Keith in Co
Advanced Member
My early ‘60s NCO Alaskan used four, 1x2” strips of wood to support the cushions when in the bed configuration. The table was to be stored on the floor under the bed. Also the Marlite table surface was worn out. It occurred to me that if the table was about 1” wider, it could support the bed without using wood strips, and free up storage under the bed.
My solution was to make a new tabletop out of 15/32 plywood and 1/4” HDPE for the table surface. I reused the aluminum banding, table leg, and wall mounting bracket. The table thickness ended up being exactly correct for the metal banding, and the plywood is much stronger than the particle board used by Alaskan.
HDPE (also sold as King Starboard) is widely used in marine applications. However, it is strange stuff to work with. Glue will not stick to it unless it is first lightly sanded and the surface scorched with a propane torch. I used plain white as I wanted the table surfaces to reflect as much light as possible. It is somewhat translucent, and differing colors of the underlying material will show through. To deal with this, I painted the plywood white. Under the LED ceiling light, the table surface almost looks “deep” - which is cool. I realized the glue had to be clear or white so I used Loctite plastic adhesive. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SRCTXHQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
In my camper the table top had to be 27.75” wide to span the gap between the seat benches. I found that the wall mount bracket fits perfectly in this space when the round portion of the table is oriented towards the front.
It works great!
My solution was to make a new tabletop out of 15/32 plywood and 1/4” HDPE for the table surface. I reused the aluminum banding, table leg, and wall mounting bracket. The table thickness ended up being exactly correct for the metal banding, and the plywood is much stronger than the particle board used by Alaskan.
HDPE (also sold as King Starboard) is widely used in marine applications. However, it is strange stuff to work with. Glue will not stick to it unless it is first lightly sanded and the surface scorched with a propane torch. I used plain white as I wanted the table surfaces to reflect as much light as possible. It is somewhat translucent, and differing colors of the underlying material will show through. To deal with this, I painted the plywood white. Under the LED ceiling light, the table surface almost looks “deep” - which is cool. I realized the glue had to be clear or white so I used Loctite plastic adhesive. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SRCTXHQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
In my camper the table top had to be 27.75” wide to span the gap between the seat benches. I found that the wall mount bracket fits perfectly in this space when the round portion of the table is oriented towards the front.
It works great!
