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Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Yahoo Message Number: 158609
Hi all, I'm brand new to the forum and lazy daze and am grateful for your advice. Please do let me if I'm not following the rules.
I'm looking for an RV to full-time with my husband and four small kids. We plan on a year in the U.S and South America. I'm pretty much sold on LD and looking at a 1999 26.5 Island bed.
We need to seat the kids safely though. I'd also like a proper table for drawing and homework I suppose it's possible to replace the barrel seats but does anyone have any experience or suggestions? Can I buy the LD dinette anywhere or I have to build my own seating?

Thanks!
Family of 6 traveling in our 2001 26' LD from Kentucky to South America
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158612
First of all, allow me to welcome you.  I certainly want to acknowledge your "bravery" for taking on such an terrific adventure.  I hope you can find a way to share your adventures.  Secondly, permit me to recommend an important website that might help you IF you haven't already found it ... http://www.andybaird.com/travels/LD-guide-web/index.htmThis resource contains a wonderful amount of very important information in my judgment.

I did see photos of a LD 31' with barrel chairs and the new owners of this older model replaced them with a table and benches made by a Amish furniture maker.  They were strikingly beautiful for sure.

If you look at the twin-bed LD 31 http://www.andybaird.com/travels/LD-guide-web/31TB.htm you kinda of get an idea of your suggested plan in the LD 26.5 model.   It might not be a bad idea to give the LD Factory a call and share your plans.  When I've called with a few "odd" questions, they were very helpful. So perhaps the LD factory would sell the table and benches or even install them especially if you share with them your wonderful plans for this 1999 LD.

Best of luck on this project.

Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158614
Be aware that there are only two safe seats in an LD, the two captain chairs in the cab.
The seats, in the coach, places each occupant in a sideways position which can lead to serious injuries in a hard collision. Seat belts do not provide much protection when sitting sideways.
This has been discussed several times in the past.
The solution has been to carry the passengers in tow vehicle, using a second driver.
You will find few RVs, if any, that have safe seats in the coach.

Many have replaced the barrel chairs.
A bigger table will need to be constructed or a suitable folding could be used.
 With the 31' LD 's very limited cargo capacity and six people, you will need to pack extremly lightly.
You should research this more before finalizing your choice.
You might be better served in a bigger Class A rig.
A 31' LD isn't the ideal RV for your size family to live in for an extended period IMO.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158621
Larry
 So if the barrel seats aren't that safe anyway and if I really don't plan on having a third or fourth passenger, is there any reason I can't take the seatbelts out completely? Would making cleaning a lot easier!

Pat The Pearl
The Pearl - 2000 31'
"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158624
'So if the barrel seats aren't that safe anyway and if I really don't plan on having a third or fourth passenger, is there any reason I can't take the seatbelts out completely?'

Pat

You stated you have four small children and a husband, that's six passengers. Do you plan on carrying them in another vehicle, as mentioned?

The belts can be taken out easily. The belts do keep the chair in position when traveling, you will have to find anther method for securing them. Most likely easier to leave them in place.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158625
hi Larry, we were actually considering a truck camper over a class c for the same safety reasons you mention.
We'd prefer to go smaller rather than bigger, and so a class C 26 or 27 max. If we go the class c route, it sounds like we want to attach the seatbelts to the chassis, and not just the seat, no? In addition to them being forward or backward facing.
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158627
Hi (no name?)

What a great sounding adventure you're planning!

Please note that a couple of the replies to your post referenced 31' Island Bed Lazy Dazes. You were asking about a 1999 26.5 Island Bed. This is only my opinion, but that would probably be the worst Lazy Daze floorplan for your needs ( 2 adults and 4 small children)

When we first became interested in Lazy Daze, our first inquiry to the factory was about the 26.5 Island Bed. We ended up with the 26.5 Mid-bath. The 26.5 Island Bed has so many limitations that I would think it could work best for a solo traveler. That model was the first of the E450 based Models that the Lazy Daze factory discontinued. There was a reason for that; too much space wasted for the permanent bed.

If I were trying to do what you are planning, and wanted a Lazy Daze, I would be looking for a 26.5 Rear Bath, preferably without the cabover entertainment center.

As Larry replied, you would probably be better off with a small Class A.

Good Luck, Steve K
Steve K

2003 Mid-bath
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158628
Hi Steve, That all makes a lot of sense. I was concerned about the wasted space with the IB.
I honestly haven't looked at class a at all. Maybe I should reconsider.
Thanks for your advice.

Cathy
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158632
Cathy, the 31' LD in question has no cabover bunk, so does not really have that class-C 'advantage'. It is a more suitable choice for a couple, where the shorter 27' models are actually more family-friendly.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158638
Yes, but that is the post Larry was responding to... Larry DOES like class-C motorhomes, has had 2 LD's, and is a current owner. He was just recommending against the 31' model for family travel.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158645
"I'm pretty much sold on LD and looking at a 1999 26.5 Island bed. We need to seat the kids safely though. I'd also like a proper table for drawing and homework"

This is just my opinion: you may want to look for another model. The long-discontinued 26.5' Island Bed model has very little living space compared to most other Lazy Dazes--in fact, it actually has less usable living than the 23.5' models. You pay a big penalty for that big bed.

For a family, the 26.5' Midbath Lazy Daze is a popular and practical choice because it provides separable living spaces for adults and children, and plenty of sleeping space for both. A desk can easily be added to a Midbath that came with one couch plus with barrel chairs, or with a bit more effort, to a two-couch Midbath by removing one couch.

And because this model has generally been LD's best seller, Midbaths are fairly common on the used market.

Andy Baird
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
 
Re: Replace barrel chairs with dinette?
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158652
Cathy, I am jumping into the middle of this discussion without having read all of the posts so I may be way out in left field.
 You mentioned that you considered a truck camper.  I have "been there and done that" and I strongly recommend a Class C over the truck camper.
For 10 years we owned a 10-foot, self-contained slide-in camper that we carried on a 1-ton GMC pickup with extended cab.  We used it a lot and spent 12 weeks in it (with our cat) doing a trip to Alaska.  It worked out OK but IMHO truck campers are strictly "2 people" vehicles.  They are OK if you can spend a lot of time outside.  To be inside, one person must be either in the dinette or in the cab-over bed.  The floor space is very limited.  So is storage space.  Many new campers have a "slide-out" but it is usually for the dinette and really doesn't increase the internal space a lot.
 In 2005 we sold our camper and acquired a Lazy Daze Mid-bath.   We were really pleased with the additional space.  Overall the LD was only a little longer than our truck/camper and was no more difficult to maneuver.  Our truck had dual rear wheels so it did not fit very well into many shopping mall parking spaces.  It was a 4-wheel drive truck but it weighed too much to take off road in the desert.  We bought a Jeep Cherokee and towed it behind the camper for a couple of years.  The gas mileage of the LD was the same as for our truck camper.
 If you are seriously considering a truck camper I would be happy to give you some thoughts on what to ask the dealer, etc.  The absolute first rule is:  "Do not believe what the camper sales person tells you about the size of the truck that you need to carry the camper."  Most sales persons either don't really know or just plain lie.

Doug Baker