Booth vs free standing dinette

[Ranchhand]

I have been looking at some leftover 2019 Cougar 369BHS. I have located one that has the free standing dinette and was wondering what some of your opinons on the dinette versus the booth. I do not really care about having the extra bed but the dinette in the pictures looks like it would be cramped to get four people around. Im talking about two adults and two kids. Our 2014 has a booth and it is just Ok im my opinion. One thing that I find to be a real pain with our current booth is the back cushions are always pushing the bottom cushions out and we are constantly putting the cushions back where they belong. Any pros and cons would be appreciated. Also I guess why I am asking and do not feel the need to start another thread. What about pros and cons on theater seating versus fold out sofa. Once again do not really care about the extra bed. Our current trailer has the sofa and I thought the theater seating would be more comfartable to sit in.

[JRTJH]

Everyone is going to have a "differing opinion" based on their family size, preferences, need for dinette vs table/chairs. We first got a table/chairs in 1993 and have had that exclusively until we bought a Springdale fifth wheel with no option but a dinette booth. WE HATED going back to that arrangement and when we traded, the only consideration was it must have a table/chairs.

As for theater seating vs fold out sofa. Theater seating (in every RV I've seen can not be folded out into a bed. So, guests may find themselves sleeping on the floor or in "recliners". If you don't need the capacity to sleep more than two, the table/chairs and theater seating (ONLY with the TV directly in front of the theater seats) is the way I'd go.

On the other hand, if you need a second bed, for occasional guests, then having the fold out sofa is probably the way to go. That said, there are some floorplans that have both, theater seating AND a fold out sofa. So, in those floorplans, it boils down to "having your cake and eating it too"....

[Ranchhand]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Everyone is going to have a "differing opinion" based on their family size, preferences, need for dinette vs table/chairs. We first got a table/chairs in 1993 and have had that exclusively until we bought a Springdale fifth wheel with no option but a dinette booth. WE HATED going back to that arrangement and when we traded, the only consideration was it must have a table/chairs.

As for theater seating vs fold out sofa. Theater seating (in every RV I've seen can not be folded out into a bed. So, guests may find themselves sleeping on the floor or in "recliners". If you don't need the capacity to sleep more than two, the table/chairs and theater seating (ONLY with the TV directly in front of the theater seats) is the way I'd go.

On the other hand, if you need a second bed, for occasional guests, then having the fold out sofa is probably the way to go. That said, there are some floorplans that have both, theater seating AND a fold out sofa. So, in those floorplans, it boils down to "having your cake and eating it too"....

Thanks for the input. The one we are looking at is a bunkhouse so we would still be able to sleep 6 pretty easily without having the extra beds in the living area. But I do understand your point. I also think about resale value. Will it not be worth as much to the next guy if those beds are not there

[JRTJH]

The resale value will depend on two things:

1. A dealer who looks at NADA pricing to quote you a trade in value (often without seeing your used RV)

2. Finding someone who wants the floorplan AND the trailer in the condition they are willing to buy. You've got as much likelihood that a "perspective shopper" 5 or 10 years from now will want theater seats as finding one who wants a fold out sofa. Like used cars or trucks, finding one in good condition with acceptable mileage in the model year you want can be fairly easy... Finding a red one with tan interior, well that's another mountain to climb. In other words, buy what works for you and will help you enjoy owning and using the trailer, worry much less about "how much it'll be worth when we decide to sell it.... Things change so much in the RV/camping industry that no one can tell you what will be "the option to buy" in 5 or 10 years... Buy what makes you happy and comfortable, tomorrow will take care of tomorrow, tomorrow.....

[Gegrad]

I don't really have an opinion on the sofa, but as for the dinette vs table and chairs, we would never want the table and chairs. That said, we have 2 small children (3rd in August) and the booth both keeps them in their seat better (can't fall out of a booth like you can a chair) and it is better for sitting height for our 4 year old. We also like it cause we can take the table out and the pack n pay fits perfectly between the dinette seats, so it gives us an out of the way place for it to stay during the night. We have also occasionally used it as a bed for extra guests as well. I can't imagine us wanting a table and chairs until kids were teens, and then we will have 5 total people in our family, so the 4 chairs thing wouldn't work anyway without bringing in a camp chair to sit on the end.

[GilaElkHunter]

I don't know about in your area but down here the dealers all order trailers with table and chairs, so ours has that, and we hate it. We very seldom eat inside. We have always had the booth for the extra bed and we now need it for the grandson. I am thinking about taking the table out and building a booth. As for the theatre seats, we have both theatre and sofa/bed. The theatre seats are nice as long as you have ac power, we exclusively go camping so cannot recline unless running the generator. Have also thought about an inverter to run the recliners.

[Ranchhand]

Originally Posted by GilaElkHunter

I don't know about in your area but down here the dealers all order trailers with table and chairs, so ours has that, and we hate it. We very seldom eat inside. We have always had the booth for the extra bed and we now need it for the grandson. I am thinking about taking the table out and building a booth. As for the theatre seats, we have both theatre and sofa/bed. The theatre seats are nice as long as you have ac power, we exclusively go camping so cannot recline unless running the generator. Have also thought about an inverter to run the recliners.

Oh boy good to now about the power thing. I did not think about them needing power to recline. I just assumed they were old school and you just pulled a lever and the would pop out.

[tech740]

We love the table chairs and will probably never go back to a booth. We also have theater seats but they are manual recline. The only power options on them are heat/massage/light. But still completely usable as reclining seats with no power. I guess there are different types of theater seats.

[LHaven]

Yup. In our 2019, our theatre recliners aren't power anything, just pull the ripcord, push the armrests, and relax. I was just happy to be able to get true zero-clearance furniture without paying an arm and a leg, after having replaced the jackknife sofa in our old rig with two standard La-Z-Boys that we would have to strap in to travel, then pull away from the wall every time we wanted to use them.

As far as the table option, we did give the chairs serious consideration, but the aspects that made us opt for the benches were not needing to secure them to travel, having a sleep accommodation for the grandkiddie just in case, and (most importantly) all that under-bench storage space that we'd be losing. In our rig, that's primo space, being over the wheels and therefore neutral to our tongue loading.

[chuckster57]

My previous fiver (Jayco) had a free standing dinette, and I liked it enough to keep the trailer 13 1/2 years. Current fiver has booth and I can admit I like it better. Most of the time it’s made into the bed and I lay on it to watch TV. It is just me and DW.

[mtofell]

Booths are super tight and I'd opt for table and chairs if given a choice but it's not a deal breaker either way. One place the booth does shine is for storage while traveling. Things set on the seats stays relatively in place. I set many of the counter top things there while rolling and they are easy to grab and setup. Again, not a huge deal either way.

I can't really comment on the theater seats since I've never had them but can agree that beds from the dinette or couch are kind of worthless to me. I'm through with RVs that I need to use those every night. There's nothing worse than getting up in morning with kids sleeping in the kitchen when I'm trying to make coffee. Everyone has their own bunk or I'm not buying it.

[notanlines]

We also have had both, but we would never go back to the dinette seating. I can see where young families might but not just two in the RV.

[Ranchhand]

[QUOTE=mtofell;386700]Booths are super tight and I'd opt for table and chairs if given a choice but it's not a deal breaker either way. One place the booth does shine is for storage while traveling. Things set on the seats stays relatively in place. I set many of the counter top things there while rolling and they are easy to grab and setup. Again, not a huge deal either way.


Another great point. I didn’t even think about the storage you give up.

[BauerAP]

We have a similar floor plan and a 5 and 1 year old. We could afford to give up the table as a bed because it’s short and uncomfortable anyways. We couldn’t afford to give up the storage underneath each bench seat. With two adults and two kids the booth is nice. With 4 adults, which we rarely do at meals and more for late night cards, is somewhat cramped. But the biggest issue is when someone needs to make a bathroom trip on the inside and both parties have to get up.

I would definitely opt for the recliners if you can afford to lose the bed. I strongly desire a recliner as I sit on the very upright couch. If it’s a bad weather day we will be having a movie day, we will lay the tri-fold down because it’s a lot more comfortable than sitting on the couch. We make a couple week long trips with two other adults and couldn’t afford to lose the length of the trifold.

[Mike A]

We have the table and chairs and do not like them. With 4 chairs, the space is too cramped, and always seem to be hitting the wall. If 4 people are sitting down, two still have to slide to their seats. We only have my wife and myself, so we took the two extra chairs out. We also miss the additional storage offered with the booths.

As for the seating, we have the recliners and a trifold sofa.

[Schbobby]

It has become my wife and I that go camping. We traded in the camper with the bunkhouse and got an adult trailer for the two of us. Never had more than two at the table, have minimized the amount of stuff to store in the trailer. Love the recliners, the stand alone table and the trifold couch. No one has even sat on the couch since we have owned our new camper. Did realize that if I pull out the couch it has about a two inch drop, so bought a custom foam filler to level that out for just in case we get guest camping with us!

[CedarCreekWoody]

We like the dinette much better. Usually only the wife and I so we have two regular chairs and two that fold and store under the bed. Makes for a much more open arrangement.

[GASMAN6674]

We specifically ordered our unit with the free standing dinette. We feel it gives us more flexibility. and we can easily remove it if we need the space.

[flybouy]

It's all personal preference so your best option is to go to the dealer and spend some time setting in the different configurations. Otherwise you'll be relying on what suits someone else. It's like asking someone how they like their steak cooked. If I like it rare and you like it well done then we are both "correct" in how we cook or order it. So like Goldilocks try them out until you find what's "just right" for you.

With that said we had the separate table and chairs as an option when we ordered our unit. We wanted the booth as ours is a large "U" shaped booth. I bought 2 folding chars that can go on one side of the table. It works well for 6 adults (cozy close) and better with 2 grand children and 4 adults. We use the outdoor kitchen and eat outside the majority of the time. So that's how it works for us. As for your cushions moving have you tried some self sticking velcro?

The couch we have is a pull out/fold out bed ,like the couch in the rear bedroom. I've yet to find any RV furniture that's comfortable to me. I'm 6'3" so my feet hang over the "theater seating" or recliners and end up making my calf hurt. But that's my preference.

Good luck in finding that "just right" set up for you.

[rjniles]

"One thing that I find to be a real pain with our current booth is the back cushions are always pushing the bottom cushions out and we are constantly putting the cushions back where they belong."


I placed a wide strip of Velcro om the bottom cushion to hold it in place.