Kingham Modification

I found the large table too cramped in the intended position so I made a modification so it fits between the driver & passenger seat as shown in the photo. It involves shortening one leg and removing the other. In its place I fitted a top island leg support (£10 from Amazon) so I can use the chrome leg from the small table. This was fitted slightly off centre to keep the table in the middle of the seats.




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That looks good bob but any chance of a photo that shows the bottom of the legs please ?  

Machloop, I used the existing small table leg support.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The downside is that you have to carry another table if you want to eat outside the van

Further mod possibility.

Maybe move the fire extinguisher to just inside the hab door. A fireman friend said they would never advise entering a burning van however small the fire, but if the extinguisher was accessible from the doorway it might be possible safely to fight a small fire on the hob. Since I guess that's where most fires start it makes sense to have the extinguisher very adjacent.

Seems a daft place for A/S to put it anyway. Sooner or later it will be stepped on and ripped off the fairly flimsy plastic seat box cover.

Just a suggestion.

Dave

Gromit wrote:A fireman friend said they would never advise entering a burning van however small the fire,

I did a fire marshal course at work once. The one thing I learned was that in the event of fire, make sure you are elsewhere.

You would be surprised (at least I was) how difficult it is to put out a fire even with the correct extinguisher and proper supervision.

Peter Brown wrote:The downside is that you have to carry another table if you want to eat outside the van

That is true but I bought a Quest Packaway Slatted Table which is the same length but slightly wider at 90cm x 53cm. It packs away to 90cm x 20cm x 10cm so it still fits above the cab even with the existing table there.

bobash wrote:Machloop, I used the existing small table leg support.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks for that, interestingly I did something like this for our Duetto. I found though that I did not need the 'second leg' I just moved the under table aluminium fitting off centre onto a 'new' top using a 50p 'odd piece' from an IKEA bin.  As long as you don't try to sit on it it holds dinner very well. For the Kingham this method would also swing around to allow use of the side seat.  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Though ours is ten years old and aluminium.

Useful suggestion ...only had our Kingham a couple of weeks and love it already -not found any other minor changes (yet). A few more trips to get a real feel for it. Any other "improvements" AS Kingham owners wish to share will be gobbled up too

Hi, have you found the sink easy to use with the microwave being quite low? It seems like you may be restricted to using it.

Cookie99 wrote:Hi, have you found the sink easy to use with the microwave being quite low? It seems like you may be restricted to using it.

I can't see us ever using the microwave so one of the first mods to our van will be removing it.  Maybe have a book store there ?  Though I don't want to alter it too much as it will have to go back in ten years when we sell the van. Maybe Autosleepers could have made it a choice between oven OR microwave. 

Just wondered if the unit being at about shoulder height interferes with the access to the sink when washing up?

Machloop wrote:I can't see us ever using the microwave . . .

I've heard that somewhere before - Oooops, it was me that said it!!

We find (surprisingly) that we use ours quite often, but why do anything drastic straight away. (A bit of lateral thinking is required here.)

Use the microwave as a book store for a while. If you find you really don't want it, you can just as easily remove it later rather than sooner.

Just a thought.

Dave

Yes its handy to store bread, kitchen rolls and the like. If you are on hook up its great for cooking veg with virtually no water and for defrosting the emergency meal when it really is too wet to walk to the restaurant.

We wern't that fussed when we found that the Kingham had a microwave included as we had'nt really bothered with having one on our last van. However, we have so much storage space (some still unfilled to date) so we are quite happy to retain the microwave. The only bugbear is the microwave unit itself vibrates rattles on the road ( yes with dish removed).

On a seperate point..how does one avoid trashing the rear blind over the bed with ones head/pillow ?

Have you found the microwave housing ok when you're using the sink or does it obstruct in any way?
You may need something across the rear window, perhaps Velcro attached.

Cookie99 wrote:Have you found the microwave housing ok when you're using the sink or does it obstruct in any way?
You may need something across the rear window, perhaps Velcro attached.

 I am 6ft and my good lady only slightly shorter and didnt find the housing to be a problem....no bumped heads to date!

Thanks for the input, I would be interested if you find a way of protecting the rear blind.

Cookie99 wrote:Thanks for the input, I would be interested if you find a way of protecting the rear blind.

How about fitting a piece of hardboard or even stiff cardboard over it ?  You could always paste a picture onto it to make it look nicer.

Well, we have now altered a few things in ours in the first four months of its life. That fire extinguisher fits champion just inside the sliding door by the way. You'll need longer screws but that's all. I've put a block of 12v sockets between the seats as the screw holes lined up perfectly, though I may need to re-site these if they prove to be in the way. The sockets are wired directly to the leisure battery (with in line fuse) so are permanently live.
We also removed the microwave oven as we never wanted one and would never use it anyway. The removal of its cupboard has opened up the views from the setee and stopped all the banged heads on getting into the van. Our dealer supplied a panel to replace the missing pieces.

Photos to follow..

Well, we have now altered a few things in ours in the first four months of its life. That fire extinguisher fits champion just inside the sliding door by the way. You'll need longer screws but that's all.
I've put a block of 12v sockets between the seats instead of the extinguisher as the screw holes lined up perfectly, though I may need to re-site these if they also prove to be in the way. The sockets are wired directly to the leisure battery (with in-line fuse) so are permanently live.
We also removed the microwave oven as we never wanted one and would never use it anyway. The removal of its cupboard has opened up the views from the setee and stopped all the banged heads on getting into the van. Our dealer supplied a panel to replace the missing pieces.


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A much better place for the extinguisher with no more knocked ankles, ripped trousers or full length dives into the back of the van.

Re: the microwave modifications, I have sent you a pm.

This modification seems a simple idea to overcome awkwardness of large table in main area of van, have any others tried this, how has it performed long term, did you have to cut and reeled feet on to table leg?

Oops previous should say “reweld” feet on to table leg.