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Topic: Flexsteel to Villa ??? (Read 1122 times) previous topic - next topic

Flexsteel to Villa ???

If I can get a super deal on Villa Captain and Copilot chairs at the FMCA conference, is this a brand change I want to make? And, second, are there any issues with adapting the Flexsteel base plates to Villa?
Randy (N4TDT) and Karen Crete
Sarasota, Florida
2000 U270 34' WTFE Build 5756 "Ole Red"
Follow Us: Login • Instagram  Camping for the Rest of Life – It does not matter how slowly you go so long you don't stop

Re: Flexsteel to Villa ???

Reply #1
I think either is good but I am no expert but what I can help you with........

Anything is possible with a welder!!  :))

Re: Flexsteel to Villa ???

Reply #2
We wanted to replace our Flexsteel captains chairs at Foretravel and learned about a few issues :

Foretravel will only install Villa brand chairs.
Our existing Flexsteel base is custom made and shorter in height than any offered by Villa.
Some have installed Villa and found they could not reach the pedals, maybe due new chair shape, so Foretravel made a matching pillow to be used behind driver.
Our Foretravel floor has specifically positioned welded steel cross members that the  Flexsteel chair floor mounting bolts go through for strong support.
Villa baseplate has floor bolts located in a different location than Flexsteel, so new floor holes are drilled.
New drilled floor holes go through wood top floor, Styrofoam & bottom fiberglass.  With no steel it is less secure in an accident than OEM bolting.
Some on this Forum have made steel plates that attach to new Villa base hole positions and separately to OEM floor holes.
Villa chair may end up positioned so swiveling will hit the wall or couch preventing turning chair sideways.

Foretravel has switched many Flexsteel setups to Villa.

Even different Flexsteel chair models may have above issues.

We learned that Flexsteel still manufactures our same OEM model number, so we ordered a new pair now with ultra-leather, adjustable arm rests & back vibrator.  We also bought new tilt mechanism and reused our short OEM swivel base.


Re: Flexsteel to Villa ???

Reply #3
Villa Captain and Copilot chairs . . . is this a brand change I want to make? Are there any issues with adapting the Flexsteel base plates to Villa?
The Villas are MUCH larger than the original seats. I note that you have a 34' FT; I cannot imagine how huge they would look compared to my 40. If it is the copilot seat with the lifting foot rest, It will be VERY difficult to get into your coach through the door. If you have a screen, remove it. If you can, remove the door. I did not do either of these, and I almost gave up on getting it into the coach. Finally got it in, but left some scrapes and gouges in the dash, the door, and on the seat. Did I mention it was VERY heavy?

The base plate was fairly simple. IIRC, The pilot seat needed two new holes in the old base plate, and the copilot seat only one new hole.  IIRC the bolts are 7/16" I used a 1/2" drill bit to help get all the pieces to line up properly, but it was not easy to accomplish. BTW, I did include some pictures of my trials and tribulations in another thread, possibly about replacing the flooring???

The biggest problem was getting to the two most forward nuts on the bolts through the floor. They are on the front side of a beam that crosses the coach and very hard to reach. I used MANY extensions that are also problematic; it might  help to tape the attached extensions together (unless you have a very long one).

The results:

    Don't let the fact that I am still driving around the country with only two bolts fastened on each seat deter you from the project.  :headwall:

    Pilot seat:

          Using the original floor hole location, the pilot seat cannot rotate all the way around. Also, if you have not kept your high school waist, you might not be able to feel comfortable behind the steering wheel. It helps to tilt the wheel forward, but only if you are a lot taller than me, so you can still see the gauges.  I would like to be able to mount the seat a little further back, but that darn structure beam. just behind the forward holes. makes that much more difficult. It might work if the beam is a box beam (I don't recall) and use longer bolts, all the way through the beam. I could also drill new holes to relocate it a little away from the wall, but that would narrow the path between the two seats even more. Have I mentioned that these are VERY large seats?

    Copilot seat:

          All the electric switches worked on all of the seats when they were in my living room. The pilot seat controls still work, but not the copilot seat controls. None of the electrical switches do anything. I have checked all of the connectors, and they all appear to be properly seated. The problem is that it is very large and difficult to get very far under it, even though it is only mounted with two bolts, too. I guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and remove those two, turn the seat on its side so I can see all of the wires. I can use a separate 12 volt battery to trouble shoot all the wiring. DW biggest complaint is that she cannot raise the footrest to a comfortable position. We are currently using a foot stool for her leg rest. DW used to complain about how wide her seat is, but no more. She has discovered that it is wide enough to have a basket on the seat next to her and still sit comfortably. She can keep maps, travel guides, snacks, chargers, etc. and not have to go looking for them.

I don't intend to leave you with a totally negative picture. If you don't have a procrastination bone in your body, you might be able to have more success than I have. I hereby resolve to, if nothing else, tighten the two mounting bolts on each seat so they stop rocking so much.  b^.^d

I found some earlier articles; see the links below:

Relocating Pilot Seat

Mounting Cockpit Seats on a Floating Floor

Front seats

Hope this helps,

Trent
Trent and Jean Eyler
2000  U295  4003  WTFE  ISC  350
Build#5603 MC#17385

Re: Flexsteel to Villa ???

Reply #4
Tulsa, I have a 2000 U320..  The seats have integrated seat belts but no other markings.  I'm assuming they are Villa based on their look, but do you know what your originals were?  Did you swap from Flexsteel to Villa?

Charlie and Jennifer Sawyer, et. al.
2000 U320 M-4010 #5625
2015 Rubicon

Re: Flexsteel to Villa ???

Reply #5
Tulsa, I have a 2000 U320..  do you know what your originals were?  Did you swap from Flexsteel to Villa?
The originals on my 2000 U295 were Flexsteel; I changed to Villa. IIRC the Villas have "Villa" as part of the liner under the flaps (similar to a watermark), I also think my seats have a Foretravel logo embroidered on the top center of the seats. If yours have been recovered at some point, that might not exist anymore.

Hope this helps,

Trent
Trent and Jean Eyler
2000  U295  4003  WTFE  ISC  350
Build#5603 MC#17385

Re: Flexsteel to Villa ???

Reply #6
I'm resurrecting this thread to cry in my beer that if you "snooze you lose".  We stopped at Bradd & Hall in the fall of 2019 and decided to wait until this spring to order new Flexsteel chairs.  Now we've learned that Flexsteel has STOPPED making RV furniture effective April 2020.  They'll complete their existing orders but accept no new ones!

No apparent reason given.  Just imagine the new coach manufacturers that are now scrambling.  Imagine the backlog at Villa now.  According to Bradd & Hall this will bring new manufacturers in to fill the void but likely not for the next year.

Randy (N4TDT) and Karen Crete
Sarasota, Florida
2000 U270 34' WTFE Build 5756 "Ole Red"
Follow Us: Login • Instagram  Camping for the Rest of Life – It does not matter how slowly you go so long you don't stop

Re: Flexsteel to Villa ???

Reply #7
Randy I just got my chairs within the last month from Villa. I want to say it was about a two and a half month waiting time. Unfortunately I could not get integrated seat belts from Villa, they refused to do it since my original chairs didn't have them. That was a bummer but it did save me about $700 or so. I went with Villa over flexsteel for several reasons. First I thought that they made a better product. Second, I could get items like massage and heat that the flex seal did not have. So I got heat on both chairs and massage on the passenger chair. This definitely added some coach bucks to the overall cost. But I think it will be worth it in the long run. So if you're looking for a new chairs or sofa Give Villa a call now and get in line. mike@villainternational.com
Mike Ramirez handles foretravel. He's not always an easy guy to get a hold of. I got the impression they were very busy. Don't bother looking at their website, lol. It is very old. Just let Michael know what it is that you're looking for and he'll send you some pictures of what he has. My captain's chairs are turned out perfect. I have yet to install them they're just sitting there because I had two different mounting holes set on the last chairs. One was 8 x 10 in the other one was 10 x 10 in. So I'm going to have to drill new holes on one side, and fill the old ones in. And other projects have kept me busy before I do that. I hope to get that done maybe next week though at the latest two weeks. And then I'll post pictures.
'99 U320 40 WTFE
Build #5462,
1500 Watts Solar 600 amp Victron lithium
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Hemi
Instagram bobfnbw
Retired

Re: Flexsteel to Villa ???

Reply #8
This is a rv furniture store in Junction City, Oregon.  A family run operation that I've done business with for over 15 years.  It is 30 minutes from I-5, Eugene, Oregon.

I have over the years bought all takeout furniture from new Country Coach and Monaco Villa takeout furnishings from brand new units.  With CC and Monaco gone (as they were) I furnished my, new to me, '97 FT with all new takeout Flexsteel furniture from new Newmar rvs.  Newmar contracted with Flexsteel to build furniture with their proprietary fabrics.  I'm totally happy with my new booth dinette, captains chairs, jackknife sofa, and recliner.  All were takeouts from new Newmar rigs. Yes, a few blems and mark's that only I would see, for those I saved better than 50% off.

This business has good people, and they never let me down when helping either me or my customers, for the past 15+ years.

The source for their used/consignment furniture was tradeins on new furniture.  The furniture was consigned for something like 60 or 90 days depending on what it was.  If not sold they would donate the furniture to charity.  The good used furniture sold very quick, marginal stuff ended up being donated.  Asking prices were pretty firm. They also did installs, and some upgrades.

Countryside RV Interiors - (541) 998-6541

Used/Consignment Furniture
Consignment & Used

97 U295 40, Build #5040, 6C8.3 325 HP
Oregon Continuous Traveler
Samsung Residential #RF20HFENBSR,
Xantrex SW2012, (3)AGM8D Hse, (2)AGM Grp24 Eng, Victron BMV-712, 1800w Solar 4 LG & 2 Sunpower
Extreme Full Body Pt w/hdlmps, new furn/floor, 4 down Lexus 2004 GX470 AWD curb weight 4,740 lbs
Prev: 1990 Barth, 10L 300 2 yrs; 91&92 Monaco Signature, 10 yrs, 10L C 300 &  6C8.3 300; 1997 ForeT 6C8.3 325 since May 2017.  Employed by Guaranty RV 14+ yrs.  Former VW New Car Dlr/Service Dlr, Sales Mgr, Rv Sales, and Service Adviser from 1968-2017
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