Welcome to the third entry in April’s Mega Mod Contest. One Mega Mod will be published in every Email Alert in April. At the end of the month we’ll hold a reader vote to determine April’s winner. Click here for information about the 2020 Mod Squad Contest, including how to enter.
Elquin Daza, San Mateo, California
Dinette Bench to Comfortable Couch
2000 Ford F-350
2000 Lance 820
The Lance 820 is a small camper and the dinette took up a lot of the interior space (see picture above). There wasn’t a comfortable place to sit and relax, and there was a lot of unused or unusable space. After years of convincing my wife to let me cut into the camper and remove the dinette, she finally agreed.
Creating this modification was a two-stage process. First, I removed the dividing wall and removed the dinette.
I ended up with an L-shaped couch for about four years. There was much more interior space, but there wasn’t a comfortable space to sit. By removing the dinette I also lost the ability to have an extra bed inside the camper.
Finally, I was able to convince my wife to buy a Thomas Payne couch. It was a little pricey at $800 and we had to wait about six weeks for delivery.
Once it arrived it was pretty easy to install. I just set it and screwed it down. I now have an extremely comfortable place to sit in my camper.
I’ve had the couch about a year now. I should have done this years ago. I am not sure why this isn’t offered as an option in all campers.
It took me about 12 hours after the years of convincing my wife. This modification cost me about $1,000. It was $800 for the couch and $200 for the floor and wall paneling.
In my opinion, the skill level of this modification is hard. I did need to cut the dividing wall of the camper, and relay a new floor once the dinette was removed. It was worth every bit of effort.
Disclaimer: The modifications above are submitted by Truck Camper Magazine readers. It is your responsibility to make sure that any do-it-yourself modification project you undertake is safe, effective, and legal for your situation.
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