Defective Ultra Leather on Flexsteel Furniture

[seskins]

We have a Class A 2011 Fleetwood Bounder. We purchased RV in 2013 and at that time the furniture was fine. There was some cracking and peeling of the leather in the drivers chair and back of the couch in 2015. This year all of the furniture has excessive cracking and peeling of the Ultra Leather.

I contracted Lazydays upholstery department and they indicated that they have seen this problem before because of defective leather being used by the manufacturer of the furniture. I sent pictures to them and they sent me the quote of $2000 to reupholster the driver and passenger chairs and couch. They recommended I buy a new recliner because it would be cheaper than reupholstering it.

I contacted Fleetwood and they declined to do anything about this problem because it was to far out of warranty.

Has anyone else had this problem and, if so, what was the outcome?

[down_home]

There is/are other threads on the Ultra Leather and Flex steel years back.
The original Ultra Leather is good stuff. Our is 11 years old and in great shape.
At some point they started using the cheaper version. I cannot remember if the company, that made Ultra Leather was bought out and the new stuff didn't perform or what.
I cannot find the threads. Perhaps someone here can.

[Canadian_Rainbi]

Our 2002 Itasca Horizon has the flexsteel seats and are beginning to show signs of wear and cracking. After every winter in Mexico since 2008 and 100,000 miles. No complaints here. Sounds like a bad batch.

[Two_Jayhawks]

Has anyone else had this problem and, if so, what was the outcome?

We had a "bad batch" on our Newmar and they recovered sofa, euro booth, and front seats. However this was discovered inside of the warranty period.

[willald]

2112 wrote:
Same issue here in my 2013 KZ FW. Sofa and 2 chairs are cracking and peeling. I blamed it on the summer heat while being stored but maybe there is more to it.

Summer heat definitely plays a role, as we noticed areas of the couch, chairs that were more exposed to the sun, seemed to peel and wear faster. But, cheapness of the material is a big factor, too. If you can keep the shades down more to minimize the sun exposure to the sun, that will at least help it last a little longer.

Will

[2112]

Same issue here in my 2013 KZ FW. Sofa and 2 chairs are cracking and peeling. I blamed it on the summer heat while being stored but maybe there is more to it.

[willald]

Yep, the couch, recliner, and both captains chairs on our 2012 Georgetown did, and are doing, the same thing. Really rotten, the cheap material they use to upholster the seats in new RVs. From what I've read, many manufacturers use a cheap 'painted' leather, that never lasts long, just until the warranty ends, haha.

We chose to re-upholster the couch, did that last year. Cost us about $400, but well worth it, much better more durable leather. Like it much better. Going to look at reupholstering the recliner and captains chairs this winter with same material. Won't be cheap, but it's what we gotta do.

I'd be afraid if we just replaced the chairs, we'd just end up with same cheap material and have to replace it again in a few years.

[Bill_Satellite]

I tried to get a standard upholstery place to reupholster my drivers seat. They had no interest as the way a vehicle seat and a home seat are upholstered is very different. If anyone finds someone willing to do a new leather upholstery job (yes, real leather but a similar material would be fine) on an RV seat (mine is an Isri) I would appreciate the contact information.

[3oaks]

What don't some people understand about Warranties?

Of course it is "Good Will" for a company to fix or replace something that failed beyond the specified warranty period, but it shouldn't be expected or required of them.

[dons2346]

I doubt the material used in the OP's rig is real Ultra Leather. There are products that look like it but come no where close to wear ability.

Real Ultra Leather actually costs more per yard than real leather

[doxiemom11]

Wouldn't the furniture be made by a third party vendor. Shouldn't they be the ones that back their product? Doesn't Fleetwood or whatever RV place buy the furniture from another company?

[Jim]

I used vinyl as a generic term meaning 'man made material'. I'll be more careful next time.

As far as the early wear issues that many experienced with a seemingly bad batch of 'ultra leather', it wasn't just confined to Tiffin products. My brothers Class C has the same early threadbare condition as does a friend's Class A (brand names escape me ATM).

I wonder if low humidity and/or owners reluctance to do maintenance on it might not have something to do with it?

[rgatijnet1]

Any local upholstery shop should be able to handle the redoing of your furniture. It does not have to be an RV shop. They will also give you a more complete choice of fabrics, do it quicker, and probably do a better job than Flexsteel.
I do remember that there was a problem with some of the knock-off Ultra leather material, but as mentioned, it is way out of warranty so you are on your own.

[Clay_L]

Ultra Leather is not vinyl. It is a polyurethane on a rayon fabric and if it is really Ultra Leather and not a cheaper knock-off is very durable.
I reupholstered all of my fabric covered motor home furniture with UltraLeather Plus and after 6 years of full time use it was still in great shape when I sold the motor home.
There are a lot of cheap knock-offs on the market and some manufacturers have used them. There have been a lot of complaints about those that did.
As I recall we paid about $40 or $50 per yard for the UltraLeather and we used about $1000 worth for two captains chairs, the couch and the dinette cushions.

[dougrainer]

One thing some have missed on this post. The OP purchased USED. That means he has NO STANDING when requesting Goodwill repair on a Motorhome. As to the material, I do not know if Tiffin used the same material on some of their units going back that far, but yes, there have been chairs and sofa/couches that have peeled from a bad batch of vinyl/leather. Tiffin will replace if you take it back to Tiffin in Red Bay if out of the original warranty. Remember, this unit is over 6 years old. Doug