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05-17-2012, 09:15 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central Ohio (Columbus)
Posts: 674
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Ultra Leather/ Faux Leather: delaminating
Lurking over at the Damon thread I picked up that there are very unhappy owners regarding seating material in their RVs falling apart after a short time.
Some of the coaches are nearly new others a few years old but the problem is the same, the leatherette material (vinyl) is coming apart. Some describe it as flaking off at wear points. Makes a mess I gather and cannot be repaired. There is some argument as to care and if any kind of crčme or product will extend the life of the plastic. Most think not but a few think it will. General consensess is that the glue is failing causing the vinyl to fall off.
Disturbing reports of Thor refusing to stand behind the problem also. For the first two years they will send new coverings but won’t pay the cost of recovering the seats. Flexsteel (?) the manufacturer of the seat won’t help because they say Thor provided the material for the seats.
My 2011 has seating material called Ultra-Leather. It looks just like the Damon folks are describing and it seems identical to the photos I see of Damon products (including their high end Tuscany Coach line) like captain’s chairs and couches.
My Encounter has this material on the driver, passenger and couch seating. So far, (but I have not closely inspected them), I don't see any damage. I'll be at the coach next week and will look closely at all the seats.
Any other coachmen owners discover a problem with their leatherette?
Roll
__________________
2011 Coachmen Encounter 37TZ Ford F-53,BluOx/Patriot.Toad:2018 Wrangler Unltd Sahara. Invert-4/6Vbatts-SolarChg-AutoTransSw-WG traveler-HDMICbls-SafeTPlus-track bar-Awnings-GenAutoSt-CHF-pwr cord storage sys-Garmin-outsideHDTV, LED interior lighting, Brazels tuning.
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05-17-2012, 10:18 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 1,489
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I have had the problem. My Sportscoach has ultraleather seating. One of the armrests on the passsenger captains chair started peeling near the seam. I think something got dragged across that, or when the chair was spun it went under the side table.
My seating was made by Williamsburg Furniture Inc. in Elkhart, Indiana. I contacted Coachmen and they were able to order me replacement arm covers for $30 each. I ordered a complete set, just in case. I also took one to a local upholsterer and am having another set made in vinyl to match. My actual seating materials (on the seat portion) looks and feels sturdier than what is on the armrest.
I spoke with a Whitney Culp at Williamsburg Furniture. Her email is wbf.service@yahoo.com.
__________________
Mark Anderson - FMCA 351514 - NRVIA Certified Level 2 Inspector
Louisville, KY
2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40QTH
2006 Jeep Commander
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05-17-2012, 10:31 AM
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,943
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You guys just figuring out that Ultra Leather isn't leather?
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05-17-2012, 10:36 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 1,489
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I went back and read through that Damon thread. I can tell you for sure that my seats are not Flexsteel, in fact I have the Williamsburg tag I pulled from under the driver's seat right here in front of me.
Now, that doesn't mean they didn't use the same type of material, at least I hope not because EVERYTHING in my coach is the same material (couch, dinette, captains chairs....).
__________________
Mark Anderson - FMCA 351514 - NRVIA Certified Level 2 Inspector
Louisville, KY
2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40QTH
2006 Jeep Commander
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05-17-2012, 10:46 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central Ohio (Columbus)
Posts: 674
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perry White
You guys just figuring out that Ultra Leather isn't leather?
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Ultra leather is just a product name. Only the walking dead would confuse it with real leather.
__________________
2011 Coachmen Encounter 37TZ Ford F-53,BluOx/Patriot.Toad:2018 Wrangler Unltd Sahara. Invert-4/6Vbatts-SolarChg-AutoTransSw-WG traveler-HDMICbls-SafeTPlus-track bar-Awnings-GenAutoSt-CHF-pwr cord storage sys-Garmin-outsideHDTV, LED interior lighting, Brazels tuning.
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05-17-2012, 10:53 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central Ohio (Columbus)
Posts: 674
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Quote:
Originally Posted by topdownman
Now, that doesn't mean they didn't use the same type of material, at least I hope not because EVERYTHING in my coach is the same material (couch, dinette, captains chairs....). 
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That, is the problem. I am in the same boat.
I thought the moment I looked at the driver and passenger seats that they had used the cheapest material known to mankind. Still I didn't know there was an issue with the material, I thought the problem was mostly atheistic.
I can only hope that all “Ultra Leather” material is not bad. Maybe, by 2011, they corrected the adhesive problem. I hope so. If not, I want it to fall apart immediately so I can pursue a solution while they might still be inclined to provide some service.
Roll
__________________
2011 Coachmen Encounter 37TZ Ford F-53,BluOx/Patriot.Toad:2018 Wrangler Unltd Sahara. Invert-4/6Vbatts-SolarChg-AutoTransSw-WG traveler-HDMICbls-SafeTPlus-track bar-Awnings-GenAutoSt-CHF-pwr cord storage sys-Garmin-outsideHDTV, LED interior lighting, Brazels tuning.
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05-17-2012, 11:15 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 1,489
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roll
That, is the problem. I am in the same boat.
I can only hope that all “Ultra Leather” material is not bad. Maybe, by 2011, they corrected the adhesive problem. I hope so. If not, I want it to fall apart immediately so I can pursue a solution while they might still be inclined to provide some service.
Roll
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Interestingly, the problem I had was on the upper surface of the captain chair arms. The side portion of those appears to be a different, heavier, material, much like the seat bottoms. That makes no sense but there's definitely a difference.
I have already replaced the cover on one armrest, and the drivers left looks like it's about to go.
__________________
Mark Anderson - FMCA 351514 - NRVIA Certified Level 2 Inspector
Louisville, KY
2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40QTH
2006 Jeep Commander
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05-17-2012, 11:23 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,305
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Ultraleather is a brand name for a line of urethane finished upholstery materials. Within any company's product line some items are usually more expensive than others. I know this is true for Ultraleather. Sometimes the difference in price is related to improved durability and sometimes it is related to touch, feel, colors, etc. I don't know how durability varies across the Ultraleather product line.
I do know that when we had our captain's chairs reupholstered we ended up using a urethane product made by a competitor company. It appears that the primary market for such materials are commercial applications like restaurants. IMHO Ultraleather commands a premium price because it has done a great job of getting its "name" known by the general public. I'm not at all convinced it is any better than its lesser known competitors.
In fact, we were able to compare some of the performance attributes of the material we purchased to a few we were able to get from Ultraleather. Since all these products compete in the same commercial market, they all use the same set of ASTM tests to demonstrate durability. Some companies are more willing than others to release this information; Ultraleather has some information on its website and it appears that its products are competitive with those of others but not necessarily superior.
The bottom line is that the shop that did our re-upholstery charged us $25/yard compared with Ultraleather prices of >$90/yard that we had seen advertised. The material we purchased had a durability (on one ASTM test) of 3X the durability the Ultraleather fabric we had been considering. We used a local boat/auto upholstery shop in Rockport TX and paid ~$1100 for both chairs including pickup and delivery which was a lot less than we had been quoted for Ultraleather.
__________________
Joel (AKA docj)--
RV Technology Specialist
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05-17-2012, 12:21 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central Ohio (Columbus)
Posts: 674
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Quote:
Originally Posted by docj
We used a local boat/auto upholstery shop in Rockport TX and paid ~$1100 for both chairs including pickup and delivery which was a lot less than we had been quoted for Ultraleather.
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Wow, not cheap though, is it.
Roll
__________________
2011 Coachmen Encounter 37TZ Ford F-53,BluOx/Patriot.Toad:2018 Wrangler Unltd Sahara. Invert-4/6Vbatts-SolarChg-AutoTransSw-WG traveler-HDMICbls-SafeTPlus-track bar-Awnings-GenAutoSt-CHF-pwr cord storage sys-Garmin-outsideHDTV, LED interior lighting, Brazels tuning.
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05-24-2012, 12:49 PM
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#10
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4
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Genuine ULTRALEATHER
My name is Danielle Boecker and I am one of the Principals of Ultrafabrics, LLC. We have been selling the Ultraleather™ brand products to the RV trade for almost 20 years. Ultraleather™ has become a recognized brand name for superior quality and performance among the RV industry as well as aviation, marine, healthcare and contract seating to name a few. Due to the outstanding performance characteristics of our products we have achieved a high level of success. This has attracted many knock off products which are inferior to the technologies we use to produce the Ultraleather™ brand fabrics. The models mentioned in the blogs are not known to contain the genuine Ultraleather™ product when originally produced by the RV manufacturer. If you can demonstrate that your interiors utilize the genuine Ultraleather™ brand materials we would be happy to accommodate you with replacement product. If you would like to discuss further please call our Quality Assurance Department toll free at 888-361-9216.
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05-25-2012, 07:06 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 1,489
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultraleather
My name is Danielle Boecker and I am one of the Principals of Ultrafabrics, LLC. We have been selling the Ultraleather™ brand products to the RV trade for almost 20 years. Ultraleather™ has become a recognized brand name for superior quality and performance among the RV industry as well as aviation, marine, healthcare and contract seating to name a few. Due to the outstanding performance characteristics of our products we have achieved a high level of success. This has attracted many knock off products which are inferior to the technologies we use to produce the Ultraleather™ brand fabrics. The models mentioned in the blogs are not known to contain the genuine Ultraleather™ product when originally produced by the RV manufacturer. If you can demonstrate that your interiors utilize the genuine Ultraleather™ brand materials we would be happy to accommodate you with replacement product. If you would like to discuss further please call our Quality Assurance Department toll free at 888-361-9216.
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How might we be able to tell if we have Ultraleather or not?
__________________
Mark Anderson - FMCA 351514 - NRVIA Certified Level 2 Inspector
Louisville, KY
2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40QTH
2006 Jeep Commander
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08-30-2012, 11:20 AM
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#12
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4
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As per my previous post in May, my name is Danielle Boecker and I am one of the Principals of Ultrafabrics, LLC. We have been selling the Ultraleather™ brand products to the RV trade for almost 20 years. Ultraleather™ has become a recognized brand name for superior quality and durability performance among the RV industry as well as aviation, marine, healthcare and contract seating to name a few. Due to the outstanding performance characteristics of our products we have achieved a high level of success. This has attracted many knock off products which are inferior to the technologies we use to produce the Ultraleather™ brand of fabrics. The models mentioned in the blogs are not known to contain the genuine Ultraleather™ product when originally produced by the RV manufacturer. We would be more than happy to supply you with a sample of our genuine Ultraleather™ product so that you can compare it to whatever is upholstered on your seat. This way you can see the difference in our brand versus lower quality competitors. Please visit our website, Ultrafabrics Official Site, if you would like a sample or please call us at 888-361-9216 and we will be more than happy to mail one to you.
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10-03-2012, 09:04 AM
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#13
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Junior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4
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The ULTRALEATHER brand
My name is Danielle Boecker and I am one of the Principals of Ultrafabrics, LLC. We have been selling the Ultraleather™ brand product to the RV trade for almost 20 years. Ultraleather™ has become a well known brand or superior quality and performance among the RV industry as well as aviation, marine, healthcare and contract seating, to name a few. Due to the outstanding performance characteristics of our products we have achieved a high level of success. This has attracted many "knock off" products which are inferior to the technologies we use to produce the Ultraleather™ brand of fabrics. The models mentioned in the blogs are not known to contain the genuine Ultraleather™ product when originally produced by the RV manufacturer. If you can demonstrate that your interiors utilize the genuine Ultraleather™ brand materials we would be happy to accommodate you with replacement product. If you would like to discuss further please call our Quality Assurance Department toll free at 888-361-9216.
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10-04-2012, 09:16 AM
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#14
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Member
Thor Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Seminole, FL
Posts: 39
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To all RV owner's on this thread I want to make sure that you recognize the great response that Ultrafabrics, LLC, has provided regarding this problem - even knowing that their materials in question are not manufacturered or provided by them. The materials that are failing ARE NOT "Ultraleather" which is a trademarked product of Ultrafabrics. When you speak to Thor they use the term "fauxleather" to describe the material. None the less, I think Ultrafabrics sounds like a company that understands "customer service" and "commitment to quality". They are being proactive and saying that if anybody has a problem with the products that they do manufacture, they will stand behind those products. I wish someone from Ultrafabrics would go over to work for Thor and teach them about this kind of corporate responsibility! Thank you Ultrafabrics.....
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