Leather Furniture Delamination

[EVO-Bob]

We just purchased a used 2014 Allegro RED that is in otherwise great condition. It has the problem that others have mentioned with the Flexsteel dinette where the leather is delaminating from some surfaces, leaving only the white substrate exposed. We have seen this same thing happen on at least 2 other models of REDs, 2014 and 2015, that we recently looked at prior to purchase.

I have read that this may be covered under the original warranty for purchasers of new units, and it has to be taken back to Red Bay. Does anyone have experience trying to get dinette cushions replaced on slightly used pre-owned units? Also, has anyone been able to repair this type of wear, such as coloring with a leather stain or upholstery repair kit?

[mel s]

Originally Posted by EVO-Bob

We just purchased a used 2014 Allegro RED that is in otherwise great condition. It has the problem that others have mentioned with the Flexsteel dinette where the leather is delaminating from some surfaces, leaving only the white substrate exposed. We have seen this same thing happen on at least 2 other models of REDs, 2014 and 2015, that we recently looked at prior to purchase.
I have read that this may be covered under the original warranty for purchasers of new units, and it has to be taken back to Red Bay. Does anyone have experience trying to get dinette cushions replaced on slightly used pre-owned units? Also, has anyone been able to repair this type of wear, such as coloring with a leather stain or upholstery repair kit?

EVO-Bob
1.) I very much doubt that the Flexsteel dinette in any Allegro is upholstered with "leather".
2.) Any upholstery shop should have no problem recovering the dinette with whatever fabric, simulated leather or leather you choose.

Google "upholstery shops" to find some near you.

Mel
'96 Safari

[bobbiker]

I have a 2015 37PA Red purchased in October 2015. The Halo Leatherette had the same problem and was replaced on my driver & passenger chairs this month under warranty by Tiffin. You will have to have this done at a Tiffin dealer to be covered. I would contact Tiffin factory and explain your issue..which Tiffin is very much aware of and has replaced in 100's of their RVs. If you have any problems, like you have to drive to Red Bay, be polite and ask to talk with Bob Tiffin, yes The Bob Tiffin, he will talk to you, believe or not. Be cordial and I'm sure he will be able to help you. He is one of a kind CEO! All the best!

[BillL]

Ditto so on contacting Red Bay. Our '14 open Road had to have every piece of furniture recovered. Tiffin and our excellent dealer took care of it with very little hassle.

[EVO-Bob]

You all talk about going back to the dealer. I have no dealer, mine was a private purchase of a used coach. Do any of you have experience contacting Tiffin under those circumstances?

[mel s]

Originally Posted by EVO-Bob

You all talk about going back to the dealer. I have no dealer, mine was a private purchase of a used coach. Do any of you have experience contacting Tiffin under those circumstances?

I suggest you contact Tiffin and see what they can, or will, do about your dinette problem.
Contact | Tiffin Motorhomes

[cj23andout]

We purchased our MH new but it was out of warranty when the peeling started.

Interesting enough, this happened on our 2013 built in April/May, 2013.

We first noted it in Fall 2014. At this time, it had just started on the seams. I thought it might be the kids or the dog but still thought it was odd and should't happen to an almost new coach.

My first call to Tiffin, they advised that the warranty had lapsed.

After last summer, it started peeling on the flat surfaces and surfaces that received little to no wear.

On my second call to Tiffin, I asked them politely if they could not fix it to please give me the name of their supplier. I felt that it was defective and clearly should last much longer based on its intended use. I wanted to give their supplier a chance to make it right if Tiffin couldn't.

Tiffin requested photos of all the effected areas. Our front seats were still good. The dinette had the peeling on every surface. The Euro-recliner was peeling too.

Tiffin agreed to ship an entire set of dinette benches to me and I installed them. They did offer to pay someone local, but I am in "nowhere land" as far as RV dealers with good service goes.

The removal and install took me two days in my spare time. I think it could be done in 4 hours working nonstop with some assistance.

Tiffin advised that they did not carry the Euro recliner any more and they would replace it with an upgraded version for an additional $300. We still have not made up our mind on that? We're leaning to finding something else to put in that spot. We use that space for the dog's kennel on long trips anyway.

[bonabob]

And I thought it was Damon/Thor that only had this problem. My 2009 Damon Challenger had the exact same problem after 2 years of service and only 6,000 miles driven. It became a big issue as it turned out that Thor/Damon supplied the material to Flex Steel who upholstered the seats (2 couches, driver and passenger seats.) Flex Steel washed their hands of the whole problem because they stated Damon supplied the faulty material. Damon said it was out of warranty. That sent me on a campaign to expose what had happened. You can check out this forum (deteriorating leather seats) to see how many of us got involved. Then they sent me the skins to install myself. However, the issue became more known throughout the RV business, so they decided to pay for the installation. I never thought that Tiffin would do the same thing. I sure hope my 2013 36LA doesn't experience the same thing. I hate the thought of starting up another campaign with a different manufacturer.
My advice to anyone experiencing this is to fight tooth and nail to the finish. This is not acceptable and the manufacturers know it. They chose to use a faulty product produced in the factories of China to meet their bottom line. Good quality and proven material was available at the same time as the cheap faulty product, but the RV manufacturers chose to go cheap. And this didn't just happen in the less expensive models, it took place in the high end Diesel Pushers as well.

[dogs162910]

I had the same problem in my 2014 Allegro Red that I purchased from a private individual. I called Tiffin, they shipped a new dinette set directly to my house and I installed it myself. Took about an hour to do it.

[bruce91]

Originally Posted by bonabob

And I thought it was Damon/Thor that only had this problem. My 2009 Damon Challenger had the exact same problem after 2 years of service and only 6,000 miles driven. It became a big issue as it turned out that Thor/Damon supplied the material to Flex Steel who upholstered the seats (2 couches, driver and passenger seats.) Flex Steel washed their hands of the whole problem because they stated Damon supplied the faulty material. Damon said it was out of warranty. That sent me on a campaign to expose what had happened. You can check out this forum (deteriorating leather seats) to see how many of us got involved. Then they sent me the skins to install myself. However, the issue became more known throughout the RV business, so they decided to pay for the installation. I never thought that Tiffin would do the same thing. I sure hope my 2013 36LA doesn't experience the same thing. I hate the thought of starting up another campaign with a different manufacturer.
My advice to anyone experiencing this is to fight tooth and nail to the finish. This is not acceptable and the manufacturers know it. They chose to use a faulty product produced in the factories of China to meet their bottom line. Good quality and proven material was available at the same time as the cheap faulty product, but the RV manufacturers chose to go cheap. And this didn't just happen in the less expensive models, it took place in the high end Diesel Pushers as well.

After reading these posters I'm not going to the dealer, a small family RV dealer who buys and resells who i purchased our 2009 thor Magellan from to say their detailers did something to make all the leatherette delaminate. They may have contributed to its acceleration of a faulty product.

Our new to us MH had 24,000 miles on it and the couch, recliner and both driver and passenger chairs had minor normal wear use at purchase, Non of the severe delimitation or indication of such.

We just finished our first trip of about 1,000 miles and the leatherette is comming off in 6" chunks on the sofa and see indications of the chairs doing the same. Not an expense in the budget right now after fitting out the coach and DW having to get all the odds n ends to match that is different from the coach we traded in.

There is a RV remodeler called "classic coach works" very close to me in Ormond Beach Fl. that i will see to get some options and estimate for recovering.

I will call Thor to see what they have to say but doubt they will offer much as I am the second owner of a 8 year old coach.

Bottom line is everything else in the coach works fine, we LOVE the floor plan and will be keeping it for a long time.

[DRosado]

I am working this issue with Tiffin 2on our 015 36LA now. Our recliner started pealing. The first offer was that they no longer have the recliner so we would have to pay $380 - $450 to upgrade to the recliners they have now. Then they said they would give us $200 towards the purchase of a recliner from another source. I couldn't find one to match for less that $430. Now they said they would reimburse up to $400, but now the recliner I was looking at is no longer available. I asked if they could just send me the material and for them to reimburse me the cost to have it reupholstered. That was 3 or 4 weeks ago and I have still not heard back. In the meantime, the dinette has started pealing. Not a happy camper right now. Tiffin has always been so responsive to us, so now I am a little shocked at their lack of response. Getting ready to place that call to Bob Tiffin.

[EVO-Bob]

Originally Posted by dogs162910

I had the same problem in my 2014 Allegro Red that I purchased from a private individual. I called Tiffin, they shipped a new dinette set directly to my house and I installed it myself. Took about an hour to do it.

Since I wrote about this in the spring, we took possession of the MH and found out that the previous owner got a letter from Bob Tiffin himself saying they would make good on replacing the dinette. The only problem is that they'd like us to go to Alabama to have it done, and we live in the northeast. I'd like to find out what's involved in replacing the dinette myself. I know you said it was easy. I might try to have them ship the parts to me if it sounds easy enough. Thanks!

[EVO-Bob]

Thank you Tiffin Motorhomes! We finally realized that we would not be able to make it to Alabama in the next year to get the replacement dinette, so we asked Tiffin if they would ship the dinette to us for us to install at our expense. There was no problem and we received it quickly. Our local Tiffin dealer service charged us for 3 hours installation - no big deal compared to driving to AL.

Our only comment is that the leather is a slightly different color than the original, more brown and leatherlike. We actually like it better, but it doesn't match perfectly with the original upholstery on the sofa and front seats.

[bonabob]

I just want to clear some things up. After all the research I and many others did on this issue, this is what we found. The defective material which is not leather, they have a million names for it now, but not genuine leather, became defective because of the glue they used to bond the the finishing material to the backing material. For those who have genuine leather, which is really rare, know that the leather must be kept in dry cool places to keep its beauty. How many times have we seen some older cars with genuine leather interiors (Ricardo Montalban's Corinthian Leather) cracking and shredding from the heat and the green house effect. Some people in Florida put their leather furniture in storage only to find it all shriveled up when they take it out. The new materials used are bonded material where the backing has stretch to it. However that requires a process of gluing the two materials. When our RV's are not used they to experience the green house effect and get very hot, then cool down when we use them. The contraction and expansion can cause the glue of some manufacturers to release causing the deterioration of the finish material. There are many proven products that have passed the test of time. However in this ever changing world, manufacturers are eager to try new products, especially if it drives down the bottom line. We, the consumer become the test pilots of these new materials and sometimes pay a heavy price, especially if the manufacturer does not stand behind their product. We now live in a world of synthetics, bonded leather, faux leather, microfiber leather and the list goes on. Hopefully the RV industry looks to using a quality product that lasts a long time, not just one that fits their bottom line. Also a good manufacturer should stand behind the product they use. If products fail at a very low rate, that is one thing, but when a good batch of their products fail and they can see that by verifying the product with serial numbers and Vin numbers, they should do whatever it takes to correct it. My son owns a 2002 VW Golf that had the whole interior replaced 2 years ago because of a recall on the material used on that particular model. It was well out of warranty, but VW is a company that protects its reputation.
The bottom line is that we as consumers must do our best to hold these companies to the fire when it comes to these matters for the sake of their reputation which is really the bottom line for their future sales.
So my advice is do whatever you can by grouping people with the same problem to approach these manufacturers and let them know their reputation is on the line as you are making this public through forums like this one. However if you have to make these repairs yourself, make sure you use proven materials, even if it costs a little more, because the labor is the same for cheap material or good material.
Hope this helps,
Bob