Seating and Dinette Upholstery Replacement for RV Interiors

• furniture changes inside a full rebuild

• what a policy usually pays for inside the coach

Templating from the existing pieces

Every cushion and panel is templated off the original rather than measured from a drawing, so the finished piece returns to the same footprint.

Foam specification by density and use

Foam is chosen by density and application, with higher density where somebody sits daily and lighter where a cushion is mostly a backrest.

Frame, webbing and deck inspection

With the covering off, the frame welds, webbing and seat decks are inspected and repaired. This is the only time any of it is accessible.

Sewing in UV stable thread

All stitching uses V-92 polyester thread. Cotton wrapped thread rots in sunlight and is the reason many seams fail while the covering is still good.

Dinette conversion verification

Converting dinettes are assembled and folded into bed configuration in the shop before the coach leaves, with the table drop checked.

Power seating mechanism servicewhere applicable

Recliner mechanisms, power footrests and heat modules are tested and repaired where a theater seat is already apart.

Seat belt anchor reinstatementwhere applicable

On captain chairs and belted seating, belts return to original anchor points with original hardware and torque.

1. 1

   Measure and record before anything comes apart

   1 to 2 hours

   Cushion thickness, seat height and the folded dimensions of any convertible piece are written down first. On a dinette those numbers are the specification for the whole job, and recovering them afterwards from a pile of loose foam is not possible.

2. 2

   Strip and inspect the frame

   1 to 4 hours

   Coverings and foam come off and the structure underneath gets examined. Cracked welds on a dinette base, stretched webbing under a sofa and worn recliner mechanisms all surface here, and all of them are cheaper to fix now than later.

3. 3

   Select material and foam together

   1 to 2 hours

   Covering and foam are chosen as a pair. A stiff coated fabric over soft foam reads as firm, and a supple vinyl over dense foam reads differently again. Owners sit on samples over sample foam rather than choosing from a swatch book alone.

4. 4

   Cut, sew and fit

   4 to 14 hours

   Panels are cut from the templates, welt cord is made up where the original had it, and everything is sewn with UV stable thread. Covers are fitted over new foam with Dacron wrap so the crown matches what left the factory.

5. 5

   Install and function test

   1 to 5 hours

   Pieces go back into the coach, belted seating is reanchored with the correct hardware, powered mechanisms are cycled, and every convertible dinette or sofa bed is made up fully before the unit is released.

• Cracking along the front edge of a seat cushion where the coating has failed
• A bolster that has gone shiny and hard compared with the rest of the piece
• Foam that no longer recovers after somebody stands up
• Seams that have opened where the thread has rotted rather than where the material tore
• A dinette that no longer folds flat into a bed without forcing it
• Theater seating that reclines unevenly or will not return under power
• Staining on light coloured seating that no longer cleans out
• Webbing or a deck under a sofa cushion that has stretched and sagged

• Ultraviolet exposure through large windows, which degrades polyurethane coatings on vinyl and Ultraleather long before the backing fails
• Heat cycling in a closed coach parked in Southern California sun, which accelerates plasticizer loss and makes vinyl brittle at the edges
• Cotton wrapped thread used at original manufacture, which rots in sunlight and lets seams open while the covering material is still sound
• Foam density chosen for cost rather than service life, where low density foam collapses under regular use within a few seasons
• Cleaning products with solvents or high alcohol content, which strip the topcoat off coated fabrics and leave a dull patch that then fails first
• Occupancy patterns, since a full time coach sees household level use on furniture that was specified for occasional weekends

• Marine grade vinyl including Nautolex and Spradling Silvertex in RV weights
• Ultrafabrics Ultraleather and comparable polyurethane coated materials
• Sunbrella and other solution dyed acrylics for high exposure positions
• High density polyurethane foam in 1.8 and 2.5 pound densities with Dacron wrap
• V-92 UV stable polyester thread, welt cord and marine grade zippers
• Thomas Payne, Villa and Flexsteel seating frames, recliner mechanisms and power modules

• Adding foam thickness to a dinette cushion for comfort. The bed will no longer make up, the table will not drop, and the fix is to rebuild the cushions again at the correct dimension.
• Cleaning coated fabrics with solvent or high alcohol products. They strip the topcoat, leaving a dull patch that becomes the first place the material cracks.
• Restitching an opened seam through the original holes when the thread rotted. The perforated line has no strength left and the seam reopens beside your new stitching.
• Removing a belted captain chair and reinstalling it with hardware store fasteners. Those anchors are engineered attachments and they go back with original hardware at the specified torque.

Write the numbers down before you cut a single stitch. Cushion thickness, seat height, folded length. I keep a card taped to the bench for every dinette that comes through, because the moment the old covers are off and the foam is in a pile, the only record of what that thing was supposed to be is whatever you measured an hour ago. I have seen beautiful upholstery work come back because the bed would not close, and there is no way to fix that except doing the cushions over. Comfort comes from foam density. It does not come from making the cushion taller.

My dinette will not fold into a bed since it was recovered. Why?

Almost certainly because foam was added. A convertible dinette is a designed assembly where the table drop, the pedestal height and the cushion thickness all have to match. Gaining even half an inch per cushion stops the geometry closing. The fix is rebuilding them to the original finished thickness.

Is Ultraleather worth the extra over marine grade vinyl?

For lounge seating and captain chairs, many owners think so. It breathes better, feels considerably nicer and is lighter than real leather. Marine grade vinyl remains the better value in dinettes and high use positions because it tolerates cleaning and sunlight with more forgiveness.

The seams opened but the material looks fine. What happened?

The thread rotted. Cotton wrapped thread degrades in sunlight far faster than the covering does, so seams give way while the vinyl is still flexible. We restitch with V-92 UV stable polyester, recutting panels where the original stitch line has perforated the material.

Can you make my seating softer without changing the cushion size?

Yes, by changing foam density and layering rather than depth. A softer top layer over a supportive base gives a different feel at the same finished thickness. We also check the webbing and seat deck underneath, since a sagging support is often what an owner is actually feeling.

Can I supply my own fabric from a home furnishing store?

Often no. Interior materials in a vehicle have to meet a horizontal burn standard that most residential upholstery fabric is not tested to. We check specification before ordering rather than after, and we will tell you honestly if a fabric you love is not appropriate for a coach.

Should I have the recliner mechanism looked at during a recover?

Yes, because it is accessible exactly once. Powered footrests, heat elements and recliner hardware are all exposed while the covering is off. Servicing them later means stripping a brand new cover to reach a motor, which nobody enjoys paying for twice.