Community Forums

sfjf · 10-04-2022, 04:33 PM

I'm considering a used Tiffin 31SA or 32SA (2013-2016 +/-) and would appreciate input regarding the quality of Tiffin faux leather upholstery fabric. Many of the rigs I've seen online show fabric that looks very worn, wrinkled, and/or generally not in good shape, where similar rigs of the same year/mileage show upholstery that appears to be in great shape.

Hoping to hear from Tiffin owners as to what they've experienced re fabric quality, durability, longevity. I suspect one explanation may be that Tiffin offered different grade levels of upholstery to meet original price points. Thanks for any and all input offered.

weighit · 10-04-2022, 05:30 PM

To me if your looking at that year range, just plan on setting aside an amount of cash to either replace the actual furniture and seats, or plan to have them recovered. I had a 2013 34 RED and had to do that, and so far with the 2016 Bus i have now I can see the front seats are starting to fail. So probaby next year they will be addressed, either recovered or replaced?

l1v3fr33ord1 · 10-04-2022, 05:58 PM

sfjf-

No experience with Tiffin, so I can't help there.

By my reading, many different motorhomes made between 2009 and 2019 have had this problem. Here's a current thread on it and some of the fixes:

Flexsteel furniture delaminating!

I had a 2008 HR Admiral 30PDD, a "twin" to your 2006 Safari Simba. The vinyl upholstery was fine (pre-2009). I did, though, change the captain's chairs out for more comfortable ones by Bradd and Hall. With shipping they cost $1,740 each.

So, if you recover (Bauer RV Upholstery) the cost is ?? and if you replace expect to spend $3,000 to $5,000 dollars for captain's chairs plus a couch.

Rich and Cork · 10-04-2022, 06:14 PM

Our 2014 Phaeton has no issues. We have what I would call a dark tan materiel. I was in a campground a couple of weeks ago and a guy with a 2015 showed me how bad his was; and it was aweful. His was a light color. My guess is that if you are looking at a coach in the noted year range, the problems would be obvious.

**Lt Dan** · 10-04-2022, 07:05 PM

We have no issues with our 2017 Phaeton after 5+ years and 49,000 miles. Here is another thread about the Flexsteel furniture issue. The most affected years seem to be the ones you are looking at 2013-2016. It's not just Tiffin with issues, there are lots of threads on the Newmar and Entegra forums about the same thing.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f106/fle...ng-594964.html

vettenuts · 10-04-2022, 07:40 PM

If you find a well maintained coach you like and the price is right, I wouldn’t let the furniture be a show stopper. Use it as a bargaining tool and then when you have an issue, call Lisa Bauer (see my post in thread referenced above). Note that if Tiffin provides replacement material, it’s the same as the original.

sfjf · 10-05-2022, 02:33 PM

Thanks to all who commented. It's discouraging to hear that so many have had or know about worn upholstery experiences, especially with Tiffins and Newmars, but I'm not surprised. Our '06 Simba has vinyl captain chairs that are still in good condition, and the dual Lambright recliner we installed several years ago has a good quality cloth fabric that has also held up well. Vinyl's not fancy, but it sure has held up. As suggested, it sounds like pursuing any new RV purchase will need to involve negotiation related to inevitable fabric and/or furniture upgrades.

Aside from being noisy on climbs, which I've been able to mitigate slightly, our Safari Simba has overall been pretty solid and reliable. Since we've customized, updated, and remodeled the interior, I'll probably hang onto it for a while longer.

Thanks again for all of your comments, they are appreciated and very helpful.

Hpozzuoli · 10-05-2022, 03:10 PM

I have a 2012 32’ Tiffin Breeze. Both my captains chairs and my dinette were starting to flake when I bought the coach. After a year it was aggravating me enough to contact Tiffin. They graciously sent new skins to replace everything. Even sent me an entire custom made dinette on 2 pallets because they don’t re-skin those. Everything was free of charge.

The downside was the time it took to get everything. It took about 6-8months for the dinette to show up. The captains chairs and couch skins took about 3months. In the interim I had some of the dinette cushions recovered locally. I kept those as spares once the new dinette came.

Sadly Tiffin stopped covering the cost of the replacement skins. They are still available, but must be purchased. I wouldn’t let flaking leather stop you from making a purchase. It’s a good negotiating point, but not deal breaker.

***seems like I just repeated everyone else. I need to read all the replies from now on.

Rich and Cork · 10-05-2022, 06:05 PM

Actually it is sad that the manufacturer of the fabric is not covering the cost of repair. It was not a Tiffin problem.

SamKVA · 10-05-2022, 07:44 PM

Are these problems before or after the transition to "Ultraleather"?

Sam

DRM901 · 10-05-2022, 10:24 PM

I believe the issue is associated with non-ultra-leather. Our 2014 Allegro Bus furniture is fine.

tjvogtiii · 10-06-2022, 08:35 AM

Wish you posted this a month ago. I just sold my 2016 31SA 31000 miles. The furniture was completely re done last year in Red Bay. Fantastic Job! I would of given you a great deal for MY BABY to have a good home.

PD Monkey · 10-06-2022, 10:03 AM

We recently purchased a low mileage 2015 32SA. There was 1 little spot on the passengers captain chair that was showing signs of cracking. Now that we have had the coach for around 9 months and use it a lot, the drivers chair seat is getting bad, passenger seat is getting worst and the couch is starting to crack. FWIW it s the light color. Not a deal breaker from us but it will have to be addressed at some point.

bradvoorhees · 10-07-2022, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfjf

I'm considering a used Tiffin 31SA or 32SA (2013-2016 +/-) and would appreciate input regarding the quality of Tiffin faux leather upholstery fabric. Many of the rigs I've seen online show fabric that looks very worn, wrinkled, and/or generally not in good shape, where similar rigs of the same year/mileage show upholstery that appears to be in great shape.

Hoping to hear from Tiffin owners as to what they've experienced re fabric quality, durability, longevity. I suspect one explanation may be that Tiffin offered different grade levels of upholstery to meet original price points. Thanks for any and all input offered.

A lot of people who bought coaches in 2015 have had peeling issues with fabric , I’m not sure about Tiffin but a host of other brands have had this issue.