elvie
New Member
Posts: 35
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Post by elvie on May 6, 2017 21:06:13 GMT 10
My Bondwood caravan has bunks that fold up to become a table with the cushions/ mattresses becoming the seats. Problem is they are too low and look very odd. I need to build removable seats or a box to make the seats the right height for sitting on. Any ideas how to sort this? Is there plans for seats around?
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Post by Don Ricardo on May 10, 2017 22:17:15 GMT 10
Hi Elvie,
I think the issue you've raised about your dinette seating is a common 'feature' (design fault?) of caravans with twin bunks at the front of the van - of which there are many (meaning vans, not design faults!).
I have seen a number caravans with a similar set up. Mostly the top bunk folds down to form the back rest of the seat formed by the bottom bunk. The problem with that design is that the seat is quite low, in order to provide maximum head room for the occupants of the two bunks when they are set up. People comment that the seat in such arrangements is often not very usable or comfortable because it is so low.
In your case the problem is exacerbated by the fact that, rather than forming a seat, the bunk arrangement also must serve as the seating for the dinette, even though the bases are so low. I can't recall seeing another van with that setup before. I reckon the builder of your van was quite clever in allowing the cushions for the bunks to be used 'doubled up' to raise the height of the dinette seating, but from your comments it sounds as if it is still not totally satisfactory as seating. I presume you'd rock around a bit on the two cushions?
You could certainly rebuild the bases for the seats by raising their height, but if you do that you will probably have to do away with the top bunk, because there won't be enough headroom for the occupant of the lower bunk. But the table could still be lowered to make a single bed, which might be quite adequate for you. An alternative, as you have suggested, is to build boxes to place on top of the two seat bases.
I don't know of any plans for the boxes you have suggested, and I don't think we've seen anyone on the forum try that solution. I or someone else can provide you with some plans which might help you to build some new seats if you want them, but plans from that era are fairly rudimentary and probably require some interpretation in terms of framing, etc.
Don Ricardo
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elvie
New Member
Posts: 35
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Post by elvie on Jun 12, 2017 18:44:05 GMT 10
Hi Elvie, I think the issue you've raised about your dinette seating is a common 'feature' (design fault?) of caravans with twin bunks at the front of the van - of which there are many (meaning vans, not design faults!). I have seen a number caravans with a similar set up. Mostly the top bunk folds down to form the back rest of the seat formed by the bottom bunk. The problem with that design is that the seat is quite low, in order to provide maximum head room for the occupants of the two bunks when they are set up. People comment that the seat in such arrangements is often not very usable or comfortable because it is so low. In your case the problem is exacerbated by the fact that, rather than forming a seat, the bunk arrangement also must serve as the seating for the dinette, even though the bases are so low. I can't recall seeing another van with that setup before. I reckon the builder of your van was quite clever in allowing the cushions for the bunks to be used 'doubled up' to raise the height of the dinette seating, but from your comments it sounds as if it is still not totally satisfactory as seating. I presume you'd rock around a bit on the two cushions? You could certainly rebuild the bases for the seats by raising their height, but if you do that you will probably have to do away with the top bunk, because there won't be enough headroom for the occupant of the lower bunk. But the table could still be lowered to make a single bed, which might be quite adequate for you. An alternative, as you have suggested, is to build boxes to place on top of the two seat bases. I don't know of any plans for the boxes you have suggested, and I don't think we've seen anyone on the forum try that solution. I or someone else can provide you with some plans which might help you to build some new seats if you want them, but plans from that era are fairly rudimentary and probably require some interpretation in terms of framing, etc. Don Ricardo Solved the problem by building boxes. I left the bunk as a rail only as it supports the table and can be put back easily if needed. Now it makes 1 wider bed when the table is down. Thank you again for a terrific and informative answer.
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