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Old 07-04-2011, 08:05 PM   #1
wwc
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sofa

I would like to hear some opinions on sofas. I have a 2006 36TK3 with the original sofa with the two end tables. Now most of the time I sit in my recliner, but there are times when I would like to stretch out on the sofa. The sofa is so short, that there is no way that you can be comfortable doing this.
At this time I am getting ready to replace the large rear window, so I thought this would be a good time to make a change. I would like to hear opinions from those who have the long sofa, I think it is the standard one in the Elite.
Also has anyone bought a regular home sofa. I can get by without the sofa-bed and have found a few 86 in long and 35 in deep sofas. Also can anyone tell me who DRV buys these sofas from?
Thanks
wwc
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Old 07-05-2011, 07:27 AM   #2
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We have the long sofa and that was the one of the reasons we bought our ES. When DW kicks me out of bed for snoring I go to the sofa and I can sleep on it without a problem.
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Old 07-05-2011, 09:07 AM   #3
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We had a long sofa in our 2006 ES. We removed it for multiple reasons, mainly because we never used it. We slid it out the door, just needed some strong boys to catch it outside.

Many of us have switched out sofas/recliners for residential styles. The 35" deep limits your choices, but they can be found. Take your tape measure and see what's available at some of the larger furniture showrooms.

Many RV's used Flexsteel brand in years past, but some are now using Lazyboy brand. LZB also has sofabeds, but not sure of the depth. Teton used Broyhill, if I remember correctly.

We also considered: Simplicity Sofas, High Point NC (and Made in America). They are 32" deep and include sleeper sofas. But ultimately left the sofa out and prefer a loveseat and 1 recliner.
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Old 07-05-2011, 12:34 PM   #4
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Sofas

Buddy,
I have the 96" sofa in my MS. I ordered it special with the end tables deleted. I would have deleted the sofa all together but I knew the depth was critical. That is one change I wish I had not made. It was a waste of money. That sofa is so uncomfortable to sit on or lay on. This is due to the fact the only support for the cushions is the folded up bed mechanism. I am thinking the sofa is from Flexsteel but have not confirmed that.

I have removed the bed mechanism and am currently installing an inner box that will support the cushions and provide a bit of storage space. If that doesn't work the sofa is going out. I like the idea of a sofa but maybe a large recliner and a corner desk will work better for us.

Vickie/David, you have me intrigued. From what I have measured I cannot see how that sofa is going to go out the door without being dismanled (destroyed). Did you have to do anything to the sofa to get it out the door? The short one can go out standing up and rotating it out the door but the 96" sofa is too long for that. I was advised by the factory the only way to remove it was through the back window. Billr has suggested a Sawzall will take care of the problem once and for all :)
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Old 07-05-2011, 02:01 PM   #5
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We have the large size sofa....Spent many a night on it...it's not like a 12" pillowtop mattress, but it isn't bad. It is long enough for my small stature, so I do not fold it out unless one of the grandkids is visiting.

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Old 07-05-2011, 02:28 PM   #6
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sofa

Hi Rodeworthy,
I am suprised that you have a 96 in sofa. The 07 trailers must be wider than the 06, as I have only 93 inches wall to wall. But hey I am not saying you are wrong, as everytime I have done that, it was me who was wrong. I talked to the factory that makes these long sofas and they are telling me that the sofa in the Elite is only 87 inches wide. Now that has suprised me, as I thought it was either 9l or 92 inches.
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Old 07-05-2011, 02:57 PM   #7
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Sofa

Buddy, I am getting old and forgetful. I would be hard to have a 96" sofa in a rig that is 101" wide. That would interfere big time with the insulation.

Your 93" is right and I have about 1/2" clearance on each end so the sofa is 92". That is plenty long and a bit shorter would be better. It is hard to access the electrical outlets as it is.

The front to back is critical. There is no clearance at all. The back is against the sill and the cushions rub on the slides as they come in.
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Old 07-05-2011, 04:53 PM   #8
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We had a 2009 with the 92" couch, when we picked up the 2009 Mobile Suites we wanted the Couch removed. At the time we were told the only way to remove the Couch was to remove the rear window. I didn't want the rear window removed, was afraid of a water leak. The 92" couch was very uncomfortable and if we hadn't ordered the 2010 Mobile Suites the 92" couch would have been remove one way or the other (Sawsall). We did find out you could remove it by sliding it out the door, hitchup let us know about the front door route. I would in no way put a 92" couch in any 5th wheel. Happy Trails.....
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Old 07-05-2011, 05:13 PM   #9
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As Lindy said: after removing the seat cushions, we set the sofa on end and slid it towards the door. David & I inside and 2 of our boys on the outside. It took a little rotating through the door and tipping down. But we got it out without tearing the fabric.

Just make sure the 2 outside are the strongest. Because it is really heavy. To lighten the load, you may want to take out the mattress and tie it off with a bungee cord. But we didn't even do that.

Unlike when we switched out the new MS sofa and put it into the ES that we traded. The dealer's techs, tore the back of it on the door latch.
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Old 07-05-2011, 05:49 PM   #10
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It took me about ten minutes to take the bed assembley apart from the couch. Went out the door easily and the rest of the couch was light enough then that there was no problem getting it out the door. It took less time to put it back together, then off to Good Will.

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Old 07-05-2011, 08:18 PM   #11
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sofa

we had the smaller sofa bed in our 36tk3. used for one winter then it was out the door. our son slept on it one night and found it more comfortable to sleep on floor. he is 6' 4'' and I am 6'3'', replaced it with a 7' long couch from warren buffett's furnture store in nebraska. problem with most residential couches is that they are too wide and the slides will hit them. so we moved the couch to the street side slide, along with a computer desk and one of the little end tables between them after the dining room table collapsed we felt we didnt need it any way. the couch has plenty of room to lay down and fall asleep with getting a dislocated neck. sje
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Old 07-24-2011, 04:16 PM   #12
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we ordered our 2008 MS with the elite sofa for extra length. we had them remove the hideabed and have storage under it. they did a nice job building a support frame for the cushions. it is comfortable.
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Old 07-25-2011, 04:52 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by suiteowner
we ordered our 2008 MS with the elite sofa for extra length. we had them remove the hideabed and have storage under it. they did a nice job building a support frame for the cushions. it is comfortable.
Welcome to the forum Suiteowner! We hope this is the first of many posts and that you will benefit from the great store of knowledge available here.

I really appreciate your information about the sofa storage area and most importantly that the sofa is comfortable to sit on. I am going to do the same thing but was unsure how comfortable it would be in the end. You have encouraged me to get busy. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 07-25-2011, 12:39 PM   #14
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Don; open that sucker up and go at it with a cordless drill and various bits to remove it's guts! Fold it all up & tie wrap it so it doesn't open up to destroy the whole inside of the camper as you're dragging it to the door then deposit the thing at the curb. The remaining carcass can easily be adapted with an interior box and removeable top to place the cushions on or you can simply s***-can the whole piece of junk to replace it with something having some genuine quality built in.

Your trailer will not be upset at the removal of all that unnecessary iron weight as any company we had were happier sleeping on one of those electric inflatable queen size air beds.

Then go to town on all that unnecessary iron work under the mattress in the bedroom to remove it and replace with a plywood that folds up from both ends and you'll need your fresh water tank full to keep the rig on the gound while towing it!

Between those two steel laden items, I'll bet there's well over 200#'s of scrap metal being dragged down the highway.
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Old 07-26-2011, 11:58 PM   #15
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Mattress springs eliminated

Hey Bruce,
I couldn't agree more but I am way ahead of you LOL! The sofa mattress & mechanism is long gone and I am just stalling at assembling a box to set the cushions on. Now we have a break in the heat wave it is time to get at it.

Never had the spring under the bedroom mattress. Just plywood there and it does the job.

Always a struggle to keep the weight down. I suspect the box I build for the sofa will weigh as much as the fold out frame and mattress. Especially if I end up putting stuff inside the box -- and I will.

Hope you are not having too many Suites-withdrawal symptoms but methinks it might be the case. This is a good place to hang out to help with that :)
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Old 07-28-2011, 08:34 AM   #16
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Don: well done! I gotta say it's been far easier to adjust to not duking it out on the interstates than I would have believed. We had a 45 second "caps off" ceremony watching it roll away from the house and that's been the extent of it.

So much nicer just leaving everything in the house down there and not packing and re-packing. Our time was due I guess.

We wish for good times and few problems for it's new owners.
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Old 09-09-2011, 12:06 AM   #17
RodeWorthy
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Sofa - changed bedframe to storage area

Here are the changes I made to our sofa. I removed the frame/matress and built up a storage area with a hinged lid. We had no use for the bed. There was no weight saving here - the box weighs as much as the bed frame.

The cushions sit directly on the plywood box lid. The seating is much more comfortable now and the added storage is useful.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 6534_sofa_storage_787.jpg (49.6 KB, 88 views)
File Type: jpg 6533_-_cushions_removed_167.jpg (46.7 KB, 88 views)
File Type: jpg 6532_-_sofa_127.jpg (45.5 KB, 88 views)
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Old 09-09-2011, 07:33 AM   #18
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As usual great job Don!

Now, I have the smaller couch so if you cold be so kind to make me a similar box Barb and I would be forever grateful!!!! LOL.

Travel safe and we'll catch you on the road someplace.

Say hi to Stella for us.

Barb & Roland
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Old 01-26-2012, 10:55 AM   #19
USA in a Chevrolet
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Re: Sofas

Quote:
Originally Posted by RodeWorthy
Buddy,
I have the 96" sofa in my MS. I ordered it special with the end tables deleted. I would have deleted the sofa all together but I knew the depth was critical. That is one change I wish I had not made. It was a waste of money. That sofa is so uncomfortable to sit on or lay on. This is due to the fact the only support for the cushions is the folded up bed mechanism. I am thinking the sofa is from Flexsteel but have not confirmed that.

I have removed the bed mechanism and am currently installing an inner box that will support the cushions and provide a bit of storage space. If that doesn't work the sofa is going out. I like the idea of a sofa but maybe a large recliner and a corner desk will work better for us.

Vickie/David, you have me intrigued. From what I have measured I cannot see how that sofa is going to go out the door without being dismanled (destroyed). Did you have to do anything to the sofa to get it out the door? The short one can go out standing up and rotating it out the door but the 96" sofa is too long for that. I was advised by the factory the only way to remove it was through the back window. Billr has suggested a Sawzall will take care of the problem once and for all :)
Thanks for your idea of removing the bed mechanism. We have a 2010 Select 36RESB with a 72" sofa & had the same problem with the sagging bedrame. We had some friends stay with us for 4 nights last week & they said the bed was very uncomfortable. Having gone through 4 days with guests we decided to get rid of the sleeper. Now we have a good excuse for not having overnight guests!

We looked at a replacement for the sofa. We considered a new sleeper bed, recliner love seat or additional recliners. We did not see anything that would work well with our layout. We can look further when we get home.

We decided to remove the bed mechanism in our current sofa & see how that works first. The mechanism is held in by 6 screws on each side. Once you remove the screws, it lifts right out. It only took about 3 hours to remove the mechanism & install a storage area & platform for the cushions. Total cost was $74 as I used 2 sheets of plywood. I decided to install a platform in the bottom of the sofa to keep anything stored there from falling out & interfering with the slide moving in or out. The sofa is much more comfortable now!
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