Booth versus free standing dinette

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Don Jensen

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 20, 2006
Posts
178
Location
The Woodlands Texas
We are very close to buying a 2007 Fleetwood Excursion/Providence.  We have talked with various dealers. 

The dealers say Fleetwood is telling them to recommend the free standing table and chairs instead of the dinette booth for resale value.  The reason stated is at this price point most people want the free standing instead of the booth.  The problem that I see is when searching for used MH's the vast majority have the booth dinette.  The difference in price is near $1000 to get the free standing table option versus the booth.  I feel like we are being played.

What do you feel is the favorite, booth or free standing table and chairs?

Don
 
Most people like the look/style of the free standing table. And it's probably a bit more convenient seating if you often have four people.  So yeah, the dealer is probably steering you right if resale value is the concern.  How much of the $1000 you might ever recover  is a more debatable point. The depreciation on a motorhome is so great that a mere thousand $ disappears in the rounding.

The downside of the free standing table is a loss the of substantial storage space that is usually under the booth seats. Practical-minded people like the dinette for that reason and might actually steer away from a free-standing table.  The Excursion and Providence aren't really  high-priced rigs, so some buyers will be choosing practical considerations over style.

Dinettes are relatively rare in higher end rigs and pretty common in low-end rigs. You are looking at a mid-range unit, so its perhaps a toss-up.

Your first priority ought to be choosing what you want, not what will resell best. If your heart isn't in the free-standing table, skip it and move on to something else. There are dozens of things you could spend an extra $1000 on - pick something that will add joy to your RVing experience.
 
don jensen said:
What do you feel is the favorite, booth or free standing table and chairs?

There was a pretty in depth discussion on this same subject not to long ago. Not sure if I am doing this correctly, but if I am, that thread started here.

If you find the thread OK -- I stated there that I liked the free standing table and chairs over the booths I had in 4 other rigs. Mine is now a drop leaf that I use for a desk and love it compared to a booth. OTOH, you could tear out the booth if you don't like it and replace it with a nice desk for much less than $1,000 unless done by a custom cabinet maker.
 
One of the criteria for our new RV was that it had to have a dinette.  We had a booth in our previous trailer, years ago when I was a lot skinnier.  It also doubled as the bed for our daughters.

Now that we have the 5er, we are very happy with having the dinette.  When we are in the trailer, we actually do something that we don't often do at home.  We sit at the table for inside meals.

As we get ready for our first major trip -- we'll be gone for 6 weeks -- we are trying to very conscientious about the weight of the trailer.  Since it's just the two of us, we are actually considering leaving two of the chairs at home.  The dinette sets up very nicely with one chair on each side. 
 
I was dead set against the booth when deciding on the new 5th wheel,  The Class C booth was so Tight I really hated to sit at and if we intended to keep the class C a major renovation would have to take place.  However when we found the 5er we wanted it had a booth.  Once I sat at it I fell in love.  The booth on the 5er is much more spacious and the storage drawers under neath are wonderful.
 
We replaced our booth with a wall mounted credenza that incorporates the table from our booth that slides out when parked. Much more usable storage spae and comfort of individual chairs.
 
Jeff Cousins said:
We replaced our booth with a wall mounted credenza that incorporates the table from our booth that slides out when parked. Much more usable storage spae and comfort of individual chairs.


Hmmmm. I would like to see that. Could you please post a photo of that credenza?

Regards,
Liz
 
We've had 1 unit with a free standing table and vowed to always have a booth from then on.  We make sure to have seat belts in the booths so grand kids can play cards, Computer, or DVDs while on the road.  Different strokes for different folks and I'm definitely different.
 
If you are a larger person, stay away from the booth.

It can be a pain sliding into it, pulling the cloth seam at the end when you get in.

I wish we had gone for the chairs - but Ann-Marie would porbably prefer the storage.

So, there you go - my answer isn't a lot of use either way  ;D

Paul
 
LOL Paul, it's definitely a combination of taste and utility. We enjoyed the booth in our old coach when we had kids along and, like Ann Marie, Chris liked the additional storage. That coach was a pre-basement model, so storage down there was limited.

For a number of years, my spinal issues have made it downright painful to sit in a booth, which was one of the reasons we opted for the table and chairs in our current coach, although ease of entry/exit and legroom were equally important in addition to other factors. When we go to a restaurant that has booths, I always ask for a table with separate chairs. If they don't have one available, I'll ask for a chair to be placed in the aisle. I get some strange looks from other patrons (like I'm in one of those infant high chairs most restaurants provide), but I prefer to endure the stares than the back pain.
 
Jackliz said:
Hmmmm. I would like to see that. Could you please post a photo of that credenza?

Regards,
Liz

Liz:

Here you go. This shows how we usually use it but it slides out more and 2 folding chairs mke room for four.
 

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Here's our solution to the dinette problem.  The table will extend with a leaf to seat 4 people, if we had enough chairs.
 

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I went to an RV show and found the Excel I really liked.  It had the rear kitchen with a round table in the kitchen and four chairs.  Loved it, sort of like an old farm house!  Fridge was right there for the beer and you could play cards etc.. with friends.  Too bad it was about $100K.  Carol and I prefer the table and chairs.  The chairs even had little storage compartments under their seats.

Phil 
 
wendycoke said:
Pretty slick. How does the table slide in? Does it turn sidewise?

The back of the cabinet has an opening that allows the table to slide all the way into the cabinet to the wall, which is exactly where it was when thebooth was installed. The table is supported on the sides with slides that stabilize it. There is no leaf, just the original booth table.
 
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