Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks: Reversing the floorplan in a 172

Reversing the floorplan in a 172

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Topic: Reversing the floorplan in a 172

Posted By: Larry-D
Subject: Reversing the floorplan in a 172
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 10:33am

I'm throwing this out there for thought.

We have a 172 that I've removed the top bunk and left the portion next to the bath as a shelf. Bottom bunk still in place. No problems if I'm alone with just the dogs as I use the bunk and keep the dinette as a work/eating area. If my wife goes she doesn't like the bunk or the folded down dinette.

My thoughts - reverse the setup. Modify the bunk to be the dinette area using the existing bottom bunk storage with the center removed. Keep the dinette area intact and using cut-to-fit plywood to cover the open area where the dinette was and get a real mattress.

Initial thoughts. The lighting in the original bunk area is different, no big deal. In the original dinette area, the foot area will have to stay open because of the heater and I installed a 120vac outlet next to the heater. The outlet also has a switch for controlling the electric element in the water heater.

Okay, everyone lets hear it.

Larry

Replies:

Posted By: Happy Tripping
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 11:20am

Uhhh, ... and the advantage over the 171 is ...?

Posted By: Larry-D
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 11:24am

The 172's is sitting the driveway

Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 1:58pm

We also took out the upper bunk in our 172 and made a shelf with the part next to the head. We also raised the bed, which makes it a little wider and considerably more comfortable to get in and out of and to sit on. It may be my imagination there was slightly more headroom at the fore end of the trailer than than the aft, though I have to say, I've never bothered to measure it.

Keeping the berth at the fore end also has the advantage of keeping the access to the water heater and heater easy. By raising the bed about 6+" I gained over 12 cu.ft. of additional storage space and adds about 3" to the bed width due to the curve of the front of the trailer.

The only down side so far is that I initially bumped my knees from time to time on the old bunk - now shelf - but I'm used to it now and don't do it any more.

If you would like to see some fotos of the set up, pm me when I next week after I return from Colombia and I'll send them to you.

-------------
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 2:10pm

Larry D, Just a question. The dinette is too big to move to the bunk area, you have both the door and the bathroom wall. Is plan to reduce dinette size? The 171 has the smaller dinette. Also what is plan for the TV? Does it stay on the new bunk end? Maybe not a big deal.

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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

Posted By: Larry-D
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 2:15pm

Thanks for the insight. Went out and actually looked at what would be involved in my idea. Didn't think about having to raise the "pedestal" for the lower bunk to make at a dinette. Doable, but not great at working with wood. I can wire anything but working with wood, well that's a whole different story. Not outside the realm though.

Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 2:32pm

Larry, it's very basic carpentry that you can certainly do if you are reasonably mechanical, which you'd have to be to work with electricity and if you were able to take out the upper bunk without punching holes in the walls.

I saved the finished plywood on the bottom of the bunk and put part on top of the remaining part - aka shelf. Another part I used as a facia for the bunk raising effort. I used a piece of 1x8 pine for the aft side of the bed and 1x2 (mostly left over from the old bunk frame) to support the remainder of the edges of the bed. I added a small piece of the left over luan plywood from the upper side of the bunk to adjust for the wider bunk area, and built a support under it. Finally, I added some ribs under the side of the bed base that opens to the storage area as it was sagging a bit.

Virtually everything you need to do you can accomplish with a hand saw or a sabre saw, a drill motor to drive the screws, and a measuring tape. Level only matters if the trailer is exactly level as all points up and down are relative to the floor. Oh, yeah, and I bought some cheap U shaped plastic edging to go around the plywood for the facia to give it a finished look. I got it at Home Depo for about $2. The fact that I reused most of the wood, meant that the whole mod costs under $10 and it has worked out very well.

Also, if you'd like to discuss what I did on the phone after seeing pictures, I'd be delighted to explain in more detail.

-------------
Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

Posted By: Larry-D
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 3:02pm

That's true. Saved all the wood from the upper bunk when I removed it. I will probably go for it later this winter.