PR 176T Dinette Mod

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We took delivery of our 176T on August 11 and immediately started to do some mods to it (some that we read here and others that we figured out on our own).  One of the best mods was one that we came up with to make the dinette a LOT more usefull and one that, honestly, FR should have thought of on their own as well.  With the bed folded into the tent end, the dinette was not really very comfortable to sit (no backing to sit against) on if one wanted to watch TV or just sit and relax.  Rather than try to explain, I will let the pictures do the talkin!
Bed out and ready to be put away for the day.

Bed folded up and dinette is shown as FR designed (table removed for photos)

Now comes the fun part!  Pull up the long cushion to reveal the mod!

Now fold up the backboard to its upright position (piano hinge shown)

Replace the large bottom cushion to hold the backboard in the up position

replace the small side cushions

Then put the long back cushions in place

We are currently using our pillows to fill in where the long cushions normally reside

Now it is time to relax and 4 or more can very easily sit here and comfortably!

But we have extra cushions on order from FR.  We saw Cody from FR at the Hershey show a few weeks ago and asked him why FR had not done anything to make the dinette in the tent models more usable.  He stated that they have been trying but had not come up with a viable solution as of yet.  We showed him our photos and he asked for them.  A follow up phone call and FR is going to be building a prototype of this on their next run!!!!  Always exciting when we can add to the betterment of our little campers!

So far so good and we will have a list of our other mods with photos soon!

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ToddLat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 06 Aug 2012 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Online Status: Offline Posts: 54	Topic: PR 176T Dinette Mod Posted: 02 Oct 2012 at 5:43pm
	We took delivery of our 176T on August 11 and immediately started to do some mods to it (some that we read here and others that we figured out on our own). One of the best mods was one that we came up with to make the dinette a LOT more usefull and one that, honestly, FR should have thought of on their own as well. With the bed folded into the tent end, the dinette was not really very comfortable to sit (no backing to sit against) on if one wanted to watch TV or just sit and relax. Rather than try to explain, I will let the pictures do the talkin! Bed out and ready to be put away for the day. Bed folded up and dinette is shown as FR designed (table removed for photos) Now comes the fun part! Pull up the long cushion to reveal the mod! Now fold up the backboard to its upright position (piano hinge shown) Replace the large bottom cushion to hold the backboard in the up position replace the small side cushions Then put the long back cushions in place We are currently using our pillows to fill in where the long cushions normally reside Now it is time to relax and 4 or more can very easily sit here and comfortably! But we have extra cushions on order from FR. We saw Cody from FR at the Hershey show a few weeks ago and asked him why FR had not done anything to make the dinette in the tent models more usable. He stated that they have been trying but had not come up with a viable solution as of yet. We showed him our photos and he asked for them. A follow up phone call and FR is going to be building a prototype of this on their next run!!!! Always exciting when we can add to the betterment of our little campers! So far so good and we will have a list of our other mods with photos soon!
	Todd and Beth 2013 RP 176 T 2013 Nissan Pathfinder

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062	Posted: 02 Oct 2012 at 8:58pm
	Sweet, nice to see FR taking input from real users. Many companies won't even open mail with ideas due to liability issues.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

ToddLat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 06 Aug 2012 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Online Status: Offline Posts: 54	Posted: 02 Oct 2012 at 9:26pm
	The funny thing about it was that Cody was joking about royalties (the fact that we would get nothing !), etc. He was asking specifics such as board thickness, dimensions, etc. He was even talking about costs. There are a lot of great mods on these forums that FR should really pay attention too! If they did, they would have a totally awesome little camper (not that it is so bad as it is).
	Todd and Beth 2013 RP 176 T 2013 Nissan Pathfinder