Community Forums

fastline · 12-10-2022, 11:21 PM

Working on a Forest River camper that has "leather" seating..... yeah right. the thin covering is flaking off the seating area, leaving only the cloth backer material.

I am not sure if anyone has had any luck with a pro upholstery company doing repairs? My concern is these have those big fat exposed stitches and possibly not even worth the effort? Nothing but frustrated here!

wildtoad · 12-10-2022, 11:47 PM

Common problem. I had a car/marine upholstery shop redo captains chairs. Sofa has not needed it (yet).

Toby Dog · 12-11-2022, 03:26 AM

We had to replace our sleep sofa due to the pleather decomposing also. We bought a cloth replacement but due to supply chain garbage the price went up over $300 while it was still unobtaniam.

Winemaker2 · 12-11-2022, 04:40 AM

Lots of discussions on this. If you want leather look & feel your best choices are having them recovered with real leather or "Ultraleather" which is NOT a vinyl nor some sort of manufactured leather (basically grinding up leather scraps and sticking onto a backing and giving it name that sounds like leather)
Ultraleather is urethane based and has amazing durability and cleanability... some better than the real thing.
If you prefer real leather study up on the terms used for leather as there are many terms that sound real but there are significant differences.
Both options will cost you but then again that's why the OEMs put cheap stuff in it to begin with.
Now you get to choose

Bill 3rd · 12-11-2022, 05:59 AM

That happened to the back pillows on the tri-fold in our Sunseeker. For a quick cover-up, we found a fitted crib sheet left over from the grandkids made a nice temporary cover. Now we don't have to sit in the flakes while waiting to get it fixed.

Trapper2022 · 12-11-2022, 06:59 AM

Replaced with Rec pro recliner. Hope it holds up.

Safe travels

Enjoy the journey

fastline · 12-11-2022, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildtoad

Common problem. I had a car/marine upholstery shop redo captains chairs. Sofa has not needed it (yet).

Curious what they recovered with and what the cost was? I am going to sell this camper so not interested in real leather, just want it to look right. Problem is there are 2 chairs and two couches that match. The chairs need the work. I am worried about stitching and cost to even attempt a repair. Seems like it would be a big deal.

RRR · 12-11-2022, 09:50 AM

If they are Flexsteel do a search for Lisa Bauer upholstery she has pattern form Flexsteel and makes the skins out of Ultra Leather. Or a local shop will likely remove yours and use as a pattern.

Cumminsfan · 12-11-2022, 10:25 AM

What brand? Thomas Payne? Throw it in a dumpster. Go to Lazy Boys and find something that fits in the same place. We've had Lazy boy furniture for years on our house. Current stuff is covered with a cloth material that looks like new and is about 5 years old. We sit in it everyday not like RV's that only get used part time. If you're full time then you really need to lool for better stuff that isn't RV related.
Flexsteel is RV related but pretty good too. I would take a look at Southern Motion. My son's had his furniture for 4-5 years it looks and feels like new also.

johninsd · 12-11-2022, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRR

If they are Flexsteel do a search for Lisa Bauer upholstery she has pattern form Flexsteel and makes the skins out of Ultra Leather. Or a local shop will likely remove yours and use as a pattern.

I got skins from Bauer for a Flexsteel sleeper sofa that had the flaking problem (2016 Itasca Navion G). The skins look great, cost was about $1100.00. The driver and passenger seats are also flaking but I put sheepskin covers on those rather than trying to find new skins (Bauer only does Flexsteel stuff). I replaced the sleeper sofa anyway with a new double recliner from Lambright (upholstered in genuine Ultraleather) so the old sleeper sofa is going to a friend who can use it in his RV.

gmarsh · 12-11-2022, 11:23 AM

We had the same problem. First with the loveseat. We found a Southern Motion power recliner with adjustable head rests. It was narrow enough to fit in the space we had. The other good this is that they can be take apart into two pieces to easily go through the door of our fifth wheel. The two couched are in slides an elevated. No replacement could be found. We opted to have the sofa's recovered. They are currently at a boat upholstery shop. They have better materials that should hold up. Not cheap but our best option.

Ben-Jo · 12-11-2022, 01:43 PM

Just saw someone on RVforums.com (hope I can say that on here) has some new reupholstry kits for flexsteel furniture for sale in classifieds.

slowlanelife · 12-11-2022, 08:31 PM

Like trapper2020 we replaced our jack knife sofa, which lasted about 7yrs before badly flaking, with 2 Rec Pro recliners from Amazon. The sofa was terribly uncomfortable so not worth recovering. Best money we've spent on our Forester. The dinette seats we had recovered with a heavy commercial grade vinyl. We miss the storage under the sofa but we adapted.

HighDesert · 12-12-2022, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRR

If they are Flexsteel do a search for Lisa Bauer upholstery she has pattern form Flexsteel and makes the skins out of Ultra Leather. Or a local shop will likely remove yours and use as a pattern.

If you are looking to use existing furniture / seats, then follow RRR's post. Flexsteel exited he RV furnishing business and Bauer bought all patterns and tools for replacing coverings. I've seen a couple of YT videos and works / materials seem to be quality. Only problem is that she is in Wisconsin.