Securing drop leaf table during transit

[Bambi_Bandit]

Those of you with the 50s/60s small folding drop leaf table... how do you secure it while traveling?

I looked on the wall where the table goes in our 60, and I don't see anything that would have held the table up against the wall during travel. I went to the VTS site to see if they had anything and didn't find anything there.

Are these hefty tables meant to sit along the wall in transit? I ended up putting mine in the back seat of the truck, but I won't be able to do that all the time since that's Bandit's bed...

[markdoane]

I added a seat belt from a 1969 Buick, with a teak spacer to hold it away from the wall.

This was after the third time it fell over in transit and broke a leaf off.

[masseyfarm]

We have a similar situation in the Clipper. Free standing chairs and table. I used the same solution ie: seat belted the table to the floor/side and bungeed/velcro the chairs to the table. Still able to use one chair without undoing the strap on those quick stops. The table is also secured from forward movement by the stairwell divider wall.
One thing you don't want is loose articles hitting you from behind when that "it will never happen" accident happens.

Originally Posted by markdoane

I added a seat belt from a 1969 Buick, with a teak spacer to hold it away from the wall.

This was after the third time it fell over in transit and broke a leaf off.

[Bambi_Bandit]

Thanks guys... can either one of you show me a picture? I'm horrible at visualizing....

BTW, that photo is disturbing... I've seen something similar with a class A DP rear end a semi tractor trailer and it was not a good sight either...

[markdoane]

Here's a few pictures. The seat belt is long enough to also strap down two camping chairs.

[overlander63]

Maybe the easiest thing would be to lay it on its side on the floor on a throw rug while in transit. It certainly couldn't fall over then, and the rug would keep it from getting scratched.

[Grand Master]

My Dad had a much simpler method which I use. Install an Eye Bolt at a 45 degree angle at the juction of the floor and wall. Install a 2nd Eye Bolt in the bottom of the table. Secure with an 18" bungee cord.

Mine has never moved in over 20,000 miles of coast to coast towing.

If you want a picture, I will take one in the morning.

[Bambi_Bandit]

Thanks for the ideas and pictures. I'll go and see what I can do! Who knows, maybe we end up building a built in folding table on the sidewall as part of our renovations...

[Jan Tillman]

we use a safety strap in our 62 flying cloud to hold the table in place 4 folding chairs are inside the drop leaf table picture attached

[Frank's Trailer Works]

flipping it over is fairly easy and costs zero...