This is what the dinette looked like before. The seats were terribly uncomfortable, the table was mounted way too high, and the front edge of the bench seat dug into your hip everytime to you tried to sit.

Now, before I go any further, Mr. FixIt had to help me at the end with some heavy lifting. But I did a huge job on my own and I’m pretty darned proud of myself! You know yesterday morning I showed you the RV loveseat we purchased to replace the dinette in our new camper. Well, Mr. FixIt left before noon to go get his hair cut and do a little shopping so I got to work on the camper.

The first thing I had to do was empty the storage under the two bench seats of the dinette. We’ve spent enough time in this camper now to know what we use and what just takes up space and weight. With the added weight of the loveseat, I need to trim the stuff we tow along with us and never touch.

My initial thought was, I would empty, sort, cull, collate and store what needed to stay under the bed. The rest would go in the house and then I could start on the demolition. But, no…

I am a Gemini. When I am faced with a fun project, I have to jump in with both feet! I threw everything on the bed, went out to the building to get Mr. FixIt’s tool bag and set to removing the dinette.

It was really quite easy. The benches are screwed down to the floor and the walls of the slideout. I took the first bench out and started on the second. It was a little more complicated because the electrical wiring for the slideout motor was threaded down through a hole in the bottom cross brace. I unhooked the battery and unplugged the camper. Then I tested the lights to make sure the power was indeed off. 

I snipped the wires and lifted that bench seat out, then I spliced the wiring back together. Before I went any further, I connected the battery and plugged the camper back in and tested the lights and slideout. Magic! I found my hand-held vacuum and swept the bottom of the slideout to clean it up. Then it was ready to install the new reclining loveseat.

We unloaded the loveseat Friday and set it in the driveway under a tarp. The backs of the recliners come off and they’re really light so I just carried them out to the camper. The seat portion of the recliners was another thing altogether. I lifted them onto the dolly and wheeled them out to the camper, but I didn’t have the strength to carry them into the camper alone. I wheeled first one, then the other and set them on my oilskin tablecloth to keep them clean.

I no sooner got the second one wheeled out to the camper when Mr. FixIt called. He was almost home so I told him I would wait for him before I started the next step. He was really impressed by how much I got done while he was gone. I told him my plan for getting the bottom halves of the chairs inside and he thought it was a fine idea. We brought them in without difficulty and got them placed where we wanted them.

The man at the dealership where we bought the loveseat said I didn’t need to anchor them down, but I didn’t agree with that. I studied the frame and there were two holes in the front bar of the frame that were obviously for bolting it down to the slide. I could just imagine pulling into our campsite and finding the whole apparatus crushed against the kitchen. We discussed the best way to anchor them and decided to run over to the hardware store in our little village to get four lag bolts. We neither one felt it was necessary to anchor the back of the chair to the floor, too. Once the front is anchored, the loveseat isn’t going anywhere unless the trailer turns over and if that happens, dinging up the front of the kitchen cabinets would be the least of our worries.

We found exactly what we needed. Mr FixIt told me how to do it and asked if I needed any help. I gave him a kiss and a big thank you for all the help with the heavy lifting. He gave me a kiss right back and told me what a great job I did!!! It’s been a long time since I’ve done a job like this and I absolutely LOVE it. When you push yourself to do something new, then finish it well, there is a huge sense of accomplishment and pride that comes with that.

So, as I am writing this, I am sitting in my side of the recliner and writing this on my iPad that’s set up on my lap desk. I’m listening to the night sounds and going through a checklist in my mind of what needs to go back in the house and what can be packed in our two trunks we take with us in the bed of the truck. They carry the camping gear we can’t or don’t want to store inside. 

We did have a bit of concern yesterday regarding our trip to the beach. I called the campground that’s run by the National Parks Service and was told if there was a shutdown, they would be closed. But it looks like the Continuing Resolution will pass and folks can get their paychecks and we can still go on our last big camping trip of the season.

Welcome, October!!!

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“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.””

2 Thessalonians 3:10 NIV

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