Leather like furniture falling apart after 3 yrs

[Neal]

My driver's seat happened what seemed overnight. All of the sudden flaking. The passenger seat which is never used didn't really have signs until I knew what to look for, threads cutting into the material knowing it's "dried out" and going to flake once any use occurs. My sofa lost its "elasticity" kinda like old skin. It was fine, it didn't flake, but it was a sign of a problem to come. So in the end, you can inspect and what may be good today may be bad tomorrow. There is nothing you can do here and even with mine just being reupholstered I'm betting I'll face this problem again.

 

[Steele]

I'm obviously in the market for another RV, and we've pretty much decided on a 2018 Dutch Star. Pricewise, it's in the ballpark of what we're willing to spend. Problem is, I don't want to buy one and inherit this problem. Is there any way to know if the seats are going to start self-destructing prior to purchase? Was there a set of options that were more likely to be problematic?

Perhaps look to see if you can find a coach that has upgraded coverings already? I don’t want to jinx myself, but we upgraded our furniture to Essex coverings when we built our 17. We have been fulltiming for 4.5 years at this point and have no signs of deterioration yet. Might be a needle in a haystack, but if you have a choice in available coaches maybe one will have better fabric.

 

[Russsilber90]

I have a 2016 Bounder Anniversary class A. The furniture that apparently is not real leather is falling apart in strips. Fleetwood refuses to answer my questions.
About 2 yrs ago it started and is to the point it can only be covered.
Also the side view mirrors are deteriorating.
This RV is pretty much a piece of junk.
Anyone else have the same problem and can we get together and do something about making fleetwood fix this expensive disaster?

We had 2 2006 Bounders, seats last great back then. They were rented out when not used by family.
Our 1999 Dutch Star has cloth seats and furi. Still looks factory new. Cheap stuff is now the way to go

 

[J&JD]

I'm obviously in the market for another RV, and we've pretty much decided on a 2018 Dutch Star. Pricewise, it's in the ballpark of what we're willing to spend. Problem is, I don't want to buy one and inherit this problem. Is there any way to know if the seats are going to start self-destructing prior to purchase? Was there a set of options that were more likely to be problematic?

We are having ours redone at Bauer Rv Upholstery on our way back home from our trip to the SE. the owner has all the Flexsteel patterns, so everything is sewn and ready to go when you get there. They only use real Ultraleather. They will also ship the skins ready to put on. Since they have the patterns, the cost is not horrible. It will be around 5k. We just have a couple of bad spots, but are going to have all done. We love the coach, and plan on keeping it. If you find the perfect coach, you could factor that into the negotiations. Judy D

 

[MapNerd]

Ah yes, I forgot about them. Lisa Bauer bought up all the Flexsteel supply when Flexsteel exited and started her little business. She’s killing it. I had to get some actuator motors from her for my theater seats when one died. 1/3 the price Newmar wanted. She is super helpful and yep, she has all the Flexsteel patterns. Maybe others too. With regards to Flexsteel, what she doesn’t have, she knows where and how to get it.

In fact, for my recovering Newmar told me they were ordering the replacements from Bauer Upholstery. So it’s truly the same thing you would get from Newmar. 7-month lead time though. Good for her!!

 

[J&JD]

Ah yes, I forgot about them. Lisa Bauer bought up all the Flexsteel supply when Flexsteel exited and started her little business. She’s killing it. I had to get some actuator motors from her for my theater seats when one died. 1/3 the price Newmar wanted. She is super helpful and yep, she has all the Flexsteel patterns. Maybe others too. With regards to Flexsteel, what she doesn’t have, she knows where and how to get it.

In fact, for my recovering Newmar told me they were ordering the replacements from Bauer Upholstery. So it’s truly the same thing you would get from Newmar. 7-month lead time though. Good for her!!

Interesting, I wonder if you will get the real stuff like she uses for private owners.

 

[MapNerd]

Don’t think so. I still had to choose from Newmar’s samples but we chose what felt like the highest quality, thickest material of the 9,342 samples they sent us.

I told Newmar I would pay for real ultraleather and they insisted that it is real ultraleather.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Jim]

This is clever,¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but implies way to much time on your hands. lol, get a job John.

 

[MapNerd]

This is clever,¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but implies way to much time on your hands. lol, get a job John.

I was gonna, but they only pay $25/hour

 

[Neal]

 

[Jim]

Don't encourage him @Neal

 

[bpaikman]

when we were searching for RV we noticed this problem constantly. I turned away from several RVs for sale because of the problem - with huge c-shape dinettes and 1-2 sofas, and a recliner, and the captsin's chairs, we were looking at $$$ to fix all that.
Our old 2006 Winnebago was 12 years old when we sold it, maybe 70K miles, and had NONE of these problems. I really miss its power jackknife sofa with built-in footrests - it had a printed upholstery fabric and held up extremely well.
One of the reasons that I settled on the coach we have is that it doesn't seem to have the ultraleather. The only area that MIGHT have it is the sofa, but I think it's vinyl. I plan to replace it anyhow - would love to find a power jackknife sofa like we used to have. I sometimes slept on it when I was having a restless night and it was very comfortable.

 

[GlampDaddy]

I'm obviously in the market for another RV, and we've pretty much decided on a 2018 Dutch Star. Pricewise, it's in the ballpark of what we're willing to spend. Problem is, I don't want to buy one and inherit this problem. Is there any way to know if the seats are going to start self-destructing prior to purchase? Was there a set of options that were more likely to be problematic?

Our previous 2014 Ventana developed the flaking problem about six months after we bought it. We weren't the first owners and Matt Miller very kindly told me that it was too bad I wasn't the original owner and offered a token discount on recovering the old furniture. We had a local shop quote recovering our seats with a marine-grade material at a cost of $12,000. Our current coach also had the problem, but Newmar replaced all the furniture for the original owners just before we bought it. It appears there is no clear path to determining which coaches will get the furniture rot, but it seems none are immune. Newmar has been willing to work with original owners, but not so much with the second-owner group. Some of the coaches we know of that developed the rot include 2019 Mountain Aire, 2019 King Aire, and 2020 London Aire, as well as a few Tiffins and Winnebagos. I believe the best way for you to proceed is to find a one-owner 2018 DS that has been recently repaired, or is in need of repair with the seller willing to make a claim with Newmar. Of course, we haven't heard of any Marathons flaking...

 

[J&JD]

I believe the best way for you to proceed is to find a one-owner 2018 DS that has been recently repaired, or is in need of repair

Unfortunately, even that isn’t worth much. Newmar recovered all our furniture two years after we bought the coach. Two years later the “new” stuff is an abysmal failure. This redue will be on us and done right!

This problem is not unique to Newmar. Perhaps Newmar has learned a lesson, as some have said they are getting replacement upholstery recently from Bauer Upholstery in Iowa. She has the Flex Steel patterns, and hopefully Newmar is ordering the skins in Ultra Leather. That is all she normally uses.
Judy D