We took ours out, not to be replaced by anything, but in order to gain some space for our mattress, since it was overhanging at the foot end of the bed. Believe it or not, we gained a whole 8" which is a lot in RV space. It was very easy to pry away from the wall. I did it very gently with no tools and there were only a couple of very small holes, the size of small screws which are not obvious unless you know where to look for it and they are covered by the pillows anyway.