Our dinette comes in very handy for eating inside with our two small boys in rainy, etc. weather. Plus our 3 year old sometimes wants to sleep in his own bed(dinette). Very functional for our family of four and occasional guests.
Our 2007 23' Safari came with the L-Lounge and stow-away rolling dinette table which works fine for our style of camping in Southern California where the weather is generally very nice.
We keep the lounge extended all of the time and have only needed to pull out the dinette table 2 or 3 times in the past two years.
We love our dinette and it was one of the requirements when searching for a vintage unit. Appears that a dinette was not something the Ohio plant made for the '59 and '60 TradeWind's though as my registry doesn't indicate one on any of the 32 listed. So glad ours is a California one just for that reason alone.
We like our dinette...we use it most of the time...of course a Bambi is small so the convertible space of the dinette is important. We need to table top for food prep and also to work/play on the Mac. We can make the dinette into a bed or a comfy lounge, too, if we want, and we can leave it that way if we are somewhere where we can use an outside table for meals. (Besides, where would the fresh water tank, drawer and audio system go...it's all under othe dinette seats.) Viva la dinette!
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AirForums #21900 . WBCCI Four Corners Unit #3954 Décor Site: AZBambi Décors
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Another minority opinion here. I am NOT a dinette lover. They're generally much to small for the "average" person of 6'5" height to sit at comfortably. They're too upright, and don't offer nearly enough leg room. I have a couch/removable table setup similar to the table setup in Kevin's Overlander, but a little different. (yes, I know this isn't in an Airstream, but it is another option.).
Roger
__________________ AIR 2053 “A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” Robert Heinlein 1994 Airstream B190 & 2006 Bigfoot 25B25RQ
Hi, we, I guess are with the minority. We purposely ordered our trailer without a dinette. With the fold out table we can vertually do anything you people have mentioned. Play cards, eat meals, use lap top, or anything else you do with your stationary dinette. We can double the size of our table at the flick of the wrist, or just put it away, completely out of the way. If needed our gaucho makes into another bed. I think the gaucho / credenza combination is the most universal set up.
But in your defense, we no longer have any pets and our children have their own children, so it's just the two of us. If we were a young family with little kids and pets, I think a dinette would be more practical. But we are old, not having any more kids, and still thinking about the possibilty of whether or not to have another pet or two.
Guess we too are in the minority. Our 27FB has an L-shaped leather wrap around couch and the table has only been "up" once. We're fulltimer's and enjoy the extra lounging space. Of course, learning to balance a plate with peas took a few tries! : )
I believe that it is all of what everybody has become accustomed to in their A/S. We have had drop down tables in both of our units and that is what we have become used to. I agree with Brian (Moosetags), TB Rich, Bob (Robertsunrus) . Dinetts can be extremely useful but again it's all in what you are used to. You however don't want to give up some of these perks because you never know when you will have to stay inside your A/S because of inclament weather. Bob Member 4CU/CAC WBCCI # 10105 AIR # 28748
I dislike the dinette in our 2006 28'er. Since we use our trailer a lot for tailgating at sports and other events I would very much prefer to have a sofa in its place so we'd have more seating for guests. It would also give us more floor area to move around b/c the dinette takes up a lot of space.
So ... I have a question. How difficult would it be for me to remove the dinette and replace it with a sofa? And what kind of sofa and where would I get one that would fit there?
__________________
'06 28' Safari SE / '08 Chev 2500HD Duramax
'64 Me / '60's-ish wife / '90's kids / '06 Black Lab / '02 Poodle / oh, and a horse, too.
We had (totaled in an accident this summer) '75 22' Argosy with the front couch, side "L" shaped lounge with a removable table. We transformed the front couch into a permanent 54" wide bed and removed the table as it was very award to get around, sit in the L lounge, etc. We kept 2 small folding tables around for eating when inside, which worked really well for us.
Our '96 34' front kitchen was one of two built without a dinette - it has a fold down, extendable table with real chairs.
Yes, we have had several other trailers with dinettes, so have a reference point of experience.
Guess we both don't like sliding into our seats! Even at a restaurant, we always prefer a table over a booth.
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and our children have their own children, so it's just the two of us. 
If we were a young family with little kids and pets, I think a dinette would be more practical. But we are old, not having any more kids, and still thinking about the possibilty of whether or not to have another pet or two.
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