Double-duty seat back org plus outdoor table

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Same thread dilemma as usual: Interesting information to add, but how to make it find-able for others later on? We have X number of threads that discuss tables. This is only one of them.

Anyway, hat tip to RickBurch on Class B forum for finding this obscure video of a Sprinter owner who created another kind of front table for his rig. I haven't seen a solution like this before, and it's an excellent execution.

I sent Greg an email for the plans and parts list. Going to make that table in matching TB trim. Good excuse to try and learn how to use a router...

I had made a post in YouTube and had not seen that he had replied... I should have the plans today when he gets my email.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

This one appears as if it might represent true convergent evolution rather than idea-poaching (i.e., commercial poaching of MY idea).

This is the new Australian Jabiru Class B product made by Trakka, and notice the red arrow pointing toward the sideboard / table structure on the side of the Sprinter. I went through their website in an attempt to get more information on this feature, but right now it's a lot of the usual whiz-bang marketing BS, with few technical details.

From Popular Science: "...the avian ancestors of birds and the mammalian ancestors of bats both evolved wings independently, in an example of convergent evolution. The same happened for the eyes of squid and humans. Exactly how such convergent evolution arises is not always clear."

"Not always clear"? How about "the need for a small table on the side of a Sprinter camper van is self-evident, just as the need for eyeballs is self-evident"?

But this Australian company clearly went about achieving their functional goal in a different way than I did. For instance, it's not apparent to me whether this feature is permanently mounted, or detaches from the side of the van for storage. My version described in the thread above is intended to be stowed during travel.

I am so reluctant to install a rail on the side of my AI... even knowing that there are many tables and even BBQs that can be attached with it in place... I did get the step that goes over the rear wheels/tires... but still not willing to drill holes on the side of my AI... who knows, maybe somewhere down the road I will...

[InterBlog]

That’s why I chose the table approach I did - no holes, just really good neodymiums.

I would not put a BBQ on the side of my rig, though. It would stink it up with smoke smell.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by wachuko

I sent Greg an email for the plans and parts list. Going to make that table in matching TB trim. Good excuse to try and learn how to use a router...

I had made a post in YouTube and had not seen that he had replied... I should have the plans today when he gets my email.

Here is yet another variation on this theme - this is a screenshot from the Adinaros' recent YouTube review of a Safari Condo. This, too, is removable, but it has a different mechanism than Greg's. And it's more obviously intended for driving vs. stopped and using swiveled seats as an eating area.

Now that I've seen several versions of this, I'm wanting one. I think I would design a smaller in-motion table closer to this than to Greg's design. I'd want a lip around the edge, though, so that items won't slide off. And definitely cup holders.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Now that I've seen several versions of this, I'm wanting one. I think I would design a smaller in-motion table closer to this than to Greg's design. I'd want a lip around the edge, though, so that items won't slide off. And definitely cup holders.

Be sure to leave a gap in the lip for easy cleanup without having to remove the tray. A small gap will still stop most items from sliding off, while allowing you to brush off crumbs and such through the gap.

[carpenc]

Originally Posted by wachuko

I sent Greg an email for the plans and parts list. Going to make that table in matching TB trim. Good excuse to try and learn how to use a router...



I had made a post in YouTube and had not seen that he had replied... I should have the plans today when he gets my email.

Please share if you get the plans. I like that idea alot!

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by carpenc

Please share if you get the plans. I like that idea alot!

The mounting hardware is this: Button-Fix Type 2 Fix

https://shop.ecosupplycenter.com/collections/button-fix

I ordered their sample kit (always like having gadgets in case a new project comes along) as well as a set of Type 2 Fix for doing the table.

[InterBlog]

Outdoor sideboard table interpretation by Storyteller Overland, an Alabama kitter which appears to be solidly in the #vanlife groove.

Some of the first-gen Interstates had a table quite like this.

However, the limitations with this kind of design are:

(1) Can't move the table from place to place on the van as needed. Magnets are great in this regard.

(2) Obligatory open slider door. Flies, anyone? Canadian black flies? Texas Gulf Coast mosquitoes? Sudden thundershowers? Sometimes we need to leave the sideboard table in place and close up the van.

(3) If you wish to have two camp chairs flanking the table for easy access to condiments, drinks, etc. during a meal, then one of them ends up smack in front of the slider, which is a pain for going in and out. And if you are serving a meal from a camper van, you will be going in and out to access the galley.

(4) No versatility - my table raises up when needed to become a laundry rack. This one stays put.

[wachuko]

For the outside, I just prefer to use the ones that you can just move around... you never know where you want them and having them attached to the AI limits your options...

I got these based on recommendations from forum members, and they have been amazing. When done these fold completely flat and occupy very little space.



I did get the one that goes over the tire, but have not had a chance to use it...

I am so afraid to bolt something on the side of the AI

[InterBlog]

I have that one, too, but by itself, it's not large enough to hold everything needed for a meal. I got sick of putting my stuff on the ground.

[InterBlog]

This thread was hatched for outdoor van-related tables. There's also a thread where we discuss inside (cab) tables.

Well slap me silly - apparently there is a commercial producer of these tables, albeit with a hippie vibe it seems, and the designs do not "wow" me. They require being suspended from roof structures, which may be fine for the average aging Westie, but not very practical for a Sprinter whose roof commences at nine feet above the ground.

All that sheet metal, and none of it taken advantage of with neodyms. Tsk. And what keeps these versions from swaying to and fro, and maybe bashing around in a stiff breeze?

Hashtag #vanshelf. And I left the phone reality showing in this pic as evidence of why I'm always struggling with connectivity in northeastern Nova Scotia. It's the year 2019, and the best the area offers is one bar of 3G, the technology which commenced its sunset process seven months ago.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Like many good ideas, this one needed to be re-thought. As in, DUH, my bad - the passenger seat back is inflected. It's not a planar surface as I originally assumed. There's no way I can double-duty a table plus organizer there.

I ended up going with a 5.11 Tactical Covrt organizer insert in size large (12" x 19"). It is flexible, so it can be made to conform to the shape of the seat back.

The only new piece of MOLLE I bought for this was a radio pouch, into which I placed the two aluminum spray bottles that will hold Windex and the acetone-based 3M Crystalline film cleaner.

I already had MOLLE-compatible:

-- iPhone pouch
-- flashlight
-- bear spray
-- self-defense baton

My husband said that he likes this upgrade. He doesn't always like my mini-projects, so that's something.

There's room for more equipment on the Covrt panel but I'm going to live with it for a while before deciding what else to add.

I am still planning a side-mounting magnetic outdoor table. That will come later.

A new commercial product that bears a striking resemblance to my adapted molle seat back organizer...