Strange Dinette Seating - Help Decipher

not sure what year you have, mine is a 61 and compared to mine I would have to say this is all custom stuff, seats dont look wide enough. the space above the drawer is not there on mine, the seats are much lower on mine, notice how if the table was in place you would barely have room for your legs between it and the seat.
and the outer edge of the curb side seat has what looks like 3/4 inch plywood on the outside, , mine is 1/4 inch

mine also has a slider door under the seat with the water tank.

good eye,,, or the drawers upside down LOL

Thanks for the detective work. I know there are a lot of things not original on my trailer. For example, I know that the plywood underneath the cushions was added because the PO used it to convert this to a bed. I also know that the PO painted the trailer and put all the handles back on backward. However, I do have good reason to believe that the seat cushions and the seats themselves are original. For the very same reasons that you mentioned, one being that I've only ever seen trailers with seats all the way to the wall, this has confused me.

Even without my clues that this is all original, it also seems very concocted that someone would rebuild the seating in the dinette in such a strange manner and to such a degree of accuracy while making no other major repairs on the trailer. If someone did rebuild the seats this way, why would you shorten your seat and go to the effort to create a side piece intended for nothing?

Can anyone else shed some light on this mystery?

My theory goes something like this...

These windows were and still are famous for leaking and destroying the wallboard (and wall framing) behind the benches. The common solution for many was to paint over it, as most cases the damage was perceived to be only on the surface. The leakage can also damage the framing of the dinette, and since the innerspring cushions can be so uncomfortable anyways, we'll remodel it into something that "works better". Of course, they also could just have been rotted beyond saving, too.
Remodeling leads one to discover that the frame is anchored in the front by screws that come from the outside of the paneling, and attempting removal damages the panel. Also, raising the top surface of the frame increases the space to the front wall since it is rounded and not squared off. That needs to be covered up...thus the box-out.

You mentioned in another post that the table was gone and there is one outside. My guess would be they used the dinette for sleeping more than dining, so they rigged the table to be used outside. Attaching it outdoors is just a matter of moving the bracket to a spot outside, and screwing it to the wall.

What to do now? I personally would want to rebuild it close to the original, but that is just me. It could get to be pretty involved once you get behind those frames and back to the wall and wall frame. However, if that is all bad and needs to be reworked, all this will have to come out anyways...

One thing always leads to another....

I am removing mine one side at a time to rebuild the damage in the walls. I will be putting it back in as it was originally. It had to be stripped out of the way in order to remove the rotted panel below the window. I also have found that it was anchored into the wall frame, so replacing the rotten framing needed the screws taken out as well.

I do remember that one. It was green wasn't it? I remember the Compact being mentioned too, but never heard anything more about it.
I have photos that I took as I dismounted the frame for the curbside dinette, and I have the frame now, it came out all intact. I'll try to get some photos and measurements from it today.

Sorry to argue with you but your bench has been modified. Yes the original footprint is the correct and original, but somebody, somewhere added to the top of the bench. On the curb side(side with the door) you can see the seam where it was they did the addition, it is about 3/4" of a inch above the board that is sticking out on the front. Also if you look and the end of the bench, see the 1/4" plywood with the curve? That was part of the original seat, it retained the cushion. The upper part of the bench is not part of the original trailer.

I have to agree, I have looked at pics of literally hundreds of Shastas and never seen a setup or seats like that, my guess is someone had those cushions and wanted to use them and made the bench to hold them properly, not a bad job at all, but not original. and thoise seats dont apear to have the springs inside, just looks like cushions. as it has already been pointed out you can see the 1/4 inch birch on the side by the door where the original bench ended and the new stuff was added.

Oh, and on a happy note... yes, our little trailer has been quite the traveler already. We are already planning another long road trip with her this spring. Perhaps another 2500 miles or so. Here she is from our last trip, right in front of Half Dome at Yosemite.

Very interesting trailer you have. I agree, the original Princess stove is taller. Now you've got a handy shelf for storing something.

I happen to like the old sprung seats; they are comfortable to me. The original dinettes were about 12" high, maybe a little less, because the sprung seats were 6"+ thick. When changing out to narrower foam, the dinette box is raised to 14" to make up the difference. Whoever did your dinettes did a nice job and I'm guessing you can fit under the table just fine. As far as the hump, it could have been for more clearance in the box or for strength. Not sure how to pad it for sleeping.

There is enough knee space between the seats the the table. The table has actually been raised at some point or another.

A little history. I am the third own of the this trailer. The previous past owner used this quite extensively even living out of it at one point as a fire lookout for an entire year. He said that at one point he was snowed in for a whole week. The highlight of his tour, apart from trying to blow off his eyebrows while showing us that the heater works, was when he pointed out the freezer inside the refrigerator and mention that it was just big enough to hold a package of hot dogs, his saving grace. He told us the the trailer came to him nearly 30 years ago. She didn't have her wings when he bought it.

He told me that the only modifications he had made were: his wife painted the inside (yes, she put the handles on wrong, which have since been rectified) and made the curtains and pillowcases for the dinette. He turned the couch into a full time bed and widened it because he "didn't want to sleep that close to his wife". (The bed now reaches all the way to the cabinets and is basically a full and a half). He also turned the hammock into a cupboard, although leaving all the original hardware in tack for the sleeping loft. There were a few small other renovations he made to the wiring, etc.

That being said, by the looks of the upholstery and oven (magic chef) it appears to have had a fairly major overhaul in the 70's which seems fairly early in these trailers lives to have gotten a new stove, new seating and new cushions/upholstery. Any suggestions on what may have happened? Or is this fairly common to see?

And yes, the cubby under the stove has come in handy for the dog food bowl, picnic table cloth and more. I think eventually it might get a curtain or an actual drawer.

Hi Maj
I like the modifcation to the dinette as well and am glad it works for you. We also love camping with our trailer and took her on an 8,000 mile inaugural road trip a couple of years ago.

I'm guessing 70's is when she got her new look in including the stove and the dinette. Which would explain why it seemed original. Original benches were innersprings on frames covered with horsehaire and cotton bat, and then with vinyl covering. They probably thought it looked too old fashioned.