Side by side dinette and gaucho

[Chance]

What are disadvantages of a side-by-side 2-person dinette and a gaucho?

It's not a standard layout so it must not be too popular. But since many Class Bs are used by two people, or a couple, it seems it should work well to solve many problems. Any thoughts on advantages or disadvantages of layouts based on this general arrangement for eating, lounging, and sleeping?

[dhally]

In my experience (not SMB vans), a dinette seat isn't real comfortable for "lounging." The sides of the van curve in (in a domestic van) so you can't lean back without hitting your head. The seat on the opposite side prevents stretching out the legs. The other issue with a dinette is table storage space.

A gaucho isn't so bad for lounging because you can turn sideways to get more stretch out space.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by dhally

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The sides of the van curve in (in a domestic van) so you can't lean back without hitting your head.

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I meant longitudinally. From your comment above it seems you are thinking transverse, otherwise I don't know what you mean by hitting one's head.

I agree with comfort of dinette being limited for lounging most of time due to leg room, yet they are common in RVs for eating. Most larger RVs have both a dinette and a couch/sofa/gaucho, so why not in a van camper if optimized for two?

I've only seen one factory van that way and it was nice except aisle was too narrow to pass through if person was sitting on gaucho. I'm thinking narrower dinette and gaucho to make two 27 to 30 inch wide single beds at most, depending on van width. Something like this except one gaucho replaced by dinette.

[Chance]

P.S. -- would also consider two separate dinettes side-by-side. Could seat four for eating and one dinette could be left down when not used for eating.

[Chance]

Found the van I saw a while back with dinette and sofa/gaucho arrangement I'm curious about. Seemed OK except for tight width. Beds could be made into one large one.

[larrie]

Interesting layout. I can see why you like it. Our van has the standard four person dinette. There is about 13" between the two seat cushions. It is plenty to walk through but difficult for people to pass to pass by each other. But that make it nice and cozy for us.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by larrie

Interesting layout. I can see why you like it. Our van has the standard four person dinette. There is about 13" between the two seat cushions. It is plenty to walk through but difficult for people to pass to pass by each other. But that make it nice and cozy for us.

Larrie, what do you mean by "standard"? Are you talking about the dinette being across the van? In researching standard SMB layouts it seems dinettes across, or transverse, are very popular.

What I'm trying to avoid is not being able to move from front to back of van because the aisle is blocked. Unless a transverse dinette is at the very back of a van, it then means a person can't move past the dinette when the table is up for dining, or when the dinette is folded down into a bed.

I'm sure SMB could build a layout similar to the Cruiser in the picture above (or two separate dinettes side by side), but I'm wondering what downsides there are that keep it from being more popular.

[Chance]

By the way, I'm thinking that a van 74 inches wide with gaucho and or dinettes limited to around 28 inches wide to make into single beds would leave an aisle about 18 inches down the middle. That's about the same as a commercial airplane aisle which seems more than adequate. At night the center aisle could also be filled in to make a near-king-size bed.

[Ford_6L_E350]

If the dinette/gaucho were moved to the rear of the van, there is no reason to walk through.

But, I'm not sure I see an advantage to the layout over an equal sized dinette.

Mike

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350

If the dinette/gaucho were moved to the rear of the van, there is no reason to walk through.

But, I'm not sure I see an advantage to the layout over an equal sized dinette.

Mike

Mike, I think most RV designs try to put most seating areas together towards the front so people can share the traveling experience. This is common with lots of larger Class As and Cs which have the bedroom (or bed) in the back and then place the dinette and sofa at the front.

If at all possible, I'd like something similar except scaled down in size. Unfortunately, scaling down size doesn't always work. That's why I'm asking for opinions here.

If it were just my wife and me, then yes, I'd consider locating the dinette in back across the van. However, if traveling with family members (like when staying in hotels at night, campgrounds with cabins, or using tents) we'd prefer the group up front to share the road.

Also, if the dinette is at very back, then the bathroom walls would segment the van into two small areas that would feel more confined. Like with a house, we prefer an open plan. That's more of an issue for my wife. And everything else being equal, my preference is having the bathroom near the very back to make dumping of the Porta Potty easier.