Table alternative (pictures), When I bought my 1990 16' Freedom, the particle bo...

When I bought my 1990 16' Freedom, the particle board table was warping due to absorbtion of moisture and the weight from sleeping former owners. I didn't really need the large table and wanted to use the space underneath for storage, so I came up with this replacement. Planks are hardwood 3/4-inch thick and 29-1/2-inch long are connected together with nylon webbing. I used 3-inch wide poplar planks because poplar is light and strong.

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Here's the table alternative rolled up to allow for seating.

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Pretty slick idea Eric! We own a liberty deluxe model, with the king bed. We leave the "large" table in the down mode, even during the day. My wife flips a feather bed mattress up into the "couch" mode during the day, and down into a king-size bed at night. If need ever arises replace the permanently down large table, I'll keep your idea in mind.

Casita Positive thread

Very good idea. We also leave our bed in the same position, but I know after awhile our table top will warp and we will probably do the same thing.

Bob Steffen

Eric,

Bringing up this old post. Question:

What is the spacing you used between the slats? Also, how has this arrangement with the poplar held up over time?

Thanks,

Carl, 1118 16' LD

Hi Carl,

We copied Eric's idea, about a year ago. home Depot has poplar in the right size and thickness. Jack used 1/4" spacing between the slats. And he took the sharp edge off the cut ends (where it rests on the fiberglass), just a little. It works great, no problems.

Carol C #1009

Well as with quite a few of you we decided to keep our back bed area a bed full time. However, at the end of the bed where Julie sleeps sags a lot becuase where it has the "V" angle cuts there is no bed support where the bed cusions overlap. So I cut out a 4X4 piece of birch plywood that will fill the gap in this section. Now we have a full bed where there was no support before. Trust me it makes a huge difference for us because now Julie can actually stay on her side of the bed and not smother me... at least not all the time.

I am at work now so I can not post a photo but I will later when I get home. I bet it adds 3 or so inches to the side of the bed for support.

Here is a photo of what I am talking about.

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Just now noticed the old thread's revival.

Carl, The spacing really isn't critical since you're rolling it up in the direction that opens the gap. As long as the slats are spaced to evenly cover the opening, you're good to go. Mine show no sign of wear or sag since I put them in, but I only use the trailer two or three weekends a year.

I should have mentioned rounding the edges. Square edges won't fit the rounded bottom of the fiberglass slot very well, I rounded my slats with a router so they will sit flush.

Good job on the plywood extention, Steve. The slats do leave a soft spot there that can make you involuntarily roll out of bed, but since I'm camping by myself it hasn't been a big issue for me.

I thought about do as some others had done and replace the table with a stronger bed board to get rid of any sag. But also I wanted the option to use the table if I wished. So I glued and screwed poplar bed slats to the bottom of the table. I used gorilla glue from Home Depot. I got rid of all of the sag and I still have the table. Here is the picture of it.

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