Can one of you guys with an MPG-181 send me pic's of the bottom of the dinete table.......

marc515

Well-known member
Can one of you guys with an MPG-181 send me pic's of the bottom of the dinete table and the brackets on the wall that hold the table?

Something is weird with our table. We cannot travel with it set or it bounces out of the 2 wall brackets. The only way it will sit flat between the dinette benches is upside down. If we try to stow it flat with the table side up the 2 brackets on the bottom dig into the wall. Can't set up a bed using the dinette table for the same reason.

So some pic's would greatly help me see what's askew with our set up.

Thank you!!!!
 

kb0zke

Well-known member
Brackets on the wall to hold the table? Ours doesn't have anything like that. The table has two folding legs. We've tried traveling with the table set up, and it just bounces all around. We've left it set up, but just put it upside down on the bed, and that works, but putting it upside down at the dinette is the best way for traveling. When the dinette is set up for a bed, the table legs are folded, and the legs are underneath.

I think that the designers intended the table to be stowed collapsed and in the bed position when traveling, although the strap under the table doesn't hold the legs well enough. We generally travel with the table upside down.

I wonder if you can put the brackets toward the front when you are using the dinette as a bed. The little bit of open space around the radius isn't going to make any difference which side of the bed it is on.

We also put some of that rubber shelf liner stuff between the table and the dinette seats when traveling. Just the trip home from the dealer produced some visible wear.
 

marc515

Well-known member
David,

Wow, two folding legs; I think that is a better design than what we have.

We tried putting the end with the brackets towards the inside of the camper, it will not fit that way; I guess that's why the one end has the curve to it.

Our was built in Sept 2010; when was yours built?
 
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kb0zke

Well-known member
Interesting. Ours was built in June, 2010, so ours is newer than yours. I've heard that your table design is the newer plan.
 

marc515

Well-known member
Called Heartland yesterday. They are sending us a 2nd table leg so we can do away with the clips that attach to the wall.

David, Ours was built in September 2010, not 2009 (I revised my post below). While the single leg with the clips on the wall is the newer design, it is not a good design.

The 2 leg setup is a better design than the setup we currently have. The table when set up is uneven, and you can only store it upside down as shown or the two tabs on the end of the table dig into the wall.

DSCF0676.JPG
 
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cookie

Administrator
Staff member
If your tabs are digging into the wall when you travel, how about some sort of protection between them and the wall. Like a piece of cardboard or something of that nature.
We have some things that need to be protected when we travel. Lots of bouncing around back there.

Peace
Dave
 

teragram

Member
I have the same issues with our table, thanks for starting the thread. I'll contact Heartland and get the second legs as well.
 

MMH

Member
On one of the pictures of the trailer that is in the MPG portion of the Heartland RV website, on one of the legs against the wall, at the bottom of the leg, there is some kind of a "boot" that appears to hold the partially folded leg against the wall. Does anyone know what that is? (We have a 2011 181, and the table has a pair of scissor legs that we collapse for traveling so that the table sits across the seats. When we set up the table, using both legs, because of the curve of the wall the table has to stick out beyond the seats.)​
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi MMH,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and Family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.

I'm sure someone with an MPG will jump in soon and help with an answer.

Enjoy the forum and your new toy.

Jim M
 

marc515

Well-known member
On one of the pictures of the trailer that is in the MPG portion of the Heartland RV website, on one of the legs against the wall, at the bottom of the leg, there is some kind of a "boot" that appears to hold the partially folded leg against the wall. Does anyone know what that is? (We have a 2011 181, and the table has a pair of scissor legs that we collapse for traveling so that the table sits across the seats. When we set up the table, using both legs, because of the curve of the wall the table has to stick out beyond the seats.)​

I have the 181, and just attached the 2nd leg that Heartland sent me. I don't have any boot thing? Can you post a picture?

Hopefully someone with a 181 can chime in here.
 

MMH

Member
Marc, for a picture go to the Heartland website (heartlandrvs.com), click on the tab for lightweight trailers, then in the dropdown menu click on MPG. On that page at the top will be a slideshow. Look for the slide that is two after the picture of a bed with a sleeping bag on it. To hold that picture on your screen, drag your cursor onto it. On that picture look at the far left, about one-third of the way up, for what is at the bottom of the left side of the leg that is against the wall. You might be able to get a better view if you copy the picture and paste it into a different application where you can enlarge it. Whatever that thing is, we don't have one either.
 

marc515

Well-known member
Marc, for a picture go to the Heartland website (heartlandrvs.com), click on the tab for lightweight trailers, then in the dropdown menu click on MPG. On that page at the top will be a slideshow. Look for the slide that is two after the picture of a bed with a sleeping bag on it. To hold that picture on your screen, drag your cursor onto it. On that picture look at the far left, about one-third of the way up, for what is at the bottom of the left side of the leg that is against the wall. You might be able to get a better view if you copy the picture and paste it into a different application where you can enlarge it. Whatever that thing is, we don't have one either.

MMH; thank you. I have no idea as to what that thing is either; can any of you other guys provide some insight or a better picture?
 

orfnon

Member
Hello everyone ! I'm new here on the forums, and I picked up a 2011 MPG 181 last Saturday. The first thing I noticed was how far away from the wall that the dinette table sits when it is set up. That was totally unacceptable to me, so I called Heartland and asked how thick the floor was. What I am intending to do is to install a flush mount table pedestal with a 29 1/2 pole with a cone shaped inverted pedestal attached to the table bottom. The same set up as you see on many boat dinettes. I'm going to take the legs off of the table. Now, of course I won't be able to use the table outside of the MPG, but most RV sites have a picnic table at the sites anyway. My table does fit with the top facing up so I can convert it to a bed when necessary. I ordered the parts yesterday. I'll let you know how it turns out after i do the install.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hello everyone ! I'm new here on the forums, and I picked up a 2011 MPG 181 last Saturday. The first thing I noticed was how far away from the wall that the dinette table sits when it is set up. That was totally unacceptable to me, so I called Heartland and asked how thick the floor was. What I am intending to do is to install a flush mount table pedestal with a 29 1/2 pole with a cone shaped inverted pedestal attached to the table bottom. The same set up as you see on many boat dinettes. I'm going to take the legs off of the table. Now, of course I won't be able to use the table outside of the MPG, but most RV sites have a picnic table at the sites anyway. My table does fit with the top facing up so I can convert it to a bed when necessary. I ordered the parts yesterday. I'll let you know how it turns out after i do the install.

Hi orfnon,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed. It sounds like your about to do a mod some of the other MPG owners may be interested in also. If possible take a picture or two and post when you finish up or along the way.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

marc515

Well-known member
Orfnon,.......Welcome to the fold, and congratulations on your new 181. Please post pic's of the table set up, as it sounds like a nice idea. How thick is the floor, and will it adequately support the pedestal?
 

orfnon

Member
I will post pics of the process of installing the flush mount table base and the finished project. The floor according to Heartland is a total of 3 " thick, but we know that sometimes, depending who you talk to at the company, you get different answers. So when I measured the thickness,it looks like I have about 2 3/4 " to play with. The bottom of the recessed flange is suppose to be 1 3/4 in depth, and the hole itself is suppose to be 2 1/4 ". The total diameter of the bottom flange is approx 6". I have not received the parts yet, but I will measure everything when I get them. The total costs for parts and shipping was $33.00.
 

orfnon

Member
I did the install of the recessed table base and table pole today. I am fairly happy with it, and a big improvement over the factory set-up with the two table legs. Still a bit too wobbly for my liking, but I'm working on a fix. The install turned out really nice and I will post a few pics soon. Very easy upgrade,...and relatively inexpensive also. Looks great.
 
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