REDO DIY Dinette to Desk Workstation With Pics

[lightsout]

OK the first thread I started pics did not show so here it is again

I hope this helps others thinking about adding a work station. I searched all over for examples of DIY desk and found very little. Frankly the pictures do not do it justice...

I am still of working age at least for another 5-10 years, most of my work I can to do from anywhere also long as I have a good workstation, computer, and monitor that allows me to do detailed 3D CAD design. The challenge when shopping for any RV is finding one that had a decent space to accommodate a work station. We settled on a 2019 3791RD.

The options for a desk was either remove one of the living room couches, however those slide bases are elevated about 6" so would have been a challenge. The other option was to replace the dinette with a desk. While we do not use the dinette much anyway we still wanted a functional eating table inside so this is the best of both worlds for us.

Here is the near finished project. I am still waiting for the Monitor (34" ultrawide) and the desk side legs. I will update this thread as I progress.

Day 1



Started by removing the stock table



The Slide is 6' wide so along with legs on the sides I also wanted a center support so I purchased a 18 Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler, the size was perfect fit and was only 13" wide and 20" deep. We camp in wine country in Eastern Washington so this was a needed appliance. Wine Cooler was $229 it is Dual Zone for White and Reds

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



The Thermoelectric coolers have two fans in the back that need about 3-4" so I cut two holes in the panel and two holes on the sides for ventilation and if I ever put the table back I will just put a nice vent cover over the holes.



For the desk top we looked at Ikea counter tops as well as modular desk tops however the Ikea tops are not the most durable. We settled on a solid Acacia wood counter top from Home Depot 74"x25" (it was also in stock at the local HD on sale for $199) this top is absolutely beautiful, however a bit heavy but not overly. I measured and cut the notches for the table pillars that still remained as well I purchased a heavy duty Monitor mount from Amazon. I notched it in 3" so it would not interfere with the curtains.

HD Top (it comes pre finished ant the length is perfect, no cutting required (other than the pillars), it fit like a glove.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hardwood...A-72/307393679



Below shows that I left the narrow black top in place and was able to drill a 2" hole that aligned with the monitor mount pole to make a very clean look. The beauty of this mount is the Monitor bracket has a quick disconnect so the monitor can be easily removed while prior to transit. The Arm in the picture just lifts off and can be stored when not in use. The only permanent part of the stand is the Pole and it unscrews if you want it removed as well.

Monitor Mount at Amazon $89
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Here is the latest picture that shows the wine cooler open



Another pic from the Living room



Here are the Legs I ordered from Amazon that will arrive this weekend $98
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[DutchmenSport]

Looks real nice.

[DQDick]

Very nice job!

[Lakelife]

Love it!

[G & S Russell]

That could serve as a dining table too with an outside view. Very nice job.

[lightsout]

Day 2

More Progress, Legs arrived and a perfect fit. The legs are very strong, The Power cord is the Monitor Power.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Since this is a desk/dinette now we purchased these two leather office chairs ($159 on sale) they are low backed so they do not over power the space, frankly not much bigger then the stock dinette chairs. We tested one of our high back office chairs from the house office but it was just too much.

https://www.officedepot.com/a/produc...onded-Leather/



The Monitor is a Dell 34" Ultra-wide, I chose the ultra-wide,I prefer to work with Dual monitors however that would have had a much larger footprint, the ultra-wides allow for side by side windows on one monitor, allowing more to expand as needed to use the single large screen. Also this monitor is only 14" high so it still leaves most for the window exposed. I should mention the Monitor is connected to the Laptop using a small USB-C so the cable is small and easy to conceal , in fact no cables are visible as the table based acts a a conduit hiding the cables.

For those wondering how the Monitor will travel the Stand has a quick release so I can remove it in about 1 minute and will lay on bed while towing

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Mudchief]

Looks very nice.

[Baldicon]

Thanks Lightsout, I can see them now. Looks great!

[lightsout]

Update Day 3

Finally some of the finishing touches. One of the things that bothered me was the color of the wood table base pillars that remained exposed. to make it look more finished and to cover any gaps from my cuts outs for those pillars I capped them with wrap of 1/2 MDF that I painted Satin Black. Now the top shelf and pillars are all black and look like one piece.



I often do a lot of detailed mouse work (Cad Design) so having a mouse platform to my side is far more comfortable. I found a 12"x16"x1.5" cutting board ($23) on Amazon that was made of the same Acacia wood the desk was made of, the size was perfect to fit directly above the wine cooler. So out of the same MDF I built a sleeve drawer for the cutting board, I drilled a hole on the side that goes through the MDF and cutting board then use a bolt as a pin into the cutting board that will hold it in place when towing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[JDDilly]

NICE!!

[Russ&Reen]

I love it!!! One more project for Russ. LOL


-Reen

[lightsout]

The installation time was under 6 hours. I can also re-install the stock table and chair in less than 2 hours in the event we ever sell and someone wants the dinette re installed. One other benefit, when the slide was closed with the Dinette I had to crawl over the dinette to get to the Living room (had to do that twice) now I have the room to walk between the island and the desk.

For those interested in the added weight here is the breakdown

Removed:
Stock Table 38lb
4 x Chairs (16lb ea) 64lb

Total 102lbs

New Desk:
Desk Top 61lb
cutting board 7lb
Monitor 16lb
Wine cooler 44lb
Monitor stand 12lb
Desk legs (7lb ea) 14lb
Serta Chairs (35Lb) ea 70lb

Total 223lbs

+121lb net difference

Since the kitchens and Dinette areas are typically directly over the axles the added weight should not impact payload/pin weight. The added weight should be a non issue considering dinettes seat 4 and now it is limited to 2-persons.

Also here is a picture with the shades open, you can see the low profile monitor does not block much of the window or view,

[Route66Rambler]

If you didn't use the dinette, where do you eat?

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by Route66Rambler

If you didn't use the dinette, where do you eat?

We eat mostly outside or in the living room anyway, this set up still allows us (wife and I) to eat in the dinette area since the desk top is open (just remove laptop that powers the monitor which is suspended above the desk-top). however instead it seating 4 it seats 2. Since most of our income and business comes via the computer I can alter our eating location to accommodate income if needed.

If I do not put the monitor on the stand then sitting in the plush desk chairs and the 180 degree of windows in the dinette is a great place to relax and watch the world go by. The Mouse drawer I added allows us to face each other and maybe play cards or cribbage.

Since we cook and eat 90% outside the stock dinette was of little value to us, and like I said the way the desk was designed I can put it back to stock in about 2 hours and you would NEVER know it was ever changed.

One final consideration we do 80% of our RVing in the wine country here in the NW and the addition of the wine cooler was a big plus for us.

[Marilynd]

Looks great! I love your work area and still get to look outside.

[GHallof]

Great work!! Thank you for posting!

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by Marilynd

Looks great! I love your work area and still get to look outside.

Thanks for the shout out. Have a workstation with a view was a priority, in fact the whole reason we purchased a 5er. We had Class A for many years and they simply do not have many windows or a place to really set up a desk so we sold it last summer and purchased the Monty.

Why that view is so important we own space in a small (38 space) private RV resort in Chelan WA, the RV spaces are literally a few feet from the lake and the angled back in puts the door and dinette side of the RV with full view of the lake (we will spend most of the spring and summer there). Now I will be able to work and enjoy the views. In the Class A it was like working in a box. I only work about 4 hours a day 4 days a week but function and comfort are important.

Here is the view I will have from my new office (that is our Class A we sold to buy the Monty)

[klewis6787]

That is really nice view. What park in Chelan is this? We were looking at maybe going to Lake Chelan we live in Moses Lake.

[ReadyToRetire]

Thank you so much for posting and for such great step by step photos. It looks amazing! We are pretty handy, but I'm not sure we would have the know how to do something like this although I would love to! Maybe someday...

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by klewis6787

That is really nice view. What park in Chelan is this? We were looking at maybe going to Lake Chelan we live in Moses Lake.

This is a private membership RV resort, with only 38 spaces, roughly 1/2 are on the lake the other half all but a couple have a view of the lake. It is located across from Mill Bay Casino. Being private you have to buy a membership to use it. We purchased last year for $12k (which is a bargain for the location). We are in Lake Stevens (western WA) and the other benefit is there is RV storage there so we will take our 5er there in April and it will stay there til Oct (aside from a couple mini trips else where). This RV resort you can stay 2 weeks at a time then out for 1 week (or you can stay that week out and pay $35 per night then your 2 weeks resets). No reservation needed in 17 years they have never turned a member away.

Here is the website for the RV resort. There are no memberships currently available now but check back weekly.

http://www.millbayrvresort.com/memberships.html

My guess is there is only about 150 memberships and there will be no more added however you can buy from a member that is selling. The dues was $400 for the year, considering what a lake front full hookup 50 amp waterfront campsite cost these days we will likely stay 50-70 days this year that alone pays for 1/4 the membership.

This was such a great camping solution for us because as you know here in the NW getting a campsite for 40' you have to book 8 months to a year in advance, with this we no longer have to worry about that, and as you know Lake Chelan is a high demand location.