Bounder: Replacing Seat Pedestal

[nlsjma]

I did something incredibly stupid. In a rush to close my driver side slide, I left my driver's seat back in a reclined position. I didn't notice until the slide was pushing against the seat. (I had my back turned to the slide. I won't do that again.) The seat is okay but the seat pedestal is damaged.

Has anyone replaced their seat pedestal on a Fleetwood Bounder? Is this a difficult thing to do? Any suggestions on a replacement pedestal?

[l1v3fr33ord1]

nlsjma-

If your coach's chair is Flexsteel:

Bauer Upholstery

They reupholster Flexsteel seats. I bet they have a lead on old parts, too.

Used at Bradd and Hall (if they have any)

When you talk with them on the phone, ask about their "universal" pedestal. The way I read the listing, a "universal" would need to be drilled to match the hole pattern that attaches the pedestal to the floor- if it can be drilled, that is. I wouldn't even think about redrilling the floor to match the pedestal on my coach (structure in the way, and access).

eBay

Visone
You'll have to call them.

Coach Supply Direct

Of the above, I only have personal experience with Bradd and Hall.

A decent welding shop might be able to repair the welded base, if that's what's failed. If it's the parts above that (the swivel) you may have more options for parts replacement.

[alank]

It's just a metal post of some sort, take the seat off, unbolt it the post from the floor, then straighten it out, or take it to a welding shop for the job.

[JimmyBounder]

Originally Posted by alank

It's just a metal post of some sort, take the seat off, unbolt it the post from the floor, then straighten it out, or take it to a welding shop for the job.

The seat is held onto the pedestal by 4 bolts and the pedestal is held to the floor with four bolts through the floor and underneath are two pieces of aluminum which act as a washer/reinforcement. There is a set of wires that will need to be disconnected. I am 70 years old and not a mechanic. I removed the passenger seat (held on the same way as the driver seat in my 2008 Bounder 38V Diesel Pusher) to have the passenger bolster reupholstered and the foam rubber base replaced.

I recently removed all the carpet and linoleum and put in Luxury Vinyl Plank floors and they are gorgeous. This required me to remove the seats. When I replaced the driver seat, I drilled new holes 4" back from the original placement so I could turn the seat around when we are parked as you can with the passenger seat. I used the reinforcement aluminum pieces from under my coach as a template for drilling the new set of holes. And yes, I put up a placard saying return seat to forward position before shutting off the engine.

If your seats are in good shape and just need a new pedestal, search the RV graveyards for parts. I am CERTAIN they will have them. The Flexsteel seats are very VERY common!

[HHQ]

Hey, don't feel bad. I have done this twice on my 2018 Fleetwood Bounder 35K. The first time I got it replaced via warranty since I did this within the first year of owning it. The second time, I replaced it. It is not hard to replace. You first need to remove the seat from the pedestal and then unbolt the pedestal. It goes much easier if you have an impact wrench to unbolt. You will need to unbolt it from the underside of the coach since that is where the nuts are located. Remove the four nuts from the bolts and then remove the bolts from the pedestal and it lifts right up. I would recommend using Loctite on the bolts when re-attaching the new pedestal. I have created a label that I put directly under the slide in/out button that says, "Make Sure Seat is Moved in before Closing Slide." That way it reminds me to move the seat in before closing the slide. I also needed to replace the molding because of this. That is not hard to do either.

[HHQ]

One more thing. The bottom bolt pattern for the pedestal is probably about 7 to 7.5 inches apart. You will need to measure the pedestal's height to make sure you order the correct pedestal. The common heights are 5.5, 7, and 10 inches. If your current pedestal is wobbly at the swivel you can't easily fix that, and I wouldn't try. I think that I spent about $150 on my new pedestal. Search on Amazon for "RV seat pedestal". You will see several options. RecPro is a good brand, but I'm sure others would work as well.