We’ve had our Host Cascade since early 2018 and this was one of the continuing “future plan” ideas on the inside – *how* in the world can we make this L-shaped dinette more functional?!
The video we made showed how we installed the Lagun table and also how we use it. Seriously, a huge difference!
WHY?
When we first purchased our Cascade, one of the options we really wanted was the dual recliner. We loved the option to have 2 separate sitting areas and recliners seemed to fit well!
Unfortunately, if you choose the dual recliner option on the Cascade, you cannot get the cooler couch with the hi/low table (shown in the Host video below). Such a bummer. As you can see, that base is pretty large and the dimensions simply wouldn’t fit in the Cascade floor plan. But it is a cool table!
LAGUN USA
So I began my quest and looked at other options. I ran into several YouTube videos talking about LagunUSA and their versatile table, especially in van conversions. As I looked further, I thought – could this possibly work in our camper? I didn’t really want to replace the tabletop yet – yeah, it has some scratches but I liked the look because it matched the kitchen. The Cascade table is pretty large but based upon the information on the Lagun site, the weight and dimension should be fine.
Before I go any further, if you end up trying this, DO NOT buy this product on Amazon. Even the Lagun website has warnings that they are not actual Lagun products. We purchased directly from Lagun and received the table pretty quickly. And… they have free shipping (at least the last time I checked)!
We chose the standard system with the base handle on the right side (the black handle on the lower mounting bracket). I did this mainly since I would be working on the “L” side of the table and wanted the largest foot/legroom.
INSTALLATION
The installation was pretty straight-forward, but here are our suggestions based upon what we experienced:
Dinette to Bed Conversion
We were unable to figure out a decent way to keep both pieces of support wood to convert the dinette to a bed. The baseplate needed to be where we put it so the wooden support piece closest to the “L” side was removed. We *may* have been able to rotate the wood support *and* shorten it, but not sure if that was an awesome idea. Since we haven’t used this for a bed yet, we didn’t fret it, but you might…
Base Mounting
Make sure to mount flush to the base and cushion. For the first install, we only made it flush with the base (so that the vertical leg could move up and down) but we forgot that the cushion hangs out quite a bit. We ended up adding both of the plastic shims supplied by Laguna but could have used an extra 1/4″ more to not “squish” the dinette cushion (you can see what we’re talking about in the picture below).
Table Mounting
The underside of the Host Table has a middle elevated area which was for strength and mounting purposes. You obviously want to be on that with the base. We centered it along “the hump”. Ideally, you would center the mount both width-wise and length-wise to get the best weight distribution possible.
We did that since we were worried about having enough space for dinner. In hindsight, I’m not sure we really needed that extra room. I’d recommend to play with the table a bit before deciding on whether you center it or not.
We thought that skewing it would help to reach the recliner for a beverage table, but really I just angle it towards the recliner and then rotate the table so that the long way is closest to the seat. Again, not sure if not centering really would have had as much of a value.
Oh, and if you do extend the table out like shown in the below picture, be aware to not put seriously heavy items on the table. Beverages and a plate are ok, but keep an eye out and understand the limitation. We tend to use this extended layout often when both of us are sitting on the recliners.
We are not an affiliate for Lagun USA, but really liked the extra versatility it gave us. Hope this helps you as well!
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