Second Use Your Noodle
Here is a DIY RV technique to help you secure your free-standing dinette chairs so they remain place and don’t collide with anything while you’re driving.
We just purchased a fifth wheel with a dinette and free-standing seats.
The previous owner (the vehicle is three years old) claimed to have little used it and to have never even seen any chair tie-down straps.
Some RVers fail to fasten their dining room chairs.
Others say that chairs left outside after a panic halt or accident caused damage.
We decided to err on the side of caution.
We thought about how we might utilize the noodles to address this issue after using them to create padding for the RV cover.
What we came up with is shown in the images:
Making ensuring that the chair legs were free of the wall and the sofa, we leaned the chairs into the table until their backs touched the edge.
The noodles we used had a diameter of around 3 inches and a length of about 52 inches.
Two noodles were utilized.
In order to get to the central hole, we first cut each one lengthwise through one side.
Then, we divided each of them into four pieces measuring 13 inches.
As seen, the pieces may now be slid over the chair backs’ outside stiles to create a cushion between the table and the chairs.
We discussed using nylon strapping, rope, and bungee cords to keep things in place while traveling.
Velcro One-Wrap strapping is what we ultimately chose, and it works well.
No knots, hooks, clips, or buckles are required since this material securely adheres to itself.
For storage in between travels, it may be removed with ease and wrapped around the noodle pieces.
We purchased two 12 foot rolls that are 3/4 inch wide.
The ribbon that holds each set of seats in opposition together is about nine feet long.
The drawing makes an effort to depict everything from the top of the table.
You can see how the red Velcro strap wraps around the chairs’ backs before passing below the table and around the central pedestal.
For clarity, I only shown one strap for the second set of seats.
The Velcro strapping has a fluffy and plush side.
To prevent the surfaces from being scratched, we advise you to place that side in touch with the table and chairs.
The final shot demonstrates how attaching a brief strap to the top of each pair of chairs makes everything very solid and safe.
Other methods of securing dinette chairs exist, but some RVers choose not to use them (sometimes to their regret).
We made the decision to do it, and we needed a solution that would be effective, affordable, and comparatively simple to use.
Putting the straps on requires a little bit of crawling beneath the table, but it’s not really difficult.
However, I’m adding this part on a product I recently came across: the Chair Buddy from MORryde, in case you’re interested in looking at other methods of securing your RV chairs.
Sincerely, I haven’t tested it yet, but it seems to work well, has positive ratings, and would undoubtedly be faster to fasten the chairs than using Velcro straps and noodles.
I’m not sure whether it would be more efficient, but it would be more practical and there would be no problems about where to keep the noodles and straps.
Given the near proximity of the table and chairs in our arrangement, my main worry would be the potential for slamming a knee into the machinery.
When not in use, the hold-down bars fold up against the underside of the table, and the bracket is mounted to the center post of the table.
If you want to learn more, visit the MORryde website.
Alternatively, click this link to visit the Chair Buddy product page on Amazon [affiliate link], where you can read reviews and even place an order if you like what you see.
So far, we have utilized pool noodles to protect slide-out corners, provide padding for an RV cover (post is here), aid fasten chairs for travel (post is here), and assist with refrigerator winterization (post is here).
These foam noodles could soon join duct tape in the “don’t leave house without it” category, I’m starting to think.
We’d love to know how you pack your belongings securely.
What has been effective? What remained? Submit a comment
