Dinette KILLING Our Backs!! HELP! Solutions?

[Goin camping]

Main problem I have with the dinette is the 90degree seat/back angle.

Rolled a blanket and ran it along and behind the seat back. Much better.

We spend so much time off road I fear recliners would be falling over or moving into other parts and damaging them.

[adamwright]

I think we will have to go with the custom cushions. I love the idea of the recliners, but we rely on the dinette heavily for working and use as a second bed. I don't think there is much room in the 16' for recliners anyways, at least it doesn't seem so. I also have a concern what that would do for resale value. With limited space in the 16' it seems like the market of folks who would buy it would really shrink when you take away the second bed option. PICKLES - Any idea to the type of foam your's was replaced with? I researched foam a little and there seems to be a lot of different options.

[Fly at Night]

Perhaps a chiropractor should come with our trailers as standard equipment.

[spenfolder]

I have a 16', and although I do not full time, I do spend weeks at a time in the trailer. I also found the dinette to be uncomfortable for long sitting. For me, the back cushions are too close the the table and I didn't feel like I could stretch out.

This winter a friend helped me reduce the size of the curved cushion that goes up against the wall of the trailer. We pulled the covers off, cut down the foam with a very sharp knife, and then took in the cushion to fit the new foam size. It gave me about 3" of additional seat space and I don't feel like I'm pressed up against the table. I like this modification because it leaves all the other cushions the same size so that I can still fold down the table for a bed if I like.

I'm thinking next year I might replace the foam in the seats with something more comfortable also.

Anyway, happy to send some pictures if you think it might help. Just PM me.

Stan
Salt Lake City

[AWCHIEF]

John, Thanks. It looks like it was designed to be there. Our roughing it days are over and no reason to be uncomfortable.

[PeterH-350LE]

Dinettes are make to dine and not to hang for hours at a time, IMHO.
When I build the custom dinette in my 310, I realized that the discomfort was partially due to my heels hitting the box and making me sit at 90 degrees.
After creating this 3" recess, the improvement was noteworthy.

[Msmoto]

I have found I am sensitive to the angle of the seat cushion. Even on my new Serenity, the recliners need revision so as to have the front higher than it is as delivered. In a dinette seat, having the angle of the cushion, individualized for a specific person, may be far more comfortable than a standard horizontal cushion.

And, one can do this by using different seat cushion thickness and angles, then ultimately having a custom cushion made, or as a DIY project...The density of the foam used is critical as well. Sometimes a small upholstery shop can be helpful in providing different foam for trial.

[TwoSporks]

We travel about half-time in our Airstream and both work from the dinette. If your comfort issues are related to working, the suggestions of getting a recliner seem way off... That arrangement might be comfortable for sitting but not comfortable for working at a computer all day where ergonomic issues are much more important. If your comfort issues are related to working, here are some things that have helped for us or that we are going to try. If the issues are not related to working at the dinette, a recliner might be the solution.

Our 2011 25FB had recliners installed when bought it and we had the dealer return it to the dinette. At least for our needs, the dinette is better than recliners. My husband is a software engineer and I do most of my work through writing and photography, so we are both heavy computer users and agree that the dinette is not a great work set-up.

We have been considering some modifications, like getting better foam (more firm, with a memory foam or gel topper) and having an upholsterer modify the back of the cushion on one side (not high enough and too thick to sit comfortably). I sometimes bring along an ergonomic back support cushion, which helps a lot. You could also consider getting a small cushion for your feet to help angle your hips and knees to a more comfortable position.

I have also been seriously considering the installation of a keyboard tray on the bottom of the dinette table because the height of the table is one of the things that bothers my hands/wrists the most. I also use a wireless mouse sitting on a pillow on the seat cushion instead of the table to ease the strain on my wrist. Finally, when doing heavy computer work, I set up a real monitor (better height than looking down at my laptop screen all day) and a wireless keyboard (easier on my hands).

We wrote a long ebook last year and it left me with some significant issues from working at a computer for too long (repetitive stress injury in one of my hands, severe eye strain, and neck strain). I am still dealing with the affects of not listening to my body sooner. The small changes mentioned above made a big difference, as did holding myself accountable to taking a break every thirty minutes to actually get up and stretch. Since I am an intense work kind of person, these breaks were difficult at first but made a big difference. Finally, if you find yourself tensing up at your computer, the resulting muscle tension can make all these issues worse. For me, things like deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation exercises have been helpful.

[hacienda2]

We took our 27' FB Flying Cloud cushions to an upholstery shop and had the foam changed to a 50 lb. high density. It solved our back ache problem.

[jasfox]

Took my dinette out and replaced it with a sofa. Chech out www.hofarch.com for a how-to video.

[Unclebill53]

Timely thread. I'm am in the process of remodeling my '83 31' Excella II. Working now on the front part of the trailer where there was a classic couch and drop down table now all removed. Planning to put in a booth type dinette but apparently it won't be very comfortable. The recliners would be nice but am trying to build sleeping space for kids n g'kids or even big people. I have gotten some strange looks as I measure booths in the different eateries we haunt. Seems like having kick space below is important. Room for the butt to slide back with some lumbar support and a table top wider than the space between sitting boxes. The padding on the most comfortable booths wouldn't lend themselves to laying out flat for bedtime. As with most things, if it's multi purpose it usually doesn't do either really well.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Goin camping

Main problem I have with the dinette is the 90degree seat/back angle.

Rolled a blanket and ran it along and behind the seat back. Much better.

We spend so much time off road I fear recliners would be falling over or moving into other parts and damaging them.

Hi, this is the main problem; The seat backs are straight up instead of the more comfortable 12 degrees angle needed. All seating in my trailer is angled.

[Wingeezer]

I didn't read all the previous posts and maybe this has already been suggested, but I have back problems and find the dinette seats in our Classic 31 uncomfortable - the simple solution that works for me is to use one of the throw cushions fro our sofa behind my back when we are using the dinette. Granted it is not a very sophisticated solution, but it is cheap and solves the problem for me! Maybe it might work for you at least as a temporary solution if you would prefer later to modify the dinette.


Brian.

[Unclebill53]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, this is the main problem; The seat backs are straight up instead of the more comfortable 12 degrees angle needed. All seating in my trailer is angled.

Thank you. 12' for the angle of the seat back. What about the angle of the seat itself. When I look at chairs they are seldom flat. I stumbled across plans for sliding seats that both seat and back were angled when sitting, then the seat back would lay back and the seat moved forward all hinging at the back of the seat back of back rest. Seemed like a complicated design at the time especially for this KISS guy. It might address some of the issues I've read about.

[Ntex]

Too bad Airstream stopped offering the option of a freestanding dining table and chairs that was available in the classic for I think 2013 and 2014 only. You could move it out of the way, or use it like a real table. For purposes of computer work, you could replace the wooden chairs that came with it with an office chair. It seems like a much more practical approach to me. Has anyone just removed the dinette? We have a 2004 28 foot classic that didn't have a dinette to begin with and we don't miss it at all. The flip up tables in front of the couch work well and the dinette seems like an uncomfortable space hog that is only justified if you need it to convert to a bed. Instead of the dinette, ours came with more storage and counter space, which we would miss were it gone.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[Gene]

I took a dinette cushion to a foam guy and he said the OEM foam was pretty good quality—that surprised me, because it feels like concrete to me, except concrete is more comfortable. Since Barb's cushion doesn't bother her, we're just getting one re-foamed. It will have a softer foam on the bottom and top—similar to memory foam—and a higher density core. The guy said that is the way furniture companies are doing it now. Foam, made of oil, is a lot more expensive than it used to be, but this is not something either of us wanted to take on with all our other projects.

Gene