Wall Mount Picnic Table Review

My neighbours (a.k.a. Pal) have one and they have been using it all the times..

It then occurred to me that perhaps having only the big table it was not going to be always convenient to use especially when you have short stops on the road for either lunch or just to discuss the next location with your travelling companion while sipping a cup of tea on the side of the road. Funnily enough, none of these situations has or does apply to me yet, but as Ali says all the times, it is “just in case”…

So, why did you buy one, I hear you asking..  Well… It is what I called “peer pressure” 😂

Now, to the serious stuff… There are several brands of these tables and also different size and colours and more importantly different prices….

The most common one is the 800 x 450 in size, but then again it does come also sell in 805 x 435 or 800 x 445 or 600 x 450 and like in my case you can also get the 1000 x 450. When you look at the pictures they all look the same but if you already have other things on the wall (power points, indicators, plugs, mud guards) it pays to pay attention to the specific size you need..

You can see the two 50mm inner and outer frames

You also have option like lights and backing plate. All the backing plate is/does, is to cover the screws or rivets used during the installation of the table to the wall. It serve no other purpose. In some case, like when you have different colours behind the table, it does look better with the back plate. The back plate is normally made of thin aluminium and it need to be glue in place to stay there…

As far as lights, if you already have external lights, then you may don’t need it. It is always best to avoid unnecessary holes in the body if possible…

There is no much point in mentioning the brand as while the brand does change, it seems that the tables are all very similar in either quality of specs..

There are two option as far as locking mechanism.. Standard knob/lever or key lock. It goes without saying that the ones with the key lock do vary a bit in design and do cost a bit more… Prices do vary starting from around $150 all the way up to the $400 dollar mark…

Half width frame table

 They all seems to operate the same way as in there are two hinges that have to hold the table open but there are however variation between table carrying capacity going from 15kg up to 30kg.

Now I don’t want to break your bubble of hope, but I wouldn’t try to put 30kg on those tiny little rivets holding the hinges in place.. I think the manufacturer have been very optimistic as far as the carrying capacity… Most table will perform well within the 10-15kg of weight.

After that,you are on thin ice… That’s is off course my opinion.

Finally, and this is one thing that you will  need to remember… Lets take my table for example. It did say that it is 1000 x 450 but as you can see from the picture it has two separate frames and they both are 50mm wide. So, in my case the actual usable surface is 900 x 350..

Some table have only one frame (actually is half and half) and in that case if the original sold size was 800 x 450 what you are really getting is a usable 750 x 400 size table. You are only loosing 50mm instead of 100mm.

So again,keep this in mind if you have large objects or dishes that you need to use on these tables…

As mentioned in the beginning there are two option as far as colours concern. White or black as these two do cover 100% of the primary colours used in caravan these days.. Either colour, the paint is good and it should last the lifetime of the table.. You don’t need to cut into the RV to install these tables and because of what they are made, they are not really recommended for a stove cooker as it would get too hot for the aluminium base… I said aluminium because I would avoid the plastic table available in some store at all costs…