Slip-Sliding Away - RV Enthusiast Magazine

Slip-Sliding Away

by | Oct 27, 2023 | Pro Tip, RVEXPERT

a man pushes an RV kitchen chair into its place under a table
Photos by author
When the dinette chairs moved freely and banged around while on the road, it was time to seek a simple solution without complicated modifications and breaking the bank.

Free-standing dining tables and chairs offer a lot of versatility when it comes to dining and/or using the space in your RV as a mobile office. Seems like a no-brainer arrangement, since just about every stationary home has this type of configuration — but stationary homes don’t move. Chairs that merrily bounce around while your RV is plying the highway are subject to scrapes, cuts and general damage, and the adjacent structures also take some of the brunt.

In my fifth wheel, the chairs were “secured” for travel by two D-rings barely screwed into the floor and a couple of generic straps. The straps prevented the chairs from moving up and down, but the chairs still rubbed against the galley island and themselves. It didn’t take long for ugly wear marks to become obvious.

close view of the original chair tiedowns; a jumbled mess of two nylon straps loosely wrapped around the chair legs and connected to two D-rings screwed to the floor
The original chair tie-downs were comprised of a jumbled mess of two nylon straps that loosely wrapped around the chairs and connected to a couple of D-rings barely screwed to the floor (with only one screw).
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top view of two 32.2-foot rolls of 1-inch, nylon, hook-and-loop strapping material, forty metal buckle rings and the Jumpso-branded kit instructions organized
A pair of 32.2-foot rolls of 1-inch, nylon, hook-and-loop strapping material were provided in the Jumpso-branded kit, purchased on Amazon for $9.95. Forty metal buckles (rings) were also provided.

I even tried wedging a couple of pillows between the chairs, but they fell to the floor once the gap between the two chairs widened. A new method was sorely needed — one that was not going to take a long time to set-up before and after every trip. The solution developed in my mind after discovering 1-inch nylon hook-and-loop strapping material and metal rings to allow the straps to reverse back and “stick” to themselves. I purchased “Jumpso 2 Rolls 32.2 Ft. Straps 1-Inch Wide With 40 Metal Buckles” on Amazon for $9.95 — which gave me plenty of material to make custom-length straps.

I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the straps at first, but the purchase would not go to waste; these straps could be cut to control water hoses, electric cords, extension cords — even my yoga mat. After some pondering (read, empty stares at the chairs looking for solutions), I decided to mount a bracket on the wall at the same level as one of the chair’s leg cross members (centered). The stainless-steel bracket is called a Footman Loop and is commonly used for bimini tops (boats) and even for battery hold-down straps. It’s also available on Amazon ($7.59, “DGHAOP Footman Loop 2 Pcs 70mm”).

top view of two 32.2-foot rolls of 1-inch, nylon, hook-and-loop strapping material, forty metal buckle rings and the Jumpso-branded kit instructions organized
A pair of 32.2-foot rolls of 1-inch, nylon, hook-and-loop strapping material was provided in the Jumpso-branded kit, purchased on Amazon for $9.95. Forty metal buckles (rings) were also provided.
I even tried wedging a couple of pillows between the chairs, but they fell to the floor once the gap between the two chairs widened. A new method was sorely needed — one that was not going to take a long time to set-up before and after every trip. The solution developed in my mind after discovering 1-inch nylon hook-and-loop strapping material and metal rings to allow the straps to reverse back and “stick” to themselves. I purchased “Jumpso 2 Rolls 32.2 Ft. Straps 1-Inch Wide With 40 Metal Buckles” on Amazon for $9.95 — which gave me plenty of material to make custom-length straps.

I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the straps at first, but the purchase would not go to waste; these straps could be cut to control water hoses, electric cords, extension cords — even my yoga mat. After some pondering (read, empty stares at the chairs looking for solutions), I decided to mount a bracket on the wall at the same level as one of the chair’s leg cross members (centered). The stainless-steel bracket is called a Footman Loop and is commonly used for bimini tops (boats) and even for battery hold-down straps. It’s also available on Amazon ($7.59, “DGHAOP Footman Loop 2 Pcs 70mm”).

top view of a hand holding scissors and cutting a strap piece from one of the 32.2-foot nylon rolls
top view of the cut strap piece threaded through a metal buckle ring

Straps can be cut to any size with scissors. Allow for additional strap length for looping back through the buckles when measuring for any project. You get 40 buckles, so don’t worry about running out.

3 or 4 inches of strap end are folded over to fasten the buckle to the strap

It’s only necessary to allow 3 or 4 inches of strap to make a strong connection to the buckle. If you need more holding power, just make the overlap section longer.

Straps can be cut to any size with scissors. Allow for additional strap length for looping back through the buckles when measuring for any project. You get 40 buckles, so don’t worry about running out.
It’s only necessary to allow 3 or 4 inches of strap to make a strong connection to the buckle. If you need more holding power, just make the overlap section longer.
a Footman Loop is mounted on the wall at the same height as the chair-leg cross members
view of the nylon strap fitting well on the 70mm width Footman Loop
A Footman Loop was mounted on the wall at the same height as the chair-leg cross members and when tested for strength, it passed with flying colors. The 70mm width was almost a perfect fit for the 1-inch strap.
The next step was to modify a pool noodle to make homemade chair-leg and back protectors. Cutting the pool noodle is not exactly rocket science, but it takes time to mark straight lines and cut with a sharp knife (a serrated knife also glides through the foam smoothly). Just make sure the blade is long enough to cut all the way to the center opening in the swim noodle. Once the slots are cut and the swim noodles sized for use, it’s just a matter of slipping them over the chair legs. You can also use hook-and-loop straps to hold the swim noodles in place more securely, which I did.
a sharpie is used to mark the horizontal cut location on a bright blue swim noodle held the length of a chair leg, below it's rung
One swim noodle, purchased at an RV park, was long enough to make the necessary pieces of foam to protect the chairs.
a bright blue swim noodle piece, cut to the proper length is then cut down the middle to make a slit opening
After cutting the swim noodle sections to the needed lengths, the foam was cut down the middle to make a slit opening. Make sure you use a sharp knife, or in this case a serrated knife, long enough to reach the center section.
The rest of the job entailed placing the two chairs in their travel positions and locating the swim noodles. As it turned out, I only needed three pieces; two were placed on one leg and the back on the chair as it’s positioned against the wall, while the third swim noodle was put on the side of the other chair back. This made it possible to position the chairs against each other tightly and prevent rubbing that would lead to damage. Of course, dinette chairs in other RVs will likely be a little bit different, so plan the use of swim noodles accordingly.
nylon straps hold the trimmed swim noodle piece securely to an RV dinette chair
close view of a nylon strap with a buckle ring holding a swim noodle piece snugly to a dinette chair back
As it turned out, I only needed three lengths of swim noodle to cover one leg of the chair against the wall and one on each chair back. Although it was not necessary, I chose to cut additional lengths of the hook-and-loop material to make straps that secured the swim noodles to the chairs. It also gave my seat-of-the-pants system a professional appearance.
strapping material is unrolled and wrapped around the cross members of each chair to determine the right length for holding
The strapping material was unrolled and wrapped around the cross members of each chair to determine the right length for holding the chairs in place while traveling.
When it’s time to head out to my next destination, the swim noodles will be attached and the chairs positioned next to each other, with one against the wall. The hook-and-loop straps were measured and cut, so they are always ready to go. For my set-up, the strap was routed through the Footman Loop on the wall and around the leg cross members on both chairs, then tightened and the end “stuck” to the opposite side of the hook-and-loop material. When strapped down, the chairs could not be moved in any direction.
two RV dinette chairs with blue swim noodle pieces protecting the areas where they touch are also secured to the RV wall by a single strap fastened to the Footman Loop
A single strap was needed to keep both chairs from moving. It was looped around the Footman Loop first and then around each chair-leg cross member, then the strap was pulled snug and attached to itself.

Satisfied that the chairs were firmly in place, I looked at other uses for the long length of leftover strapping material and rings. I cut various lengths of the hook-and-loop strap and used the pieces to secure the aforementioned electrical cords, hoses and yoga mat. To my surprise, the holding power of the strap was better than expected — and when it held the heavy 50-amp power cord without opening, I was sold.

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