cut a 3/4 inch piece of luan plywood 20x29” to fit between the benches. This is the new seat. I’m not sure if it will stay 20” deep from the wall and will make a decision once we figure the cushions we want and if my fat butt needs a bigger surface area. So for now it is a prototype.

For the table top we decided on a 24x30” bistro top from Webresturant would be perfect for the two of us. We decided to mount it on a Sequoia III removable base. This will allow us to still be able to turn the dinette into a bed when the grandkids travel with us. The tabletop should fit between the benches but it might need a little trimming. We went with the 27” base and with the table top it gives us 28-1/4” table height versus the 30” - more in line with a standard dining table height of 29”.

The table top should be in next week and I’ll install it. We are going to use pillows for seat cushions and back rests for now. Once we are happy with the configuration we will order some cushions from cushion.com

Tools to remove the table top and hardware: cordless drill with Phillips bit, two 7/16 combination wrenches and 4 hands.
--
Jim

[Bob Denman]

You have been pretty busy; congratulations on the great-looking results!

[DbleDutch]

Wife would love a U shape dinette in our 24F, like the one we had in our 5th. Following with interest. Good progress.

[plastrd]

I've been wanting to do something about the dinette too but all the crap under there is a real pain.
I've been considering a RecPro or Thomas Payne jackknife sofa to make a U-shape seating area like you've done. They sell them without legs so it could just span the gap over the benches and I wouldn't need to build anything. It's 74" wall to wall and RecPro has a 72" sofa that looks like it would fit really well. The Thomas Payne one comes in 68" which is pretty close and I like the fold-down console in the middle.
The remaining ends of the benches would just need smaller cushions to make a U-shape seating area. As a bonus the sofa flattens out into a bed so you still have a sleeping position there if needed.

[JimOIB]

I had an opportunity to finally install the table. We love it. It is a typical bistro size of 24x30. A couple of caveats. 1) The table top is one inch wider than the dream dinette so it can’t be used to turn the dining area into a bed. I’ll just cut another piece of 3/4 plywood for the times we need to convert to a bed. 2) while the table and leg are solid during use I would not travel with the table top installed. It will go in the cabover while traveling.

So now we need to take a trip to see how it works for us and figure out what cushions we want. As you can see, my home brewed Belgian wit fits perfectly on the table.

[DbleDutch]

Looking good, put in a couple trail trips to enjoy it!