Replacing RV furniture

We’ve read and watched many stories about people buying RVs and renovating them. When we bought our 2018 Jayco Pinnacle fifth wheel in 2019, it was in great shape and didn’t need any upgrades other than a few personal touches. Seven years later, however, we found ourselves at a crossroads: We needed to either cover or replace our RV furniture. 

After one year of successful patchwork over our peeling pleather theater seat, the adhesiveness of the fix started to detach from the edges. We kind of ignored it until the loveseat started peeling in other areas — and the patches began to move under us when we sat. Then our couch, made of the same faux leather material, started peeling too. We had to find a more permanent fix.

Weighing the options

Undoubtedly, the most economical solution would be to replace our living room furniture with a used set, so we visited a couple of thrift stores. We found a set we liked, but when Bob sat on one of the loveseat cushions, his body leaned to one side. That piece had been very well used, making it less than ideal for us. 

Since we had been happy with our furniture, we considered getting it professionally reupholstered. That way, we’d still have the built-in cupholders, massagers, and heated cushions. We figured new upholstery would be a cheaper option than buying new. Wow, were we wrong! 

We got a quote for $2,200 to reupholster the couch, loveseat, and matching ottoman — and we’d have to use makeshift furniture or sit on the floor for two weeks. 

Confident we could find a new set for less than that price that very same day, we made a trip to the sprawling American Furniture Warehouse. We told a salesperson what we were looking for: a cuddle-compliant reclining loveseat with cupholders, a lightweight sofa bed, and a matching ottoman that opened to provide storage. He led us through various displays: sofas and loveseats, recliners, small spaces, and leather. 

Finding a suitable solution

With so many furniture sets to choose from, we took our time measuring, sitting, and putting our feet up. 

Most couches we found were at least 85 inches long. The space in our fifth wheel allowed for only 81.25 inches. That significantly decreased our options. We also had to consider how we’d get a new couch into our rig. Not all RVs have a wall immediately in front of the door when you enter like ours does. 

We found a nice, gray, fabric living room set from Ashley Furniture with a sofa that fit our dimensions. And, because both ends of the couch reclined, the backs of each seat were removable for easy maneuverability. But the loveseat had a console with cupholders in the middle of it, negating any cuddling. 
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We contemplated getting the Ashley couch and a different loveseat in a complementary color and tried out some nice, comfortable, leather reclining loveseats. ​

After much hemming and hawing, we decided to purchase two leather reclining loveseats — for about half the cost of reupholstering our original set. They lacked cupholders, heated cushions, and massagers, but they were comfortable, looked nice, and wouldn’t peel. 

A warehouse worker loaded two big boxes into the bed of our truck, and we went home.

​Removing the original furniture

Before we could attempt to get the new furniture into our fifth wheel, we had to get the original out. That meant detaching it from the rig. Because RVs can experience a lot of bouncing when being towed down roads, attaching furniture is paramount. 

Separating the original couch from the floor turned out to be easy once we figured out where the screws were located that held it in place. Determining how to get it out of the rig proved much more challenging. That’s because oftentimes, RV walls are built after the furniture is installed.

We took the cushions off the back of the couch, but it was still a bit long and awkward to get to the door (never mind out of the trailer), especially without hitting our kitchen island faucet and low-hanging lights. 

We talked through possibilities and decided to remove the back of the couch, which was attached by two hinges and a few screws. That gave us a flatter surface to maneuver. We tightened a strap around the middle of the sofa to keep the lightweight, mattress-less bed from opening and managed to squeeze the piece out the door through careful adjusting and breathless communicating — without damaging anything in the process. 

Our original reclining theater seat came apart in two pieces. And each of those detached into two pieces as well, making it much simpler to remove. 

Introducing the new furniture

After taking time to vacuum the dust bunnies covering the vacant areas that had housed our couch and loveseat, we were ready to introduce the new furniture to Tagalong. 

At first, we considered bringing one box at a time into the rig and assembling the pieces inside. But we quickly realized that was an ambitious feat given the weight of each: 93 pounds (nearly identical to the weight of the Thomas Payne made-for-RV furniture we had removed).

We resorted to plan B and carefully pivoted one box from the truck to the ground and onto the concrete pad at our winter season lot. Bob cut open the box, and we extracted its contents, setting aside the two chair backs so that we could concentrate on getting the loveseat base into place. 

With Bob tugging the base up the stairs and me pushing from the bottom, we somehow finagled the thing inside. Good thing I’d been playing virtual-reality Beat Saber for a couple of years to get my arms in shape. After setting the base at the back of the rig, where the couch used to be, we proceeded to bring in the two backs and attach them to the unit. 

We repeated the process with the second box, grunting and communicating through huffed breaths to get the base through the door and into place where the original loveseat had been. Then we affixed the backs, and Bob secured that piece to the RV.

We haven’t attached the back loveseat to the rig yet as we’re still determining where and how we want to do that. We also plan to purchase new end tables to help fill the space that used to be taken up by the couch. Ideally, they’ll include cabinets or shelves to house what used to be stored in the ottoman. With four recliners, we no longer need it. 

Upon returning home from discarding our original furniture, we finally got to break in the new. We’re happy with it and overjoyed that we got two loveseats and not a couch. 

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