Westfalia Vanagons come with two original tables. Each one is mounted to a metal piece that fits a table leg. These legs slip into a bracket. The whole set up is quite ingenious, but not without a few flaws. A few years ago we sold our front table and the table leg. It wasn’t that we didn’t need a front table. We loved having the extra table to prep food, place a computer and generally catch the stuff that settles in the van. But we needed to put something else in the leg holder bracket, so the table and leg were sold. Instead, the front bracket now holds the handle to our high lift jack. This prevents it from being stolen, and provides a safe location for it!
However, living in the van full time brought back the need for that front table. So we devised a table using a large cutting board, some plastic pipe, brackets and short screws.
Here are the parts:
The PVC elbow is exactly the right size to slip over the handle to the high-lift jack. The other end has a length of PVC pipe that is slightly shorter than the cutting board.
The conduit or pipe braces have been drilled with one hole each. Then they are mounted over the PVC into the cutting board. Be sure to use screws that will NOT go through the cutting board. Then the screws are placed through the braces and into the PVC.
Finally the whole thing slips into place Because the fit is slightly loose, it can pivot towards the sink or towards the seats easily. When it is not in use we remove it and store it above the bed or behind our Engel refrigerator. (search our blog for “Engel” to read more about that!)
This could be accomplished with any variety of wood. The same pipe braces could be used to hold a PVC or metal pipe in place if you are missing the table mount bracket. If you have any questions or need additional photos, please drop us a line!