J-Lounge remodel almost complete

[outofcontrol]

I bought some more wood. First I bought some 5/8ths CDX and planned on laminating them together. They were totally twisted and warped. After talking with a wood guy at HD, I bought some 3/4 Birch? hardwood with a sanded nice finish. I'm going to put formica over it, so it's kind of a shame, but it's nice and sturdy, and super flat and level. This is double thickness wood glued together and then screwed together from the bottom with about twenty 1.25" sheetrock screws.

When the lounge is in "Night" mode, the table sits in some 1.5 x 1.5 x 1/8 Angle aluminum that I screwed into the underside of the trim. One 8 ft. piece was just enough.






I built a stand out of 2x4s just for the weekend and I still don't know what I'm going to do for a permanent solution. I found several marine (Yacht) pedestals that I like, but I'm not really up for spending $900. I like this one for $269, but that's still a lot of money in my mind:


I'm going to keep thinking about it and working on a solution that I like.

-Kevin

[TeamD]

I am already looking for foam to build similar although not as cool! I see sliders on the bed how does it role out? I was planning on having a table like a motorhome that can be removed and set in middle of lounge and cover with cushions to make large bed. How will yours work... love it love it!

I see your picture now of it rolled out! Somehow I missed! Love it!

[TeamD]

What about something like this?
http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/produc...2b4a86_600.jpg

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, what a fantastic job you did on this trailer. The light show was quite interesting too.

[outofcontrol]

Originally Posted by TeamD

What about something like this?

Yes. But it needs to collapse down to 12" or so, and up to 27. That means that it has to be a 3 part pedestal. (12+12 = 24)

And I learned my lesson on our last trailer to make it robust. I used two standard pedestals that screw into the floor and to the bottom of the table. Just a tube and two ends, like most tables, and it was too unstable. So annoying.

I'll probably spring for the $269 one. They sell it at Walmart, so I could return it if it doesn't work out.

-Kevin

[Silverflames]

Ohhh..... Thats frakin great!! I love it.. A couple questions about your build out.

It looks like the side groucho slides out. What kind of slides did you use and how much did they cost? Also how large of a bed area do you have when you slide it out? How well does the bed hold up when you pull it out and add the weight of small jumping screaming monkey children?

What kind of plywood did you use? It looks great. I like the hinge on top great idea.

[outofcontrol]

Originally Posted by Silverflames

Ohhh..... Thats frakin great!! I love it.. A couple questions about your build out.

It looks like the side groucho slides out. What kind of slides did you use and how much did they cost? Also how large of a bed area do you have when you slide it out? How well does the bed hold up when you pull it out and add the weight of small jumping screaming monkey children?

What kind of plywood did you use? It looks great. I like the hinge on top great idea.

1. 16" drawer slides $12/ea at Home Depot x 4.
2. In sleeper mode, the side area is 28" wide, and 57" long.
3. I put a 200lb limit on the slide out.
4. The facia is a nicer alder? 3/8" sanded hardwood, and the bench top (under the cushions) is a 3/8" cheap CDX.

The slide area is only used at night, and only when there's all 6 of us (two couples with a 6yr old and a 6mo old.). I can sit my 196 pounds of manliness on the edge of the bed when it's extended as a test, but I could plop my ass down and probably break the whole thing off if I really tried. It's not bomb proof, but will work fine for a 60 pound 6yr old well mannered girl who is the only one who has tested it so far.

When I designed it, I wanted to be able to lift the whole section to access storage under it. I also wanted everything to be as light as possible, just to keep the total weight of the trailer down.

I also have never designed anything like this before, so I was willing to make some mistakes along the way. If I had rowdy boys, I would double the amount of drawer sliders or tell them to take it outside. If it breaks, I can re-build it stronger next time.

Really, an adult could sleep on the "slider" section. The adult's feet would extend into the front area, but the trailer is 8 feet wide up there, and I don't have any 8ft tall friends or family. There might be some footsies touching, but we're all family, right?

[aquinob]

Looks great, gives me inspiration for a future project. For the table, why dont you use some of the marine pedestal seat fixtures that use a base, a post and then a mount, looks like this:





Together looks like this:



Use two of them and it should be fairly stable and when you dont want to see it, all you have is the plate mounted in the floor, which could probably made to be flush with the top of the floor. Probably cost around 60 each x 2.

[outofcontrol]

I don't want to screw anything into the floor. At least right in the middle of the room.
This new bamboo floor is floating, and on a pad. Plus we want that clean look when we remove the table completely. I know, it's so picky right?

Thanks for the suggestions. I found a marine (yacht) table base that I really like, but its $990. Not really in my price range.

-Kevin

[Aviator]

Watching what you have done and talking to my wife about what we need to do in the frot of our Airstream, I would like to build using your design as inspiration. Would you mind posting a materials list for what you made? Ours will end up being L shaped, and the jury is still out on the lighting system (I have to convince my wife)

[outofcontrol]

I wish I could. But I don't have a list. I bought the wood as I went, and kept on going back for more. Plus I used several leftover pieces of lumber that I had laying around.
Here's a guess:
4 - 2x4s 8ft long.
1 - 3/8ths 4x8 CDX (or cheap plywood for the seat tops)
1 - 3/8ths 4x8 Hardwood Plywood (nice finished/sanded plywood for the part you see.)
2 - packs of 16" drawer sliders
1- 48" piano hinge stainless.
2 - 1x3" 8ft. nice trim stock.
2 - 1x3" 8ft cheap stock for hidden supports.
3 boxes of various screws.

I think what's more important, and what I spent a really long time designing was the dimensions. I drew up plans about 5 times before I got it right. You have to figure in the thickness of your cushions and the fact that the walls pretty much are vertical at that point in the curve of the sides of the trailer. Also, if you are making a bed at night, you need to have enough cushions to fit exactly in the spot where the table goes down for the "night" mode. Except for my rounded corner cushions, every seat back cushion is utilized in "night" mode. And the back cushions are short enough that they allow you to lean back over the top of them. As in, they come up to about my armpits when sitting, and you can rest your arms on the top of them. The seat depth is rather short on the sides, but it was a compromise to make it all work together.

I made several scale drawings to figure it all out, and one mock-up chair to make sure my dimensions were comfortable. I used our couch cushions as stand-ins for the mock-up.

Usually, I would just give it my best guess, then rebuild/adapt if necessary. On this project, once I figured out the fabric/foam/upholstery was going to be $1,600 there was no "re-do" if I got it wrong. So I put the extra time into proving my theories of design before committing to the project.

The LED lights are really not necessary. But they are a nice party trick, and gives your guests something to talk about. I'm actually on my laptop, in the J-Lounge, at a family reunion, tethered to my phone, and the cool blue color LEDs are gently bringing their light to the front of the coach.

Good luck and post up a thread here when you make it happen.

-Kevin

[Aviator]

Thank you

[slowmover]

I really like the changes. Bookmarked for reference.

[flaagan]

This is exactly what I was thinking about doing with my Ambassador since I'm in the process of cleaning it up. Thanks so much for sharing this!

[duncans]

That is so nice! What an improvement. Really opens that area up. I envy your skills. and, thanks for posting the pictures.

Susan

[SteveSueMac]

Wow outofcontrol!!! That is great work!!! Kudos!!👍

[Rhino33]

Kevin -

You have done a fantastic job on this. Wow! We also added cut outs to the box sections of our new U shaped lounge using a Union Jack designed aluminum radiator panels. Now that I have seen your lights, we may have to do a little adding on! My husband will love this!

Thanks so much for sharing!

[lovefiero]

Thanks for this post! Amazing work. My husband and I are at the beginning of our remodel and are looking to do something very similar. Just wondering if you ever found a permanent solution for your table? Thanks!

[bolerama]

Beautiful remodel and cool lights!
Lisa

[Jdveigel]

Hi Kevin, would you mind telling me where you got the cushions?
Jake