Making An Outside Table

[angelsmom10]

Our old Starcraft had an outside table that attached to to camper.  Our new camper doesn't have one, but we would really like one.  DH made a larger table for the old camper, but had the legs to reuse.  We have the wood needed, but we are having trouble finding the adjustable/folding table legs (2).  I found some, but the cheapest was $40.  Does anyone know where you can buy some cheaper.  I just feel that $40 is just way too high, I could buy another roll-top table for that price.
 
Or any other ideas?

[Gone-Camping]

I'd just get another roll top..it's more versatile as you can move it anywhere you want to... I had an outside table with my Starcraft too (or actually I could move one of my dual inside dinette tables to outside), but it sometimes just got in the way, and since it wasn't movable it at times became a (small) problem...
 
When I bought the Hybrid, I found a small three level table that folds up flat and fits in a case. It's great for cooking etc...the grill or stove top fits on the high part, and the two lower sections on each side can hold all kinds of stuff, plus it has a wire shelf underneath too!!!

[angelsmom10]

Since we've gotten the AAR, we set up the roll-top inside and just felt that it would be a lot nicer to have a table attached to the PU to take up less space or to be able to use the roll-top as a dinner table without having to remove everything after cooking; but I haven't ruled out that option.
 

[MommaMia]

Our old Starcraft had an outside table that attached to to camper.  Our new camper doesn't have one, but we would really like one.  DH made a larger table for the old camper, but had the legs to reuse.  We have the wood needed, but we are having trouble finding the adjustable/folding table legs (2).  I found some, but the cheapest was $40.  Does anyone know where you can buy some cheaper.  I just feel that $40 is just way too high, I could buy another roll-top table for that price.
 
Or any other ideas?

Do a search for card table legs... I found several places that have them for around $20.  You can also find just the brackets that you would attach to pieces of wood for the legs.

http://thehardwarehut.com/furniture_legs.php

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=802-086&ov=1990&KEY=CARD+TABLE+LEGS

http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?sku=758&filter=63198&DID=6

[campincrew]

Search Harbor Freight Tools and Northern Tool, I believe that they carry those as well.

[bearbait]

A key to making a level outside table is this,  the easiest way is to keep all the components attatchable to the camper.  If you start using legs that go all the way to the ground,  then they need to be adjustable to suit any campsite you might be on. My table that I made was just the same principle the manufacturer used with the smaller table.  All I did was went to the dealer and got a couple of more brackets and made a new countertop.  Mine is all attatched to the trailer itself,  so I don't have any leveling issue's.

I've seen people use brackets that go down to the frame ( Jayco hardware I believe) and also someone that actually used a wooden crutch they had laying around that they attatched to the end of their table (built like a wing). So the cheapest way is to utilize something you already have.
 
As you have virtually no hardware to begin with,  I would suggest going to an RV dealer and picking up a parts catolog.  This catolog will have all kinds of hardware available with sizes and even pictures of some of it.  You could then see whats available through the dealership (not Starcraft specific) and have the cost of the parts you need right there in front of you.  Another good option these types of books will give you is pictures and such so that it may trigger something in your mind that you may have seen at a home center that you might be able to use,  further decreasing the cost.
 
At any rate,  keep us informed with how you are proggressing with the project because their are a lot of people on this message board that have tackled your same situation in a lot of different ways.  One of those ways may just work for you.

[angelsmom10]

We are planning on attaching to the camper and using legs that are adjustable for that reason.  That is why we are looking for cheaper means of the adjustable legs then what I had found.  The big problem we have with going to an RV shop for the legs has been, the height we need.  Since we have the Centennial, the side wall is so much higher and the adjustable legs that we have found at the dealers have barely been tall enough for when we are on a level playing field, if we would have to adjust to make the legs longer, then we would be out of luck.
 
One thing we are going to also investigate is to attach legs that angle from the table to the wall of the PU and not reaching the ground.  We would put rubber on the end that would set against the PU and the where to wood attaches to the table having it detachable for easy storage.  We'd only have to figure out the right angle for this.
 
We have moved this to be a winter project as currently DH is working 6-7 days a week..(still hoping for a regular..full time job).

[Fred Camper]

I'm not sure you need two of those adjustable legs.  My last table only had one and it was plenty sturdy and 5 foot long.  It will be well secured to the camper, so one leg on the other end should be fine unless the table itself is flexable.  You need to find a camper salvage yard, as those legs are very common on older campers.  We have a local RV store called Palco's that has all that kind of stuff and is very reasonable.  But when he retires, all us local folks will be in trouble as no chain will buy him out.

[Cheryl]

Trying to think outside the box, Have you thought about looking at camera/binocular/telescope TRIPOD LEGS. These are adjustable to height and most pivot and fold. Not sure where you'd find them but thought I would throw this out there!
Hope you find what you want,
Cheryl

[tlhdoc]

Trying to think outside the box, Have you thought about looking at camera/binocular/telescope TRIPOD LEGS. These are adjustable to height and most pivot and fold. Not sure where you'd find them but thought I would throw this out there!
Hope you find what you want,
Cheryl

Wal-Mart or any camera store will have them.

[flyfisherman]

I like Fred's idea of one (adjusting) pole for the center end of the table. Having it so that it could rotate where it attachs to the table would give the option of dropping the pole end to the ground or to the side of the trailer at an angle. The problem, of course, is finding the adjustable pole with the right length. I see in the Cabelas cataloge, for adjustable poles, the shortest being 4'8" - if that's too long I think maybe some of it could be cut off; at $9.99, the price is right -

//www.cabelas.com
(part #HE-51-2285)

Should that not be a workable option, another idea for an adjustable pole would be the rafter poles used on my little Starcraft's awning (telescopic sections). I had to replace a section that got damaged so I know they can be bought by just one or two sections at a time. Here I would think two sections would be more than enough with each setion being about 3' in length. They slide into one another and you twist the section to lock it in place. The problem here is they are more expensive, last I knew at $11.00 apiece. Should this be an interest, I can dig out my old Starcraft invoice and get you a part number.


Fly

[SkipP]

I made a larger table for our stove and used a little different support leg (pics in the Webshots site). The adjustable, aluminum leg was once a crutch that I found in a second-hand store. It's served us well for several seasons now.

[Campaholics]

A friend gave us his old table that hooks on the outside stove bracket.  It has one adustable folding leg.  The leg adjusts in one inch increments, and is often an inch or two short of a level table.  I made a block of 4x4 with 1.5" holes.  The first hole was about 1/4-3/8" deep, on the next face the hole was 1/4" deeper than the first, the next face 1/2" deeper than the first, and the fourth face 3/4" deeper than the first.  The result is I can level the table to within