Dinette to Bed .. or Not really!

[Josef]

Just wondering what others think .... I have only ever used a pop-up camper before, starting the build on my Skoolie. We had the dinette that could convert to a bed in the pop-up. We never used that way, always used it as a table. Honestly ... does anyone use it enough as an actual bed, vs throwing a sleeping bag on the floor, to justify building it? Yeah it would be nice to have the flexibiltiy, (and I'll probbably make one) but just curious as to what others think. Our table was always so full of stuff anyhow, that it would have been a pain to move everything off to convert it.

Cheers!

[Doodlebug]

Good point on table clutter, know it well, but the option to have a table convert to a bed is nice too. Leslie

[busdriver_phil]

Another thing to consider is future needs and/or resale. You can build the dinette/bed and go for years just using it as a table, then some day you're camping and an old friend drops by for an unexpected visit. Or maybe you'll need to sell the bus someday - none of us want to think about it now, but there are several unforeseen reasons you might need to. Drop-down dinettes are so common in campers that a large family would almost be expecting it. Extra sleeping areas give you storage space now with flexibility in the future.

[Redbear]

I wouldn't want to use a dinette as a primary bed - too much of a PITA to set it up and down all the time. But we have used it in our camper on one weekend trip where we had extra guests, so it's nice to have the option available. This is assuming that you are building a more or less full-size dinette; some of the clever space-saving designs would not be big enough.

[GoneCamping]

Just in case your interested, ebay power seller "Tri-State Surplus" usually has several sets of dinette cushions on their ebay store, can't beat their prices either, I have bought from that particular seller over 15 times and have always had great service from them!!

[Josef]

Thank you all for the great input!

I don’t anticipate using it as a bed much, but like Pied Typer related, it’s not complicated to make it a lot more functional. That settles it for me, good to have the flexibility.

GoneCamping – Thanks for the tip! I checked out the cushions and they are very tempting! I will probably go this route when I am ready for them.

Thanks again everyone!