Peeling leather (we call it ‘spray-on leather”) in newer rvs

[bpaikman]

We sold a 2006 Winnebago Journey in 2018, and it still had the original leather captain’s chairs and very comfortable cloth power sofa in excellent condition. WHAT happened with newer models?
I see horrible spray-on leather everywhere - and I’ve not seen any sofas with sturdy, comfy upholstery fabric - just that awful leather.
Peeling leather apparently starts at 4 years or less, or 40k miles or less.
I’ve looked at a few coaches that had the captains chairs replaced, but not the other ‘leather’ furniture, such as the sofas or u-shaped dinette.
I’ve been watching a couple of units nearby that haven’t sold for months now, so they dropped the price. And still no sale after 2 more months. It’s the peeling leather, because one of the units is only 4 years old, but looks much older due to peeling everywhere.
I’m not really interested in getting into it, but out of idle curiosity, I checked into the possible cost of replacement, and I’m guessing $10,000 to replace a large U-shape dinette (very common and not practical for just 2 people) with a credenza and dining table, an extra chair, and a sofa. And I assume (hope) that includes installation and removal of old furniture.
(My advice to any of you buying new - stay away from the so-called “leather” and go for a sturdy cloth. We have microfiber recliners in our home that are 25 years old, no stains or tears, used daily.)

 

["EZ"]

I had both captain's chairs rebuilt with closed cell foam and covered with Ultra Leather to match our new floors. The 2 seats cost $2600. My leather wasn't peeling but was a little worn. The biggest issue was the seats were uncomfortable so I wanted new foam. It was worth it. At the time I was about to die from the sticker shock but after talking to several people on the "OTHER FORUM" everybody was telling me they were getting very similar estimates for their seats. Using cloth surely would have been cheaper but I wanted the Ultra Leather.

 

[bpaikman]

I had both captain's chairs rebuilt with closed cell foam and covered with Ultra Leather to match our new floors. The 2 seats cost $2600. My leather wasn't peeling but was a little worn. The biggest issue was the seats were uncomfortable so I wanted new foam. It was worth it. At the time I was about to die from the sticker shock but after talking to several people on the "OTHER FORUM" everybody was telling me they were getting very similar estimates for their seats. Using cloth surely would have been cheaper but I wanted the Ultra Leather.

I thought “ultra leather” is the stuff that’s peeling off. I’ve seen it in so many Tiffins and Winnebagos that I can guestimate its lifespan - about 35K miles

 

["EZ"]

I think Tiffin and Winnebago both got caught using an inferior product to save some money. I'm sure there are many grades of faux leather. The ones that are peeling do look like the finish was sprayed on. I think the good stuff is the same color all the way through. There was nothing "discount" about the place that did mine. The price was the price and they were talking about quality the entire time to justify their price. I can't imagine doing renovations to people's diesel pushers that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and trying to get away with using cheap materials. This place has a 30 year reputation to protect. If it were my business I'd much rather have people say "They were expensive but the quality was great!" than to have them posting pics of their peeling upholstery in RV forums all over the internet. Right? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[bpaikman]

I found an old video on YouTube of one of these models. And the salesman was crowing about the “ultra leather” and how great it is ….on this very sofa (picture is from a few years later, not sure when)

 

[bpaikman]

I had both captain's chairs rebuilt with closed cell foam and covered with Ultra Leather to match our new floors. The 2 seats cost $2600. My leather wasn't peeling but was a little worn. The biggest issue was the seats were uncomfortable so I wanted new foam. It was worth it. At the time I was about to die from the sticker shock but after talking to several people on the "OTHER FORUM" everybody was telling me they were getting very similar estimates for their seats. Using cloth surely would have been cheaper but I wanted the Ultra Leather.

Just letting you know, of this is the same ‘ultra leather”, it won’t last.

 

["EZ"]

If mine starts to look like that I'll be right back down to Ormond Beach Florida to Classic Coach Works and they'll be re-doing my seats for free! After paying $2600 for two captain's chairs I won't put up with that crap. I really think that Alan Williams (the owner) would make it right.

 

[FL-JOE]

If I remember correctly (and I don't more times than not), back a couple years ago on the Newmar owners section of the IRV2 forum an owner was going back and forth between Newmar and Flexsteel over flaking seats. He/she determined that Newmar downgraded their material specs to Flexsteel for a few years to save a buck. It came back to bit them because two or three model years started having issues with the cheaper material. At around the 2 year mark I found a 1/2" spot of flaking on my driver's seat and Newmar stepped up and replaced both from captain chairs free. Even though the new ones looked similar you could feel the difference.

My coach was a 2017 and Newmar replaced with 2020 seats.

 

[bpaikman]

If I remember correctly (and I don't more times than not), back a couple years ago on the Newmar owners section of the IRV2 forum an owner was going back and forth between Newmar and Flexsteel over flaking seats. He/she determined that Newmar downgraded their material specs to Flexsteel for a few years to save a buck. It came back to bit them because two or three model years started having issues with the cheaper material. At around the 2 year mark I found a 1/2" spot of flaking on my driver's seat and Newmar stepped up and replaced both from captain chairs free. Even though the new ones looked similar you could feel the difference.

My coach was a 2017 and Newmar replaced with 2020 seats.

I just hope They didn’t use the same material. I am currently looking at a 2014 motorcoach it’s only 39,000 miles - peeling