Table Ideas like Carat / Weekender / MultiVan?

[SyncroHead]

Hey crew!

I'd like to add an interior table to the driver's side of my Vanagon hardtop.

Ideally, It would work just like the folding tables Westfalia provided in these models:
- 1985-1987 Wolfsburg Campers,
- 1987-1988 Wolfsburg passenger vans,
- 1989-1991 Carats,
- 1990-1991 MultiVans
for the USA market.

I'm thoroughly acquainted with the special side wall and slightly narrower rear bench seat that came with these models and won't be going that route.

It would be OK for the seat cushion to smoosh against the table for those times when the rear seat is in bed-mode. Folding would be best, but a design where the table was stowed and then easily "snapped" into place might be OK too. I can make the table, no problem, so I'm focusing on the hinge and support mechanisms that would be needed to make this happen.

Has anyone successfully added this functionality to other vans without the special wall and seat?

Photos of Carat models for reference:

Thanks!

Jim Davis
_________________
"A Vanagon? It's not a car or a van. It's a hobby!"

Check out:
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www.SyncroSafari.org and
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[danfromsyr]

my Bay has just a hinge and a separate leg
some Bay and RV side tables fit into a slotted track..
would stow elsewhere when not in use..
_________________

[Zeitgeist 13]

The table from an MV or Weekender Eurovan could be installed fairly easily.

_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[D Clymer]

Jim,

It sounds like you're familiar with the exterior aspects of the Carat table, but have you seen the structure they added inside the wall? It's a fairly heavy gauge steel piece that spans the distance between the B pillar and the C pillar - basically the length of the sliding door. The table hinges bolt to that and that's why it is so sturdy. That structural piece could easily be added to a non Carat van, and then you could either attach the actual Carat table to it, or figure out a way to bolt on the Eurovan table that Zeitgeist showed above. The Eurovan table in some ways is nicer because it has a telescoping support which is simpler than the spring loaded "ram" of the Carat table. I'm just not sure how a table would look in folded position against a regular Vanagon interior panel due to the curve of the panel towards the floor.

[jlrftype7]

Not maybe exactly what you are looking to do, but this is how I added a table in our Tintop. Added 14ga or 12ga bracing strips inside body structure with rivets, then used folding hinges that lock at 90 degrees when opened as you lift the table up. Made an extension table to mate to the wall mounted table for more room with two people sitting on the rear bench since you are limited on how long you can make a table as it hugs the wall of the Vanagon.

_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[SyncroHead]

Thanks for the responses. I’m familiar with the Vanagon Carat table support system, but not the Eurovan’s. I’ll need to look into that.

jlrftype7, Will your bed clear the table when it’s folded out? Looks like it interferes.

Jim
_________________
"A Vanagon? It's not a car or a van. It's a hobby!"

Check out:
www.VANAVATION.com
www.SyncroSafari.org and
www.Vanagons.org

[DuncanS]

This couldn't be easier. A piece of ½" ply covered with JoAnne vinyl. It is mounted to the panel with two barrel bolts. The bolts are on the table with the slide-out pin aiming outwards which engage two little "P"s. They are fashioned out of thin aluminum/tin/stainless, your choice, with a hole drilled. They look like plastic cable or tubing holders. One barely shows in the top photo. Fastened with a 10-24 machine screw with washers on the back-- only through the panel. No additional backing required. The support is a 5/8" dowel cut to the right length. A nail with the head cut off was drilled into one end and goes into a shallow matching hole in the underside of the ply. The other end has a nail with a sharp point and it just goes into the carpet. If you had a wood or mat floor, it could just be a suction cup so the rubber would keep it from slipping. When you want to remove it, slide one barrel bolt back and just pull it out of the other clip/P. Look closely in the bottom photo and you can see where the leg stows when not in use.

Duncan

[jlrftype7]

[DuncanS]

So does mine. Any extended bed will interfere. You just have to plan ahead a bit.

[tencentlife]

Here's mine:

https://intrepidoverland.com/drop-down-table/

Long ago someone gave me one of the weekender tables and the molded side panel, but only the panel section that houses the table. It's pretty useless without the other panels to complete the installation, and then you need the
shorter bench seat as well. Overall not worth the trouble for what is a not very good table with a very heavy, clunky mechanism whose only benefit is not needing a supporting leg. Plus it's ugly. Shoulda just gone to the tip.

Adding something to the existing sidewall is much simpler than trying to fit the weekender version, and you can easily make an attachment like I did that allows sliding the table fore and aft, fairly essential if you have the bench seat that pulls out as a bed. I also made these pop-out pins so the seat can be used as bed or bench in the forward position:

https://intrepidoverland.com/bench-seat-repose/

I absolutely love that feature when I'm traveling and camping alone, I just push all the bedding to the back, lift the seat back, pop out the pins, and I have the bench to sit on. Just so easy to change modes.

Things to consider in a table design: Offset the table leg to the forward edge of the tabletop to allow more room for feet when moving in and out. The sliding brace ensures the leg won't get kicked out. The diagonal position solves the problem of the leg being as tall as the hinge height but needing to fit underneath, otherwise a telescoping leg is needed which is harder to build and to use.
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Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[dobryan]