Captains Chairs

Topic: Captains Chairs (Read 3228 times) previous topic - next topic

Captains Chairs

May 23, 2018, 05:58:42 pm

So..... looking at Villa vs Flexsteel captains chairs to replace the ones on our coach. I would like to not have to do this now, but the PO had cats.. and they used it as a scratching post. They are full of holes. And worn too. I suppose I could get some sheep skin for now and be done with it. And I might just do that. But want to explore all options. I think the seats are Villa, at least the passenger seat is, as it has a integral seat belt. The driver seat only has a lap belt. Both have power up down, back front and they both turn. The pass seat also has power footrest.
So the question is, has anyone purchased seats recently and can give me some idea of what you did? Can I just put new seats on and keep the base ? I have read in the forums that the seat height might be different, how to tell?
Villa have integral seat belts, and while I like that idea, I'm not sure I want to pay 800$ bucks more for it. But don't like the idea of lap belts either. Has anyone here put a 3 way harness on your coach. If so, where did you attach the shoulder belt to?
The villa seats are almost double the cost of the flexsteel seats, but have a lot more options. So I am thinking it might be better to wait for a better time to do this.
I await your thoughts.
Thanks,
Bob

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #1 – May 23, 2018, 08:16:55 pm

Bob you might check with Fourwheelers, Lynn told me they had their pilot and co-pilot chairs changed in Q this past January and the vendor bought their los set. I didn't ask what it cost
Chris

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #2 – May 23, 2018, 08:44:08 pm

Many go into Mexico through Puerto Penasco and get them restuffed and covered for a lot less. They also recover them I believe at MOT.
John

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #3 – May 23, 2018, 08:50:48 pm

Had ours replaced in Quartzsite a couple of years ago. We went with Flexsteel because that was what was available at a decent price. My wife did not like the Villa passenger seat because it was so large and she said that she just wallered all over it but could not get comfortable. She is more satisfied with the Flexsteel. An option is to go to Nac and have them reupholstered. Hope this helps.

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #4 – May 23, 2018, 08:59:46 pm

Not sure if original leather is available from Flexsteel, but we restuffed our seats with OE foam from Flexsteel. Fairly simple job if you have some tools. Check with them as they may have the leather portions available.The model # of the seat is on a production paper stuffed in the spring area of the cushion

Good Luck

Hans

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #5 – May 24, 2018, 12:18:47 am

Puerto Penasco.. Paid $600.00 for both to be recovered.. way comfortable and very happy with the end result

Sammy or Menoz will do a great job.

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #6 – May 27, 2018, 01:48:04 am

Thank you all for your reply. Recovering them in the US is almost as much as a new seat it looks like, and Mexico is not a option for us right now although they look great!
I am not sure if our chairs are flexsteel or villa. I think one of each. One is lap belt only, the other intergrated shoulder belt. Since the 6 way base works, and the swivels as well, I might be able to save some money there. Brad and Hall has Flexsteel "Scopan" Model 267 for a good price. I will call them next week.
Bob

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #7 – May 27, 2018, 08:13:49 pm

Try foretravel they remove and replace .. eBay also.. Craig's list. Be patient.. good luck

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #8 – May 28, 2018, 06:33:57 pm

Quote from: DavidS – May 27, 2018, 08:13:49 pm

Try foretravel they remove and replace .. eBay also.. Craig's list. Be patient.. good luck

Foretravel was willing to re-cover ours for $1500 each - I had to ask again, to make sure I heard right. My experience with FOT is that they double the price on things you can buy from the factory. I would really like to be able to credit FOT, rather than criticize, but I don't see much customer loyalty from them.

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #9 – May 28, 2018, 06:41:26 pm

https://rvfurniture.visonerv.com/cgi-bin/f/rvcaptainschairs.pl?

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #10 – May 28, 2018, 07:22:59 pm

You can buy brand new Flexsteel for that price.The logo is not worth $1500 to me.

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #11 – May 31, 2018, 04:32:15 am

Quote from: John44 – May 28, 2018, 07:22:59 pm

You can buy brand new Flexsteel for that price.The logo is not worth $1500 to me.

I agree David. Crazy. And buying a used site unseen chair seems like a big gamble to me. What if its just as bad as the one you have?
After cleaning up the chairs, they look ok. I figured that putting a 300$ sheepskin on it will more than make up for it. Maybe a piece of memory foam under will help as well. Everything works otherwise.

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #12 – May 31, 2018, 08:14:25 am

My driver seat is comfortable, a bit worn but I love my sheepskin. The right side of the seat seems a bit more compacted which is expected with the age. I do have a memory foam seat bottom which helps a lot. But one day I plan to have the bottom cushions replaced. I had an ISRI air ride seat in my previous coach which had more adjustments and the air ride was great. But the cushioning was harder so the sheepskin helped with that.

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #13 – May 31, 2018, 09:57:38 am

We had ours rebuilt/recovered at Tapiceria Muñoz in Puerto Peñasco. $550 for both including R&R at the RV park. Material we selected is more durable than the vinyl Ultraleather produces. They copied the OEM seats exactly. Prices may be slightly higher as this was several years ago.

His Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/biz/puerto-pe%C3%B1asco/Tapiceria-Mu%C3%B1oz-251991258147864/

Ultraleather is a vinyl product made by Ultrafabrics. They do not make or use any real leather in any the products they supply.

Original | ultrafabrics

Pierce

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #14 – May 31, 2018, 10:18:04 am

Munoz was $800 for both when we were there in November of last year. I saved $200 by using Sammy but Sammy is a one man show and a little slow if you have a deadline.. Munoz has a few people working with his and he can tackle multiple pieces and be done in a reasonable time. Munoz work is also impeccable.

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #15 – May 31, 2018, 10:47:23 am

Do you have any photos of the chair fronts?

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #16 – May 31, 2018, 12:51:42 pm

Quote from: Sven and Kristi – May 31, 2018, 10:47:23 am

Do you have any photos of the chair fronts?

One of the front and one of the detail around the seat adjustment. You can see the grain in the vinyl. I told him I wanted them EXACTLY like the OEM and then I checked a couple times a day on their progress.

I used to import cars on my off days so took a lot of seats to Mexico to replace the fabric panels n the middle of the seats the German cars came with so I'm pretty good getting what I want across. David's guys are good for details but I didn't want any surprises. In negotiating the price, I did tell him that I would be sending more Foretravels down to his shop.

For absolutely the best material you can buy, MB-Tex is available in plain and perforated from Mercedes-Benz Upholstery, Seats, Carpets, Interior Panels, Convertible Tops,... . . I can't tell it from MB leather unless I look at the back side. It lasts forever. With a chamois tossed under the seat, it even smells like leather.

I took these photos today. This is several years after the job was done. No wear or any other problems.

Pierce

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #17 – May 31, 2018, 02:34:30 pm

I used to have a upholstery shop and Pierce was wright about smell --had not thought about chamois making it smell like leather
FYI anything that comes in a roll is not leather. Leather is sold in 1/2 hides and full hides (Cow hides, sheep hides etc.).
Also, when you are told it is a leather chair, the only leather used is where your skin may touch, ie. seat, seat back, top of and inside arm rest. everything else will be vinyl that is made to match leather look but it will not smell like leather you put your nose to it.
Hope this helps anyone looking at getting reupholstery job done
Chris

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #18 – May 31, 2018, 03:46:12 pm

Chris,

Quite right about the "leather" interiors. I remember a well known automaker advertising so many square feet of leather in their car's interior. When you added up all the square feet needed, it was obvious their square footage of real leather would only be enough to cover the part that touched your bottom and back.

Cars like Mercedes use water based paint to spray on the leather. Easy to sand through the paint. Some English cars used vat dyed leather where the color goes all the way through. These are a little more prone to cracking as they age.

Unless it says, real leather, echtes leather or genuine leather, it's plastic/vinyl. The "Ultraleather" we have in Foretravels is just another term for vinyl. A good vinyl beats leather 100 to 1 in almost every possible way. All the really nice wrinkle/folded leather side panels on new cars are just vinyl. On the other hand, some thin vinyls make great square corners and look super neat on seats but may feel sticky against the skin and don't last that long.

Pierce

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #19 – May 31, 2018, 05:37:45 pm

If I was to have any leather work done, I would go to Infinity Commercial Upholstery here in Nacogdoches. icuph.com

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #20 – May 31, 2018, 06:38:24 pm

I remember when I was young going hunting with my father for the ever elusive Nauga. (Naugahyde)

John

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #21 – June 01, 2018, 12:06:57 am

Used to drive country coaches with ultra leather furniture. Soft, plush sweaty

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #22 – June 01, 2018, 05:22:42 am

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – May 31, 2018, 09:57:38 am

We had ours rebuilt/recovered at Tapiceria Muñoz in Puerto Peñasco. $550 for both including R&R at the RV park. Material we selected is more durable than the vinyl Ultraleather produces. They copied the OEM seats exactly. Prices may be slightly higher as this was several years ago.

His Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/biz/puerto-pe%C3%B1asco/Tapiceria-Mu%C3%B1oz-251991258147864/
Ultraleather is a vinyl product made by Ultrafabrics. They do not make or use any real leather in any the products they supply.
Original | ultrafabrics
Pierce

Pierce, sounds like a date for me in mid 2020. Your chairs came out great! In the meantime I think Sheepskin covers. I am having the jackknife sofa reupholstered next week and will get a quote for it locally. I have a large roll of ultraleather I purchased on Ebay 5 years ago to do a sailboat interior that I will use for that. Whats left over will go on the dash.
Bob

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #23 – June 01, 2018, 11:36:43 am

Bob,

Thanks! With the thicker material, you don't get the tight radius on the corners that the thinner material is good for. That's about the only disadvantage I can think of. Taking material with you is also a good idea. That way, you can figure out any fabric or color you like. David's shop is going to do our sofa and recliner chair the next time down. We just have to pick a fabric that is dog proof ahead of time.

He has quite a few books of fabric at his shop and I was easily able to find a matching color in a HD vinyl. Mexico does not seem to manufacture perforated vinyl so that has to be purchased in the States if mandatory.

Lots of other shops on both sides of the border where you can get good work done. In Northern California, the Central Valley has lots of small shops with good prices and work. PP is not Puerto Vallarta but is still fun for a few days with the ocean, clean beaches and great food plus RV parks with both staff and other fellow RV'ers to help send you in the right direction for supplies, dental offices, etc.

A little of the savings is lost with the mandatory Mexican liability insurance needed. I buy a driver's license policy for a year for $100. It covers anything you rent or drive for the new Mexican minimum of US$330,000. I don't bother with collision insurance. Since PP is in the "no hassle zone" as they call it, you don't need anything aside from the insurance and a U.S. passport to get back across the border.

Pierce

Re: Captains Chairs

Reply #24 – June 05, 2018, 03:15:14 pm

I looked closely at a 270 last thursday that had all seats and chairs, sofa and valances recovered in "leather" from the Falcon Jet interior shop. Looked awful nice to me. Is that vinyl or what..

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