Replacing RV furniture

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C

cleochatra

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Posts
13
Location
Colorado
Hi there! We just purchased a sweet little shuttle bus we plan to outfit ourselves into a mini-RV.

At the risk of sounding like a numpty:

1. Could one install a standard sleeper sofa/recliners from a furniture store, so long as everything's bolted down (and the frames are metal)?
2. Could it seat passengers safely in travel, or is standard RV furniture safer?

My inclinations tell me I'm smoking crack to have even considered the option, but I would like a second opinion. I have four kids, so being able to have them spread out (albeit while belted in for safety) is our priority.

I appreciate any experiences or thoughts you might have! We're so excited about our shuttle bus. Woot!

Fondly,
Jamie
 
Jamie, there is nothing special about RV furniture, other than metal frames. I have converted two ex-greyhound buses over the years , just bolt everthing through the floor., and include seat belts for passengers. You Will have to shop for smaller furnishings to conserve space, but its not difficult.  Lay out your floorplan carefully and route your electrics , gas lines, walls and water lines before installing furnishings.>>>Dan
 
Thank you so much, Dan!

I have been shopping furnishings to outfit the rig (much to the dismay of hubby who's worried about my decorating tastes--this coming from a man who wants to inherit his great grandfather's stuffed goat head for display), and I might be able to surprise him with an amazingly reasonable solution. Some of the RV furnishings are pretty spendy, but I know they are because they're worth it. This way I can be sure we get something safe and comfortable for the kids, so long as we keep the tape measure handy at all times!
 
Jamie, we have an old sofa/bed at home that is so heavy it wouldn't be suitable for an RV.  It's significantly heavier than the RV sofabeds we've had.  One feature that you must have is the ability to bring seat belts up from where they're bolted to the floor and through the back of the sofa so they can be used.  RV sofas have this feature or they should not be used when traveling, especially with children.  If you go to an RV show and walk through a number of RVs you'll see that loose chairs often have a sticker nearby that says "This seat not for use while in motion" or something similar because they are not equipped with seatbelts.  Dinette booths usually have seatbelts, as do sofas.  Sometimes you have to lift up the sofa seat to see the seatbelts but there should be some even if they've not been pulled up for use.

ArdraF
 
Ardra-- you are so right! And I'm one of those paranoid moms who always wants a kid in a seatbelt. Always. I will be absolutely sure the capability exists for seatbelt access. Hell. I don't even like being without a belt. I will definitely consider weight as well. I don't want something crazy heavy. This is a shuttle bus, but I don't want to max its load.

You are the best! Thank you!
 
An additional consideration...getting it through the door!

Many 'home' couches/hide-a-beds can't be broken down enough to get them in the RV!
 
PorscheMark said:
An additional consideration...getting it through the door!

Many 'home' couches/hide-a-beds can't be broken down enough to get them in the RV!
Click to expand...

If you have a large enough window somewhere on it, people have been known to take it out and slip furniture in through them lol.
 
I think that the weight issue is the main thing.  We were shopping for a new sofa and wanted to check out "ultra-leather".  We found it on the internet in several places, but had not seen it in person.

We went to our neighborhood RV dealer and asked him if we could look at on in a coach so we could see if we liked it.  He said that he "just happened to have one" that a guy had in a new coach, that he wanted to replace so he could put in two recliners.  We looked at it, it was the right color and size, it ends up that we bought it for 1/2 the price that we would have paid at an RV furniture place on-line. ;D 

 
Thanks so much, you guys! I truly appreciate it. We're blinging out a shuttle bus we purchased, so the wheelchair door makes it super easy to bring in big pieces of furniture. I have done some research, though, and it's really no more expensive to buy the RV furniture than had we gone and bought new furniture for an RV--and the RV furnishings are made for the RV, so they just feel more safe somehow. I am looking into craigslist and other places for some used RV furniture, but if we need to buy, we still got the bus for a good deal, so I'm really happy.

Thank you so much for your help!  :-*
 
Check around at some of the RV dealers in your area. Chances are that they possibly will have some furniture that they have taken out of RVs.  We were wanting to replace our sofa after it had become worn.  We looked on the internet and found what we think we wanted, but decided to check with our local RV dealer and actually look at an RV with the sofa we were wanting.  He said yes he had one that a customer had taken out of a new 5th wheel because he wanted to replace it with recliners.

We looked at it, it was obviously brand new.  It was just what we were wanting except that it was 2--3" shorter than the one on the internet, BUT I managed to talk him down to 1/2 the price of a new one on-line with NO SHIPPING!

Zoweee!
 
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