Ok, John’s post gave me a spark to create my own outside table. I call it the “
Mini Me” of JohnB’s outside kitchen extravaganza.
Our Sunline came with an outside grill, but we don’t use it so we had the mounting rails on the trailer. So this post gave me the idea to build a table to mount on its rail. I used mostly scraps that I had laying around, a miter saw, and a hand jig saw. I only needed to purchase a few items, such as a matching mounting rail, some primer, and other odds-n-ends. I just finished it the other day.
I started with a 16” x 19” table top. I had some 1/8” board left over that I used to make our wardrobe closet shelfs.
I used some scraps of wood to frame it to give it some extra support and stability.
Attached the mounting bracket and tested it to see how it would hang on the trailer.
I decided that it would need some side support to stabilize and level it. So from some scrape 1” x 10” pine board I had laying around I cut some side support brackets.
The support brackets would be mounted on the bottom such that its edge would be against the camper to stabilize the table and keep it level.
Primed and painted the table. Used exterior primer, which I needed to purchase, but had some paint left over from painting one of our interior rooms that we decided to use.
Painted the side support and decide to purchase some molding to finish the sides of the table.
Now I need to decide how I was going to attach the support brackets to the table. I also wanted to pad the sides of the support brackets that would come in contact with the trailer to add some protection from the table support marring or scratching the trailer. For connecting the support brackets, I decided on using a hinge, which I also had laying around. This way I could fold them in to make packing and storing the table a little easier. For protecting the trailer I purchased some self stick bumper pads from Target. I also screwed the bumper pads into the support brackets to ensure they don’t come off.
Figured out the brackets and protecting the trailer, now what to do with the table top, to make it easy to clean and to add some water protection to it. Plus how to jazz it up, not too crazy about a plain brown top.
For the protection, I purchased a sheet of plexi glass from Lowe’s and had them cut it to the size of the table top.
I mounted the side molding such that it was above the table top to cover the edge of the plexi glass.
To jazz up the table top, we decided to put some pictures of our trips under the plexi glass. The table now has become a memory board too. I screwed the plexi glass into the table at each of the four corners to secure it. Counter sunk the screws so they wouldn’t stick up above the plexi glass.
I took the table top and support brackets to our Sunline, which is in storage, to measure and position the support brackets so the table will be level when items are placed on it. To accomplish this I attached the support brackets to the table’s bottom, using the hinges I had, so the table was just slightly above level with no weight on it. Once items are placed on the table, it will level out.
The finished product from the back showing the support & mounting bracket.
By mounting the support brackets with hinges I will be able to fold them to minimize the room need to pack and store the table.
The finished product from the front showing how it would be on the trailer.
And finally, the finished table mounted on the trailer.
Sorry, no camping pictures showing the table in use yet, hopefully in a few weeks.
Hope you enjoyed this and maybe gave you some ideas of your own.
Hutch