Theater seating and cabinets

While at the FMCA rally in Tucson back in March, we placed an order with Dave & LJ’s RV Furniture (based in Woodland, Washington) for theater seating and a couple of cabinets, to replace the recliners we were using since we removed the original L-shaped and jackknife couches. We liked the recliners, but they were a bit more hassle on travel days, and when we eventually sell our coach, we wouldn’t want to include them, hence deciding to get more conventional seating.

Here’s the model couch they had on show:

Demo couch

Our recliners:

Recliners

To get them out the door, I needed to remove the bases (same as when I brought them into the coach):

Removed base

We kept them — we took them to our storage unit just before getting the new seating installed. One day we’ll use them again.

Paladin suspects something may be missing:

Paladin

Five months after ordering, we stopped by Dave & LJ’s in Woodland to get the new items installed:

Dave & LJ's

We had ordered two of the wide cabinets, but due to a mixup they only had one:

Wide cabinet

We could have had the other shipped, but decided to go with narrower ones, that were in stock; we figure that the extra gap on either side is handy for storing lap trays, shoes, and such.

They brought in the theater seating in mulitple pieces:

Couch components

Couch components

Couch components

Couch components

Couch components

Couch components

Drilling a mounting hole:

Drilling mounting hole

One of two bolts through the underside of the slide-out:

Bolt through underside of slide-out

Paladin supervising:

Paladin supervising

The installed couch:

Installed couch and cabinets

Installed couch and cabinets

Installing a cabinet:

Installing cabinet

Installing cabinets

With the slides in, still plenty of room to get past:

With slides in

With slides in

The front feet lift off the floor, along with the slide floor:

Front feet off floor

Paladin approves:

Paladin approves

Paladin approves

With slides in:

With slides in

And out:

Theater seating

Theater seating

The center of the couch can fold up, and includes a pop-up power center, with two USB-A and one USB-C power outlets, and a Qi wireless charger:

Power outlets

Plus there’s another USB outlet along with the controls; a button to bring everything down, a button to extend or retract the footrest, and another button to move the headrest forward and back:

Controls

The new seating is comfy.

Map and sticker art

To personalize our coach a bit more, we decided to replace a generic artwork in the kitchen with something a bit more meaningful to us.

Here’s the old artwork, after removing it from the wall:

Old artwork

The empty wall:

Empty wall

We got a wooden US map to feature in its place:

Wooden US map

The map comes in several pieces:

Map pieces

Map pieces

We also got a 24×36” wooden frame, an opaque white plexiglass sheet of the same size, and some foam boards to fill out the space behind it:

Frame with foam boards

Frame with foam boards

I used Command-brand double-sided strips to help adhere it to the wall:

Frame with Command strips

I also used screws through the plexiglass to secure it to the wall; the screws were later hidden behind stickers (the PostIt notes mark the map placement):

Frame mounted

The wooden map is attached with double-sided adhesive strips:

Double-sided adhesive strips

And mounted to the plexiglass:

Map mounted

It has a nice 3D relief:

Wooden map

Wooden map

Hawaii:

Hawaii

Alaska:

Alaska

Some hummingbird decorations:

Hummingbirds

We added pins (that came with the map) on states we’ve visited:

Pins

Plus stickers around the map for some places we’ve been:

Stickers

The current state:

Picture

Over time, we will add more pins and stickers, to help commemorate our travels.

Hammock

Jenn won a prize to choose an item from Amazon, and opted for another useful addition for our travels, a foldable hammock.

It folds up fairly compactly in a carry bag:

Hammock bag

The hammock frame easily unfolds:

Hammock frame

Hammock frame

The fabric is attached:

Hammock

Hammock frame

Pillow:

Pillow

Extendable poles:

Extendable poles

Support an optional shade:

Cover

The assembled hammock:

Assembled hammock

We probably won’t use it often, but it’ll be nice to have when wanted.

Anniversary of buying our motorhome

Today marks the one year anniversary of us purchasing our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP motorhome!

(The Allegro Bus brochure, if you’re interested in the stats and options.)

One year ago today, we drove four hours to Kennewick, Washington and met the private seller at a KOA campground, where we handed over the cashier check payment, signed the title transfer, and got the keys. We then stayed in the coach that night, marking the first night of our full-time RVing adventure.

To celebrate the occasion, I thought I’d re-publish the first pictures of the coach from a year ago. Many aspects have changed over the past 12 months, so it’s good to look back on where things started.

A couple of pictures of the coach exterior at the Kennewick KOA (the slide-out looks so naked without our stickers!):

2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP

2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP

My tour of the interior of the coach:

Here’s a floor plan (note that the living room layout is a bit different):

40SP floorplan

The entry door and steps (the exterior steps automatically slide out when the door is opened); welcome aboard:

Entry door and steps

In front of the passenger chair is a pull-out workstation surface:

Passenger workstation

Thusly:

Passenger workstation

The driver cockpit:

Driver cockpit

The living area:

Living area

The L-shaped couch and ottoman that came with the couch; we removed and stored it, and recently sold it:

Couch

Dining table (it can be pulled out to extend it a bit):

Dining table

On the right of the dining sideboard was a keyboard tray drawer, for a computer workstation; I thought I might work there, though I didn’t; I use a lap tray instead, and we actually removed this, to make room for bottles in the cupboard below:

Keyboard tray

Residential refrigerator and freezer:

Residential refrigerator

Pull-out pantry shelves:

Pull-out pantry shelves

The kitchen:

Kitchen

Pull-out counter:

Pull-out counter

Drawer dishwasher (made by NZ company Fisher & Paykel):

Drawer dishwasher

Dual sinks, with covers when more counter space is desired; we typically only use the left sink, with a draining rack over the right side:

Sinks

Induction cooktop:

Induction cooktop

Convection microwave, that can be used as a normal microwave or as a convection oven:

Convection microwave

Half bath; yes, this coach has two porcelain toilets:

Half bath

Bedroom:

Bedroom

Tiltable king bed (with way too many cushions; we’ve stored all of these):

Tiltable king bed

Bedroom TV and cabinets:

Bedroom TV and cabinets

 

Moving into the bathroom, the sink:

Bathroom sink

Washer and dryer:

Washer and dryer

Shower:

Shower

The above pictures were with the four slides out; when traveling down the road, the slides are retracted, which makes things much more cramped.

Here’s the living room with slides in; it was difficult to get past the couches, another reason why we removed them:

Living room with slides in

Dining and kitchen with slides in; not so bad. We were able to get to the fridge and half-bath pretty easily, once past the couches — great for rest stops:

Dining and kitchen with slides in

Bedroom with slides in; not very easy to get past the bed without climbing over it, but that’s fine:

Bedroom with slides in

I hope you enjoyed this flashback! Sometime I plan to do a similar tour with the current state. Stay tuned for that.

On to the next year of our full-time RVing adventure!

Marchesi Vineyards

While in the area, we visited our favorite winery, Marchesi Vineyards in Hood River:

Marchesi Vineyards

Marchesi Vineyards

Marchesi Vineyards

We did a wine tasting (alas, not free, as we are no longer members there, since we can’t easily get wine deliveries):

Wine tasting

A resident dog, Jazzy, spent some time hanging out with us:

Dog

Jazzy and Jenn:

Dog and Jenn

A charcuterie platter for lunch:

Charcuterie

Misters keeping us cool on a hot day:

Misters

Decor

Vines:

Vines

Jazzy (with a boo-boo):

Dog

Dog

Vines:

Vines

Of course, we came away with a case of wines. That’ll keep us going until we can get back again next year!

IKEA storage cabinets

One of several criteria when choosing an RV was that we needed to keep working as we travel, so we wanted a desk (or two). So soon after we bought our coach, we removed the couches, and replaced one with a desk:

Desk

From the start, I used a lap tray with my laptop, sitting in my living room chair, while Jenn used the desk. Over time, she decided that she didn’t need the second screen, and ultimately didn’t need the desk either.

So we removed the desk, while temporarily leaving its drawers:

Removed desk

We might get some custom furniture to go there in due course, but in the meantime we decided to replace the desk with IKEA KALLAX drawers and cupboards; a very flexible system that we’ve enjoyed in the past.

Here are the drawers being assembled:

IKEA KALLAX drawers

IKEA KALLAX drawers

To prevent the drawers from sliding open when the coach is in motion, I added roller catches:

Roller catch

Roller catch

The new drawers next to the old ones, while transferring the contents:

Drawers

Next I assembled IKEA KALLAX cupboards; the bottom-right cubby is a cat bed for Paladin:

IKEA KALLAX cupboards

I got brackets to connect the two units, for extra stability:

Connected

The two brackets on the back are covered in self-adhesive felt, to avoid scratching the wall:

Felt cover

I also added a bracket to mount the units to the wall:

Bracket

The drawers and cupboards:

Drawers and cupboards

Drawers and cupboards

Related, I added velcro to Jenn’s laptops and laptop stand, so they stay put while driving:

Velcro

She uses the laptop stand on the dining table when she has meetings, or uses a lap tray in her living room chair like me.