Poll: Dinette VS Gaucho...

[robertandjenni]

This new thread is in response to those who commented that they too are removing their gaucho in favor of a dinette.

My reasoning for wanting to do so was this...

I've always heard it said that when entertaining most people congregate in the kitchen. To my recollection the most memorable times spent with friends and family have been spent sitting around the kitchen table, not sitting on the couch in the living room.
So if you move this analogy from the home to the trailer it just makes the most sense to me to have a dinette instead of a couch.

I suppose however if you are the type that spends most of your time "inside" the trailer parked in front of the TV then a gaucho is the better choice.
For us though, we got our trailer mostly for use where there is a gathering of people, ie. camping with family and friends.

Just some thoughts....

So I am curious... based on your experience and trailer lifestyle, which do you prefer? Gaucho or Dinette?

-Robert

[hhuber]

My trailer is pretty small but I have a wraparound
gaucho with a table on one end that flips up and down
on a hinge. It then slides open and has a leaf that
fits into it. The best of both worlds I would think.

The way the space is used in the
Caravel is quite efficient I think.

If I didnt have that I would really like the dinette.
I think alot of people sit around the table.

.Heidi
'67 Caravel

[InsideOut]

I can't imagine the need for two gauchos in a trailer as small as ours! I have not seen any '64s, any size, with original dinettes in actuallity or pictures (what were they thinking?!), so we have designed our own.

We like to sit and play cards when camping especially if it's raining, kinda tough to do on a sofa.

Although our new dinette is only going to be 37" long, it'll seat four cozily. BTW it'll still make into a bed, just in case.

What's the old Airstream adage...6 for cocktails, 4 for dinner & 2 for bed! Perfect...

Shari

[RoadKingMoe]

That was our debate when we bought. There was a 30, 31, and 34 on the lot. I liked the "all on one side" bath of the 31 (and 34) and thought the fold-out table in front of the couch would be sufficient for dining.

My wife had other ideas and insisted on a dinette across from the galley to use as additional counterspace when cooking. She was willing to give up my side of the larger wardrobe in the 31 or 34 and split the bath across the hall to get her dinette. The fold out table was to be her sewing table and she also didn't want to have to clean up a project to eat dinner.

So we compromised and got the 34 she wanted in the first place LOL and got it all. I really like having the dinette rather than the kitchen on the curbside, looking out over activity under the awning.

I should add that this is for full-timing, so getting it right was very important.

[Stefrobrts]

Had to have a dinette, playing canasta in the evenings can take up a lot of space! Sounds we lucked out finding a vintage with a dinette on the first try.

[overlander64]

After having a trailer with a dinette (Nomad - 19 ft.) and two Airstream products with either a separate dining table ('64 Overlander - 26 ft.) or a fold-away Credenza Table ('78 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre - 20 ft.) I would never go back to a dinette (unless it were in a very large RV with an entirely separate living room).

I think, however, this preference (lounge/gaucho or dinette) has a great deal to do with lifestyle - - when I am in either the Airstream or Arogsy, I am traveling and part of the traveling experience for me is eating out so it is a very rare ocassion when I prepare a meal in the trailer. Also, as a Free Wheeler, I find the lounge/twin lounge arrangement makes the smaller trailer functionally equivalent to one two or three feet longer. I find the greater openness of the lounge/twin lounge arrangement to be far more conducive to the entertaining that I do than the dinette - - none of my friends or family ever wanted to sit at the dinette, and it was far more difficult to make up into a bed than the lounges in my Airstreams. As a child, I can remember the great pelasure we had eating meals at card tables in the '64 Airstream that is now mine - - it belonged to friends of the family and they took me on my first camping trip in the trailer when it was new and I was five years old.

Kevin

[Silvertwinkie]

Honetly, I like them both, however, I too like to play cards and board games, etc with others and the dinette is just a nice place to do all that when inside.

I like the dinette/couch (still don't understand why they call them gouchos) combos in the larger trailers, but you only get one or the other in the Bambi. So I voted dinette since at this point in my life it makes the most sense.

Eric

[59toaster]

Gaucho.

It's half a dinette when the table is up.
It is what our unit had and after thinking it over it seems to fit our needs the best. We have two young kids and with the table folded away it gives them some play room on the floor if the weather is bad. As they get older our needs may change.

[uwe]

Is more flexible, and the bed is better than the drop table dinette, in my opinion. The options with the goucho are small table, large table, no table, large table with chairs, nice bed.
We have the original folding chair, and with it the goucho setup seats 3-4 people very comfortably. Nice thing is it can disappear while you are travelling and the exposed floor space can be used for bike storage, or a dance floor, yoga, or whatever.
I do like the dinette as well, and it looks better than the goucho without the table folded out. But I believe that it lacks flexibility.

[Pahaska]

I lean so much toward a couch that I removed my dinette and rebuilt it into a couch with a folding table. It makes the trailer vastly more roomy. As stated above, it is like adding lengrth to the trailer.

My biggest reason is that, living in the wide-open spaces of Texas, I spend a lot of one-nighters on the road. After a long day of driving, I want a more comfortable place to sit and watch TV or a DVD than sitting side-saddle on a dinette with the table digging into my ribs.

A 22' trailer is not a place for entertaining. We are not game players, anyway.

[Pahaska]

I might add that the massive carpeted wheel-well covers in my International reduce the 38" dinette to two adults (or maybe two adults plus two double amputees).

[InsideOut]

Very interesting, everybody has their opinions for desiring one over the other. For us it wasn't an either/or because we had two gaucho/beds and no dinette. So we are opting for one of each.

Our front gaucho has been removed and the dinette is almost done. We chose the front position due to the location of the wheel wheel, fresh water tank and storage compartment which we would have lost if the dinette was on the side.

Shari

Below is our old plan:

[silverhawk]

I'm gonna go with the dinette mainly because that is what I have in my 64 Safari Twin. It seems that this model in 1964 was the only one that came with the front dinette. 66 Tradewind has the brochure posted in his photo album. There is a shot in my album that shows the dinette. Not the best picture but better ones will come. I think it's a great setup, and knowing that it is unique to that year is a good thing. Under each bench are three drop doors, and two slideout trays inside of each one, all present and accounted for i'm happy to add. Under the table there is another small cabinete just a place to hide stuff. The table has been refitted with an antique Oak four leaf tabletop cut to size. It is very nicely done and adds a lot to the feeling of warmth that I get from all of the Oak inside of Silverhawk. I am currently in the middle of stripping the streetside bench, overhead front, and under table cabinets. All of the back wood is finally stripped, sanded, stained, and sealed. I can't say that I have ever been more into a project in my life. It has kept me out of trouble since I got it in December. Bob

[InsideOut]

I uploaded a couple of photos of the beginnings of our dinette...more to follow! Click the "photos" button below.

Shari