Couch or dinette on Hawk?

[setter_guy]

Hi everyone,
My wife and I are ready to pull the trigger on a Hawk and I was wondering what the general consensus is on the dinette vs standard couch option. Are the beds the same size when folded out? Is there a spot for the table when the dinette is in the sleeping postion?

Thanks for the input

 

[pods8]

I don't think the factory dinette converts to a twin bed like the couch does, I think its just a single bed. Anyone with a dinette able to confirm?

 

[DirtyDog]

The couch table combo is pretty worthless as an eating arrangement. If you think you are going to spend a fair amount of time eating/hanging out in the camper vs eating outside, I would think the dinette would be better. I have the couch. It makes the big side window obsolete. I don't think I have ever even opened the blinds.

 

[billharr]

I changed out my couch to a dinette in my 2002 Hawk. Best mod I have made, just me and the wife on trips so it is set up for two. I can make a single bed out of the dinette if needed and sleep 3. Did the work myself and I am very happy with the outcome. I would order the dinette if ordering a new Hawk, it is nice to set and eat at a table facing the wife and looking out the window.

Bill in Stockton.

 

[kcowyo]

Hi everyone,
My wife and I are ready to pull the trigger on a Hawk and I was wondering what the general consensus is on the dinette vs standard couch option. Are the beds the same size when folded out? Is there a spot for the table when the dinette is in the sleeping postion?

Thanks for the input



The beds aren't the same size. You get a very narrow single bed with the dinette. With the couch rolled over, you get a slightly wider bed, but still tight for two. In the Fleet (wide body Eagle) that I was loaned for a two week trip last year, there was no fixed place for the table. I tucked it away wherever I found a spot for it when I used the lower bed. It was not the most comfortable bed I ever slept on either.

I liked the idea of the dinette until I used a camper with it for those two weeks... By the time the trip was over, I couldn't wait to give the camper back. There is less storage for bigger items with the dinette over the couch, like camp chairs and rolled up items. I found the table-top to be too small for two to comfortably eat off of at the same time, it was not much bigger than a cafeteria lunch tray... An adult male friend joined me inside for dinner one night and we both couldn't sit with our feet under the table, I had to turn 90* to eat. I also felt that the table & seat-back intruded in the alley, making it a bit of a pain to get dressed without feeling like I was trying to change clothes in an airplane bathroom.

By having the seat back by the back door, it made getting in & out of the camper more difficult than with the couch. Packing the camper and loading the fridge from outside, were much more difficult tasks with the single seat-back in the way. And you can forget about accessing the storage under the single seat from the outside... unless you have really long arms.

I know I'm in the minority here, but for me, the dinette was a bit of a hassle with no real upside: too small for what it's designed for and too awkward & in the way for everything else. It may work great for other folks, but I tried it and it didn't work for me and how we are used to using our camper. We had a Grandby with the dinette in our possession for awhile too and we didn't like it in that bigger model either. It's a nice option and if it's all you know, you might like it. But the loss of long storage, awkward seating position, small table-top, intrusive seat-back and the more narrow bed was a deal-breaker for us.
.

 

[Lighthawk]

If only the couch option table was useful. I find it just gets in the way. My Westfalia had a table with an articulated arm which I would love to adapt to my 08 Hawk.

 

[leadsled9]

I purchased my 2008 Hawk before the dinette was an option. I liked the dinette so much that I paid FWC to do the conversion.

It is the single best mod I have ever done on the camper. It's just me camping or at most my girlfriend and I......and the dinette makes so much more sense.

I really didn't feel like I lost any storage. There is a slider that closes off the space between the two boxes so I can still store things there....and there is the addition of the extra small cabinet in the corner. The only trade off is the slightly smaller lower bed....and for us that just isn't an issue.

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

dinette vs standard couch option

IMO: Standard couch sucks. Hawk camper too small for a dinette. I eat on the couch at home w/o a table, so it works for me on the road, too, in harsh conditions. I made my couch the way I like it --still like it that way-- and it's still functioning flawlessly.

 

[Argonaut20]

The dinette worked out by ATC has a place for the table when it is not configured as a dinette. The table itself is large enough for two, the placement of the table leg leaves room for two pairs of feet under the table, and you can store stuff under the table when it is not used as a dinette. The lower bed is narrow, but large enough for napping and could be used as a bed for a third person. Look for my topic on the dinette for a Bobcat. I feel it is a great option. The only problem is that I have been too lazy to outfit the rear seat back as a true back as if for a chair. No big deal for me but it may bother you.

 

[Cal]

My wife and I took a trip to Woodland to look at the Hawk camper last month. The model there had a dinette option. After both of us trying to sit at the dinette at the same time facing each other we ordered the Hawk with the couch. We are both 6 ft tall. I hope the couch will work after reading the other posts, but initial impressions of the dinette had us choosing the couch. I might have a different opinion of the couch after spending some time camping with it.

Looking forward to picking up the Hawk in November and doing some camping.

 

[Argonaut20]

Here is the forum on my dinette. There are pics in my gallery of the dinette when finished.
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/2159/
Hope this helps. I realize FWC does the dinette differently, so what I am talking about may not be applicable to you in a Hawk.

 

[HERR42]

i vote for the couch as well. for all the reason kc said!

 

[SunMan]

i vote for the couch as well. for all the reason kc said!



x2

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Again. IMO. I have the dinette in a bobcat and love it,but it's just the wife and I.As for storage it all depends on how much "stuff" you need to take along.One thing we keep telling our selves as we prepare for the trip is that there are stores we can get supplies at (for our style camping).Check out the threads under ATC forum for the dinette mods and under the truck mods forum for my storage ideas might help.There are limitations no matter what you pick,with out style campers there is no one size fits all I find it's about compromise .So far we like the dinette and would not have liked the rollover couch.I think the was ATC does there dinette there is more leg room and the table is bigger.

Good luck with your choice,there seems to plenty of input.

Frank

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

If only the couch option table was useful. I find it just gets in the way. My Westfalia had a table with an articulated arm which I would love to adapt to my 08 Hawk.

Dear Lt. Hawk-
Got a sketch? a photo? a link?
Thank you, sir.
Cpl. Barbarian

 

[highz]

I purchased my 2008 Hawk before the dinette was an option. I liked the dinette so much that I paid FWC to do the conversion.

It is the single best mod I have ever done on the camper. It's just me camping or at most my girlfriend and I......and the dinette makes so much more sense.

I really didn't feel like I lost any storage. There is a slider that closes off the space between the two boxes so I can still store things there....and there is the addition of the extra small cabinet in the corner. The only trade off is the slightly smaller lower bed....and for us that just isn't an issue.




x2 on everything you say. I find the dinette a much better solution for me as well, and I think I actually gained storage in my Eagle.

Are you able to go to the factory and spend some time in the display models?

 

[kcowyo]

If only the couch option table was useful. I find it just gets in the way. My Westfalia had a table with an articulated arm which I would love to adapt to my 08 Hawk.


I pitched that idea to the "top engineer" with FWC, but the idea didn't go over...


The idea was similar to the swing-out & pivoting table used in Westfalia's -

And in Earthroamers -

The support mount could be bolted to the side of the FWC galley, allowing the table to swing out to the living area, like so -

..and when not in use, the arm could swivel back out of the way (perhaps secured to the wall section over the sliding rear window) and the top could either pivot or be taken off and secured on the back wall by the door like they used to do. There are some creative options that could easily be applied. In the VDub, it swivels back over the storage bins out of the way -

Whether you go with the couch or the dinette, be prepared for the table to be an issue. Using it, storing it... it's all a pain. Another bummer to the dinette sytem is with the base secured to the floor, now you can't use it outside like some folks like to do, unless you build/buy a second base. All that said, I pulled my table & tossed it in the storage shed a long time ago. We just do the Mark W. Ingalls dining method now!
.

 

[leadsled9]

Are you able to go to the factory and spend some time in the display models?


Yes, I've spent a fair amount of time drooling over the campers before I bought one....and have been back several times since.

When I had FWC to the dinette conversion on my camper....I had them increase the size of the table by 3 inches on both sides....and add TWO BACK LEGS on the inside edge to provide a rock-solid table. So far, it has been outstanding. They also built my dinette slightly differently so as to leave a small cubby hole just large enough to house my 19" flatscreen.

 

[MarkBC]

They also built my dinette slightly differently so as to leave a small cubby hole just large enough to house my 19" flatscreen.


Need a generator for that?
jus wonderin...

 

[leadsled9]

Need a generator for that?
jus wonderin...

Yes, but before DD pounces on me.....I'm always camped miles from anyone else. When I camp in a campground....I don't use the generator.