Hi, I think of replacing my RV sofa with a house type sofa or maybe two reclining chairs. Is there any recommendations before I start shopping?I would also like to keep the safety belts available for when I bring people. I notice that the belt are attached to the floor and not to the sofa. Do I need to secure the new sofa to the floor?

I would fasten the sofa/chair to the floor. If not, in the event of an impact, the weight of the sofa would be pressing against the passenger.And, if you had no passenger, the sofa would be bouncing around inside the RV. Not fun for the driver or anyone else in the RV.

The first thing you'll probably notice is that a residential sofa is bigger than the one you're replacing. And it may weigh more, so you might be adding quite a bit of extra weight to your coach. Check the dimensions of where you will be placing it and then carry a tape measure with you to the furniture store. And yes, you will definitely want to secure whatever you get to the floor. The seat-belts aren't going to do much good if the sofa goes flying through the air. ;-)We just removed the sofa and seat-belts from ours and went back with a futon-style sofa from World Market. World Market Studio Day Sofa I used some "L" brackets to screw it down to the floor and it works like a charm so far. Of course, we also removed the dinette set/benches and put the studio sofa in it's place. The original RV sofa was in the slide and we are on the hunt for a decent table/work surface for that space. We don't have anyone riding with us, so we had no need of the extra riding positions, and we never used the dinette for anything except to catch "stuff", so we changed it around. We also removed the recliner since we never used it either. I turn the driver's and passenger's seat around and use ottomans as foot props.In doing all that we shed quite a bit of weight and made the RV more usable for our purposes.

Good luck getting it in the door ;-)

Just make sure you can get the house type furniture in through the RV Doorway before buying them... All things RV are reduced in size to save weight it seems...Have heard horror stories where some folks had to remove a full window to get a replacement house type fridge into the trailer...Roy Ken

Replacing the RV sofa with a House sofa? | Good Sam Community

Kidoo
Explorer
Apr 09, 2016
Thanks for all recommendations. Getting it through the door could be a challenge as I see, must measure everything. Recliners would probably be the a good option. I was thinking refurbishing, but I think this is an expensive project too.
flyfishingfool
Explorer
Apr 08, 2016
We replaced our sofa with 2 lazyboy recliners, we didn't use seatbelts
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Apr 08, 2016
Working in a re-sale shop as I do we get a lot of furniture in (And out).

The Sofa in my RV is, save for fabric, Identical to the one my parents had, it is identical to many we have run through the store..

You ask "What about seat belts"

They are not part of the sofa, they are bolted to the floor UNDER the sofa (to the frame actually) you simply reach down and pull them up through the cushions where the seat meets the back.

But the sofa I'm sitting on as I type this.. is a standard residential jackknife convertible sofa/bed. You may replace as you sish. however chairs should not be used for seating while in motion unless they are the proper type. And properly bolted in place.

In many Rv's the sofa is not even bolted in.
horizon36
Explorer
Apr 08, 2016
Getting it thru the door is one of the hard parts. You have to get it around the passenger seat, the dash and any other obstacles to make the bend into the living room. If you have a large side window you could take that out, it's not hard. That's how I got my residential fridge into our coach. Just be sure to reseal it properly.
Busskipper
Explorer
Apr 08, 2016
tonymull wrote:
Good luck getting it in the door ;-)

Ditto
hanko
Explorer
Apr 08, 2016
I've replaced the horribly uncomfortable L shaped couch in my 36LA with a lazy boy reclining couch, and If it wasn't so difficult to post pictures, I would
dbbls
Explorer
Apr 08, 2016
Lazboy recliners will go in your RV. I have found that these are more comfortable the most sofas.
DrewE
Explorer II
Apr 08, 2016
Also make sure that there is nothing "in" the existing sofa like an outside storage compartment or some mechanical systems. The sofa in my RV is more or less just cushions on top of a storage compartment.

I guess if you've investigated the seat belt mounting, you've probably seen and determined that there's nothing but floor underneath it, but double-check if you're unsure.
DSDP_Don
Explorer
Apr 08, 2016
Most of your RV furniture comes apart so it can be installed in pieces and fit through a door. Make sure it will fit.
RoyB
Explorer II
Apr 08, 2016
Just make sure you can get the house type furniture in through the RV Doorway before buying them... All things RV are reduced in size to save weight it seems...

Have heard horror stories where some folks had to remove a full window to get a replacement house type fridge into the trailer...

Roy Ken