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Still shopping for first RV


Viv and Denis

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We have narrowed our selection down to a Tiffin Allegro Bus, 40-45 feet because we will be full timers. We are looking for a good deal on a late model but don't want to purchase until we sell our house next spring/summer. So, we have time to find one we really like. My question is what are the pros/cons of a booth dining unit vs table and chairs? I like the appearance and comfort of the booth but the other appears to be more popular. All words to the wise about this and anything else you would like to throw out for the benefit of these two dreamers are more than welcome.

 

Thank you!

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Welcome to Escapees forums! Good to have you here.

 

We have had the dinette arrangement in all of our RVs, mostly because of the added storage space they give you. But we also lived fulltime for nearly 12 years in a motorhome that was only 35' in length with no slides. I suspect that if we had gone with one as large as you are contemplating, then we probably would have chosen one with a table and chairs. The table and chairs are much more flexible, since you can move the chairs to use them in another location, or to have better access to the table for activities done there. Pam is a serious seamstress and she used our dinette table to cut out yardage for her projects and a table with chairs would have been much more convenient. To me, if you do not need that extra storage, table & chairs would be best.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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We had a booths in two TT's when the kid's were younger. We never found the booths comfortable to sit in for very long. When the kids no longer traveled with us I changed the booth out for a table and chairs which was much more comfortable. Now we have a 5er with table and chairs that we like a lot, as Kirk said it provides much more flexibility to move a chair around or even to move the table around (my wife also sews :)

 

Maybe if you spend enough the booth cushions would be comfortable...

Ron and Pat, and 2 Portuguese Water Dogs

2013 Silverado 3500 SRW Duramax w/SuperGlide

2005 NuWa HitchHiker DA 31.5 LK w/MorRyde IS

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As mentioned above dinette's are not comfortable for a longer sitting session. All campers we had except the this last one had dinette's. I tried different foam for the cushions. Purchased spring units to eliminate the plywood on which sat the foam. Nothing works. The present coach has a two person table facing the window for eating and paperwork/computer. There are more comfortable chairs available for reading and TV.

 

Bill

Bill & Lynn Baxter

MCI102A3 Conversion, Detroit Diesel S50  

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I tried different foam for the cushions. Purchased spring units to eliminate the plywood on which sat the foam. Nothing works.

Not to change the subject but if you replace the foam with foam from a quality upholstery shop it will greatly improve the comfort, but that is also pretty expensive. My talented wife made new cushions for our TT and increased the foam thickness an an inch as well as upgrading the the best quality foam, at a cost of about $300. It greatly improves the comfort, but the dinette will never be a good lounge area. ^_^

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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When we had a booth I would turn sideways with a pillow behind my back as a comfortable reading space. That worked for me because I like to have my calves supported but let my feet hang off the edge and my beverage was on a safe surface within easy reach.

 

When we had a table and chairs we also had a buffet between the table and window so it was easy to move a laptop computer over to the buffet when ready for a meal. And we did like being able to pack away the extra chairs until we had company then being able to put those chair out at the corners of the table to have enough room at the table for us wide people. Plus no one had to slide all the way in or out to accommodate someone else. And when we had a group of visitors the chairs could seat people comfortably inside or out.

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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Welcome Viv and Dennis. We full-timed in an 05 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40QDP for the first 7 years and now have an 07 42 QRP Allegro bus. We liked the table and chairs setup because I don't fit in a booth very well, and we had no need for extra sleeping for kids. We got rid of the standard straight back chairs and got two sectarian chairs, which were really comfortable and on rollers so easy to move. We had the desk on the same side so you could roll the chair from the kitchen table to the desk easily. There is a little more basement room in the 40' bus, as the tag axle in the 42' takes up some room, but Tiffin typically has a lot of storage both upstairs and down. The main reason we changed to the 42' was the bigger generator 10K, and three air conditioner units. You can get the 3 air units on the later model 40' busses, so maybe that's not a problem any more.

2007 Tiffin Allegro Bus 42 QRP
"BessyBus ll"
ATT hot spot
Winegard Traveler
M&G Braking system
Roadmaster Sterling tow bar
08 Dodge Dakota toad
Sea Eagle 10.6sr Inflatable

1957 Johnson 5.5
SKP 98998 Class of "08"

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We felt booths were very uncomfortable on the back and they're hard to get in and out if four people use it. With the chairs we often used them in the living area when we had a group come over. If you're doing any work at the table the table/chairs works great. You can remove the extra chairs and have space to move around if you're sewing, doing paper work, puzzles, etc. If you're looking at a 40-45' I doubt you'd need the booth drawers for storage. They'd be nice but not necessarily needed as you're going to have a lot of storage space. Have fun with your plans! It's a great lifestyle.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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We are very different sizes, we found that a table and movable chairs was more comfortable for us than a dinette. We had one in our first rig and it was horrible until we spent a lot more than we expected to get better quality foam in the seats. With the new pads it was comfortable to sit but getting the right distance from the table for using the computer or reading was still an issue.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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I really like our table and chair arrangement as booths tend to be painful on my back. Plus you can move the chairs around.

 

On a related subject. Take a look here at our coach. It is a higher level coach than the Bus and suited very well to FT.

GS Lifetime #822128658, FMCA #F431170

 

2012 Airstream Mercedes Interstate Extended Class B

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We have the kind that has a table/w two leafs that slides under a credenza. It's great for dining as it works just like a dining table, but the credenza works like a desk for the computer & has a slide out for a keyboard, and one for the printer. Really convenient.

Fulltiming since 2010

2000 Dutch Star

2009 Saturn Vue

Myrtle Beach, SC

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This has been very helpful! Thanks to everyone who has replied, and to those who may yet weigh in on this topic. It sounds like the table and chairs win out! We are renting a 35 ft next week to get some practice and I think it has table and chairs so will get go try it out.

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Reported last post.

 

 

 

Not my post I hope! There was a spam post in there that is now gone. :-)

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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Nope, there was a spam post advertising something, don't remember what now.

I took it down as it advertised rugs. Had your post not contained additional comments to this thread I'd have hidden your "report" as well. :)

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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The only reason I add a "Reported" post to a spam thread is to alert other members that it has already been reported. In this way you folks do not get inundated with these reports. When I see a spam thread that has already been reported I simply bypass it and go on, as I believe other do as well. I do realize that if the only thing in my post is "reported" then it will also be removed. That is appropriate.

GS Lifetime #822128658, FMCA #F431170

 

2012 Airstream Mercedes Interstate Extended Class B

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We weekend admins don't get the reports, they go to the real admin folks (probably Travis, James & Greg) and for them multiple reports are rolled into one link so they aren't a problem.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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The only reason I add a "Reported" post to a spam thread is to alert other members that it has already been reported. In this way you folks do not get inundated with these reports. When I see a spam thread that has already been reported I simply bypass it and go on, as I believe other do as well. I do realize that if the only thing in my post is "reported" then it will also be removed. That is appropriate.

What I was getting at is that when someone uses the "reported" post as you did, we normally remove that post also, but in this case you then added "I really like our table and chair arrangement as booths tend to be painful on my back. Plus you can move the chairs around." That is the only reason that your post of "reported" was not taken down. If you wish you could go back up and edit out the "reported" part so that it don't bring questions such as Stanley asked.

 

It looks as though we have rather wandered from the subject of table & chairs, versus a booth........... :)

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

We have narrowed our selection down to a Tiffin Allegro Bus, 40-45 feet because we will be full timers. We are looking for a good deal on a late model but don't want to purchase until we sell our house next spring/summer. So, we have time to find one we really like. My question is what are the pros/cons of a booth dining unit vs table and chairs? I like the appearance and comfort of the booth but the other appears to be more popular. All words to the wise about this and anything else you would like to throw out for the benefit of these two dreamers are more than welcome.

 

Thank you!

 

Viv & Dennis,

 

I think we're on a very similar course and time frame (even including our SKP numbers!). We hope to be FT on the road by the time the leaves are turning in 2016 here in Maine (definitely before the snow flies!) We're also mostly focused on a Tiffin bus... probably 08-10. But may consider a like year Phaeton with the right floor plan or even a Dutch star. We know we don't want a booth, but the table/buffet setup Tiffin has with file cabinet drawer and computer and printer slideout. But do want a stacked W/D. Wife wants a pair of recliners instead of 1 couch. Living in Maine, not a lot to choose from so I expect to be flying or driving to Florida or other location when we start looking seriously in March or so. We'll also be selling our house late spring 16. Plenty to do! My full time job after 12/31/15 will be house sale prep, craigslist/ebay listings to sell stuff, yard sales and RV acquisition. Hope to see you on the road!

 

Don't forget to check into the "Class of 2016" forum here.

Cheers,

 

Don

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

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