Replacing front seat driver and passenger seat covers - Flexsteel

[SarahW]

I uploaded the pics directly to IRV2 instead of linking. For those who can see the originals, sorry to clutter up the thread.

[b1rider]

I can't see them on anything, computer, ipad, or iphone. I have tried a few things but nothing is working. I can see others pics. ????

[b1rider]

Oh now I can see them. Those look great, what are you doing in "my" motorhome .

[b1rider]

I wish I was there to see how you did all of this. I am assuming you changed out the footrest on the passenger seat too?

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by b1rider

Oh now I can see them. Those look great, what are you doing in "my" motorhome .

I told ya we are "twins" with our 33C's!!

[JohnRR]

They certainly look better than the originals.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by b1rider

I wish I was there to see how you did all of this. I am assuming you changed out the footrest on the passenger seat too?

Ben--I'll tell you the same thing others in this thread told me... it's not a hard job but it is extremely time-consuming. Once you get the seats disconnected and removed from the RV, you turn them over and see how all the clips and rings hold the upholstery in place.

The best advice I got was to take PLENTY of pictures of how things are attached. We took photos of each step of the old covers being removed so we could reverse the process with the new install. The scariest part to us was the cuts we had to make in the covers to reinstall the seat controls, handles, and arm rests.

FlexSteel sent total replacement covers, including the foot rest. Those were just pieces of the fabric cut to size that we had to fit and staple on. I did some google searches of how to fit a corner with upholstery; I didn't want the corners to look amateurish!!

We have been working on the seats for 3 days and we still haven't finished the driver's seat.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by JohnRR

They certainly look better than the originals.

Thanks, John. The originals looked great, until the Chinese fake leather started doing this...

[Mason Dixon]

SarahW,
Great job! [emoji3] They look amazing and you can take credit for the excellent work. You are correct, it takes time and pics are the key to putting it back together. Glad to hear you successfully recovered the footrest. My passenger seat originally didn’t have a footrest so I added it when recovering the seat. It came complete with the new material installed so I only had to bolt it between the seat frame and pedestal.
Enjoy and safe travels!

[csbaer]

Following

[b1rider]

Sarah, you are doing a great job and the new seats are looking amazing.

I have a question. I am 67 and my wife is 68. How hard was it to get those seats out of the motorhome. Those are pretty steep steps to go down and my wife has bad ankles to begin with. Do you think I could take them out by myself?

Reason I ask, a local shop will recover mine but they can't handle having my motorhome on their lot. I would have to bring them the seats. This would only be after me looking all this over and deciding if I wanted to tackle the job.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by b1rider

Sarah, you are doing a great job and the new seats are looking amazing.

I have a question. I am 67 and my wife is 68. How hard was it to get those seats out of the motorhome. Those are pretty steep steps to go down and my wife has bad ankles to begin with. Do you think I could take them out by myself?

Reason I ask, a local shop will recover mine but they can't handle having my motorhome on their lot. I would have to bring them the seats. This would only be after me looking all this over and deciding if I wanted to tackle the job.

Thanks, Ben. I'm pleased with the outcome but I wouldn't want to do this again. I have a whole new appreciation for professional upholsterers... and I'll never gripe about their costs again.

My husband is 63 (that's him standing on his head to disconnect the passenger seat in my photos ) and I'm the same age but don't tell anyone. If you are at all handy with tools you can disconnect the seats; they aren't as heavy as we expected. There are 4 bolts holding the seat on the pedestal, then the cables that allow the seat to move up/back and rotate. You also have to unbolt the seatbelt from the seat.

We took the arms off of the passenger seat while still in the RV and it went through the door easily. The arms were harder to get off the driver's seat, so we decided to leave them on till we brought it in the house. We had to turn that seat sideways and go out the door with the top of the seat first, then slightly turn the seat to work it through the door opening. You do have to watch your step because you need both hands for the chair and can't really hold on to anything to balance.

Do you have any kids or young neighbors that could help you? Like I said, the chairs aren't that heavy but you do need good balance to carry them down the RV steps. I think if you get the arm rests off while in the RV you can probably carry the seats out by yourself. I could manage the weight by myself but the "bulk" of the seat makes them a little hard to manage.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by Mason Dixon

SarahW,
Great job! [emoji3] They look amazing and you can take credit for the excellent work. You are correct, it takes time and pics are the key to putting it back together. Glad to hear you successfully recovered the footrest. My passenger seat originally didn’t have a footrest so I added it when recovering the seat. It came complete with the new material installed so I only had to bolt it between the seat frame and pedestal.
Enjoy and safe travels!

Thanks! We are trying to get the driver's seat finished today but life keeps happening. This has been an experience for sure. That footrest was a challenge... we tried 4 different staplers from an air-gun type to a desktop stapler. I'm happy that the driver's seat doesn't have a footrest!

We would never have attempted the job without helpful tips from kind people like yourself. I appreciate all your helpful comments very much.

[deandec]

Great Result for your seat recover efforts.

Like most one time repair projects, there is a learning curve and perhaps new tools, but great satisfaction when you accomplish completion of the project!

Well done, and thanks for the informative thread.