Flaking sofa

[KASH]

I didn’t travel to my 2013 Thor Citation for over a year yet a few weeks ago noticed my sofa bed/couch had several little cracks in the seat. After two nights using it this past weekend those cracks have turned into multiple flaking crumbles, including on the sofa arms now. The service center where I’ve had some work done said it’s a nation wide problem in RV’s with the poor quality of “fake” leather that was used.
I’m fairly certain it isn’t covered in my 2nd extended coverage policy which doesn’t kick in for another 2 wks. Just venting as I try to decide which direction I’m going from here. Replacing the sofa, with attached air mattress that I detest the aggravation of setting up for a bed. There has to be a better solution. Making a dinette area which can be used for a bed(not quite long enough to stretch out legs) or recovering the sofa. Any information would be appreciated.

[gwarren]

Picture of our peeling soda, 2015 Thor Citation Sprinter 24SR.

[Beau388]

Welcome to the club of failing "Pleather Upholstery". It always fails in the RV application after 3 years or so. Unfortunately the furniture manufacturer that Thor used on my coach is no longer in business. I know that Tiffin had replaced the furniture in some of there higher end coaches after the warranty had expired, but as far as I know Thor MC has not.

[blw2]

Once it starts it goes fast. Seems like it took no time for ours to go from barely noticeable to 100% shot!

We also have the air mattress sofa. The first could years it was fine for any of our kids to sleep in sofa mode, but now it's too small for my oldest.
We have never used the air bed and have only set it up once. I'll continue to avoid it as long as I can!

The worst of it is that when we found this floorplan, it was a very lightly used unit on a dealer's lot with the cheaper (i think) fabric upholstery option which meant it was a jacknife. When searching online to make sure it was a decent deal before we finalized the buy, I found a new unused unit the same year model but with the leatherette seating option a few hours drive away. DW wanted the leatherette thinking it would hold up better to kids, spills, dirty campgrounds, etc... and we could get it at the same price, basically as the lowest we could negotiate for the used one...so
moral of the story, be careful of what you ask for.....

We looked a long time for a slipcover. Found one that was close to the right size but we just couldn't get it to fit right.

I've been on the fence about what to do. I've considered swapping out to a jacknife sofa...seen a few for sale from folks that have replaced it for recliners..but none local enough to home.

I've also searched hard for a sofa, futon, etc... to fit..online, Ikea, and other furniture stores. No luck finding anything the right length or that looked potentially modifiable....Sure wish I could though to get rid of the air mattress!

I've even considering building my own...either find some futon hardware to build off of, or build something like a built in banquette sort of thing.....

So far we just haven't gotten to the point where we are willing to spend big $ for a new RV sofa.

I figure I'm prob either going to find an upholstery shop one of these days, or search through some RV salvage places.

Anyway, the good thing so far is that the leather trim on the dinette cushions is still holding up...so far it's been only the sofa and the two cab seats...but I know that will change eventually.

[fairfieldwizard]

I would think your only best option is to reupholster. The bright side is that you would get what you want. Not sure where you are but in South Florida and southern California there are a ton of upholstery places that do great work at good prices.

[robertconley]

I have a new sofa bed that I removed from my 2018 Thor Axis, it has never been used. It is not the blow up mat type. They upgraded to permanent foam cushions In 2018. I will sell it for 400 or bo. I am located in Akron Obio.

[Yaktop]

Originally Posted by fairfieldwizard

I would think your only best option is to reupholster. The bright side is that you would get what you want. Not sure where you are but in South Florida and southern California there are a ton of upholstery places that do great work at good prices.

except you still have a blow up mattress. Biggest negative of the rig. The quality of the pleather and that couch/bed.

[Beau388]

My dinette cushions and front seats are still fine; however, the couch was in tatters so I replaced it with the Rec Pro 67" reclining love seat.

[PleinairGal]

I am looking for options. Has anyone resolved the issue for a 2012 thor hurricane 32A? I heard people saying they replaced the couch, fine, but wondering how the weight for the slide is affected. We had trouble with our super slide as well. This is the second time we had it replaced..just got it back..
Anyway, the seats are worse than when we put it in the shop 4 months ago. All of them..it’s bad.
I have done upholstery before, but can’t see where I can take the dinette apart..and there are tons of wires.
I am thinking if someone knows someplace affordable/reliable, I could just roll over and have it done.also, anyone who has done it..what was the cost?

[Robertbgreer]

I am currently (Sep 2019) looking for my first Class A RV and early on have read a lot of bad about Thor Faux furniture. One salesman told me Thor had fixed this problem but I haven't heard any consumers confirm this.

Can anyone confirm or deny the durability of Thor's faux furniture and if fixed, in what year?

Thanks

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by Robertbgreer

I am currently (Sep 2019) looking for my first Class A RV and early on have read a lot of bad about Thor Faux furniture. One salesman told me Thor had fixed this problem but I haven't heard any consumers confirm this.

Can anyone confirm or deny the durability of Thor's faux furniture and if fixed, in what year?

Thanks

It isn't a Thor issue...it's a furniture manufacturer issue. From everything I've read, this "pleather" (blend of vinyl and leather veneer) has been discontinued by most furniture companies due to this failure. Rooms To Go had major issues and replaced tons of fixtures as a result of it. That's why you now see..."leather where the skin touches the surface" in their small print. Newer MH's do not have this product but they do have new names for fake leather (leatherette), which seems to hold up much better. Naugahyde used to be a very common, durable product until the Animal Rights Activist stopped them form killing so many Naugas just for their hides.

[Robertbgreer]

Thank you "The Gritz Carlton". Your reply helps me tremendously.

[Mr Sunshine]

We are getting peeling on the jackknife sofa in our 2016 Vegas. The same happened in our previous coach with Flexsteel captains chairs. That deterioration was accelerated by leaving the front curtain open on a consignment lot.

We had them reupholstered at major expense, then traded it for our Vegas. Now we are looking at having the jackknife reupholstered at major expense.

[BYoshida]

I had a furniture set made of that stuff for my home. Purchased in 2013. Replaced in 2017 ( could have /should have replaced it a year or two sooner). There was no fixing. So far whatever my 2018 Vegas couch is made of, seems to be holding up. If it does die, the couch will magically turn into recliners

[gmc]

Pulled out the paperwork from my rig - and I have 45 days left in my 5 year Vinyl and Leather Protection package I happened to let them talk me into from ResistAll... I wonder if this will pay for itself. It covers 'ultraviolet-induced fading or cracking'...
A phone call for tomorrow.

[axis earl]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

It isn't a Thor issue...it's a furniture manufacturer issue. From everything I've read, this "pleather" (blend of vinyl and leather veneer) has been discontinued by most furniture companies due to this failure. Rooms To Go had major issues and replaced tons of fixtures as a result of it. That's why you now see..."leather where the skin touches the surface" in their small print. Newer MH's do not have this product but they do have new names for fake leather (leatherette), which seems to hold up much better. Naugahyde used to be a very common, durable product until the Animal Rights Activist stopped them form killing so many Naugas just for their hides.

I had a colleague at work that told me how they hunted Naugas. I understand that they are no longer an endangered species.

[Ford1]

Had the same problem in my previous coach. Contacted the furniture manufacturer and ended up purchasing new upholstery for sofa and captain's chairs. Replaced them myself and then sold the unit shortly afterward. Supposedly, the fabric was from a new supplier and much better than the crappy original. Cost me $500. Thinking back, some years ago we purchased a 'leather' sofa for our living room. We also purchased the 5 year 'limited' guarantee and were provided with special upkeep products to use on the surfaces. Sure enough less than 2 years after the purchase we noticed that the 'leather' was peeling. We called the furniture company and they sent out a representative to inspect the sofa. The result was that we were told that it was not a warranty issue due to misuse. Apparently we had been sitting on it too much, no cuts, scrapes or any other signs of misuse. Suffice it to say, we have never set foot in one of those stores (big name furniture company, but not Haverty's nor Rooms to Go) since.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by gmc

Pulled out the paperwork from my rig - and I have 45 days left in my 5 year Vinyl and Leather Protection package I happened to let them talk me into from ResistAll... I wonder if this will pay for itself. It covers 'ultraviolet-induced fading or cracking'...
A phone call for tomorrow.

Probably not...they'll find a way to blame it on wear. The suspect material was found to be totally non-resistant to UV and stretching. Heating (hot butts) and cooling also caused breakdown, but mostly stretching with use. Most all in the insurance/fabric protection business are aware of this issue and will not expose themselves to thousands of claims by covering just one. It's worth a try anyway...you might just get a newbie on the phone that knows nothing...this is becoming pretty standard in the "customer service" business.

[Sandyfou]

Originally Posted by PleinairGal

I am looking for options. Has anyone resolved the issue for a 2012 thor hurricane 32A? I heard people saying they replaced the couch, fine, but wondering how the weight for the slide is affected. We had trouble with our super slide as well. This is the second time we had it replaced..just got it back..
Anyway, the seats are worse than when we put it in the shop 4 months ago. All of them..it’s bad.
I have done upholstery before, but can’t see where I can take the dinette apart..and there are tons of wires.
I am thinking if someone knows someplace affordable/reliable, I could just roll over and have it done.also, anyone who has done it..what was the cost?

I see you have replaced your sofa with record reclining seats. We are in the process of doing the same can you give me some pointers in removing the sofa?