dinette chair storage

[Neophyte]

We bought four "Leg-o-Matic" chairs at an estate sale about three years ago and it took us three years to find a trailer that matches them. Guess we did it backwards.

[HitnMiss]

Thanks for the excellent pics Overlander64 (Kevin) of the Unique brand chair.
Wish if convienient you would take a pic of the chair folded from the narrow side.

Neophyte may I ask what the Leg-o-Matic chairs cost you?

Is there actually room to fold and store all 4 in any vintage Airstream?

How do the chairs feel? i.e. are they as sturdy as a normal dining chair? Is there a bit of looseness or shakiness in the chair as result of folding design?
Do you think they would serve well as everyday users.

I wonder if the Leg-o-Matics were only sold within the RV industry or maybe only to Airstream? I don't recall seeing them in the dept. stores or even the Sears/Wards/Speigel catalogs of the "Good Old Days".

Any idea what company made the Leg-o-Matic ? and are they still in existance?

Flicka

[overlander64]

Greetings HitnMiss!

Originally Posted by HitnMiss

Thanks for the excellent pics Overlander64 (Kevin) of the Unique brand chair.
Wish if convienient you would take a pic of the chair folded from the narrow side.

It may be a few days before I am back in the trailer so that I can get to the chairs, but the entire folded chair is slightly more than 4" thick but less than 5" - - three of the chairs fit nicely in the bottom of my 3/4 wardrobe that is 17" deep. I think that the reproduction chairs may be a bit larger in their folded state than the originals as all four originals fit in the same space - - the fourth is usually stowed on the storage shelf in the main streetside closet.

Originally Posted by HitnMiss

Is there actually room to fold and store all 4 in any vintage Airstream?

I don't have confirmation for this, but my speculation is that there is a designed storage area in coaches that had these chairs to accommodate the number of chairs included. While I suspect that my coach my have been standard with two of the chairs, I know that it had four - - there is room in the 3/4 wardrobe, but there is the appearance of the space being more suited to two chairs.

Originally Posted by HitnMiss

How do the chairs feel? i.e. are they as sturdy as a normal dining chair? Is there a bit of looseness or shakiness in the chair as result of folding design?
Do you think they would serve well as everyday users.

The reproductions aren't as stable as a traditional dining chair, but are far more stable than a typical folding chair. I do know that the original owners of my coach utilized one of the chairs on a daily basis for dining when traveling in the coach. I suspect that their suitability for daily use would relate to the frequency and duration of thier use.

Originally Posted by HitnMiss

I wonder if the Leg-o-Matics were only sold within the RV industry or maybe only to Airstream? I don't recall seeing them in the dept. stores or even the Sears/Wards/Speigel catalogs of the "Good Old Days".

A neighbor of mine had a bridge set purchased in the late-1950s that had Leg-O-Matic chairs. They were fairly certain that the set had been purchased from Carson, Piere, Scott and Company; and in all probability it was the store located on Schyler Avenue in Kankakee, IL.

Originally Posted by HitnMiss

Any idea what company made the Leg-o-Matic ? and are they still in existance?

Flicka

There is another thread somewhere on the Forum where there is a post with some of the history of the chair's manufacturer, but I haven't been able to locate that thread. If I remember correctly the company was absorbed by a larger conglomerate and is no longer in the furniture business.

Kevin