RV Upholstery

Most people think of upholstery to the seats or interiors of cars or trucks, but the use of upholstery is much broader. Upholstery is found on the vehicles various components and places such as trunks, headliners, doors, etc. Upholstery can be applied to a range of transportation such as boats, yachts, and recreational vehicles (RV). In most cases, upholstery is made from a variety of materials including vinyl, leather, and fabric.

The upholstery used in cars, trucks, RVs, or boats tend to be durable and stain resistant, however, they will degrade or wear out over time. When that occurs, we recommend you replace or repair the upholstery with an expert and experienced upholsterer. Do keep in mind that, not all upholsterers are trained to work on every surface. So when hiring an upholsterer, choose someone who is specialized in a specific upholstery. For instance, if you want to replace or repair the upholstery of your car seats or dashboard, hire an auto upholsterer.

Having said that, let’s discuss upholstery found in today’s RVs.

RV Upholstery

Recreational vehicles and campers are parts and parcel of outdoor life in Pacific Northwest regions. RVs aren’t used as often as family cars, but that doesn’t mean that the upholstery inside isn’t subject to wear and tear. Camping equipment, fishing gears, bicycles, cooking items and so on can damage the RV upholstery more than you think. For instance, fishing hooks snag the carpets, the fabric in the cushions tear, the upholstery foam gets sagged and muddy, and so on and so forth.

Things To Remember For RV Upholstery Shopping

When looking for an RV upholstery shop, it’s important to keep in mind the upholstery in the RV is different than what we normally see inside a car or truck. RV upholstery can be compared to what we see in a family room. The only exception here is that RV upholstery is more sturdy and fit better.

Repairing Flattened Foam

If you are an RV owner and looking forward to changing the outdated fabric with something bright and vibrant, Red Crypton is a perfect choice. Crypton makes high-performing stain, moisture and odor resistant performance fabric for residential and commercial use. It’s common to see the foam in the RV upholstery to go flat in places. Most shops will repair the old foam with new foam, but there is a way to restore the foam with steam. The steamed foam will look new. To change the fabric with new ones, just strip the old fabric covers and use them as patterns to make new ones.

Repair RV Fold-Down Seats

Many RV upholstery includes fold-down seats made from vinyl. They were fashionable in the 1960s. They had a wooden frame, coil springs, cotton batting, burlap, and springs. Today, these materials have been replaced with high-quality polyurethane foam. Polyurethane foam is more comfortable and durable than old-fashioned cotton padded springs. So, if you want to restore these old RV seats, just replace the springs and burlap with polyurethane foam and plywood seat decks.RV Upholstery Thousand oaks

Repair Damaged Seat Foam

The foam is RV seats get damaged more often than cars. It’s because the safety harness on an RV keeps rubbing against the captain’s seat, which tears the fabric and shreds the upholstery foam. It’s relatively easy to fix. However, do remember that the repairs can be difficult if the foam is shredded.

RV seats with inferior quality foam deteriorate quickly. So, before things get worse, replace the foam with high-quality polyurethane foam and reinforced it with special padding material below.  If the fabric is in good condition, just reattach the upholstery fabric over it.

Matching Stitch Patterns

In some situations, there isn’t a need to replace an entire seat cover when only a small part of it is destroyed. Just repair the damaged section with a matching fabric. This is where things get tricky. To get the perfect repair, you need to align both the thread and fabric with the existing stitch line as well as the stitch length. If the stitch length is aligned rightly, the thread used in the sectional repair can be slide precisely into the existing stitch holes.

We are your premier #1 auto upholsterer in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo, Ventura, Oxnard, Calabasas, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Woodland Hills, Calabasas, Oak Park, Newbury Park, Port Hueneme, and Chatsworth.

Preventing RV Upholstery Problems

Repairing or replacing the upholstery in your car or RV isn’t something you can do every day. It is expensive and time-consuming. So, it’s important that you keep your RV upholstery clean from stains, tears, and accidental spill as much as possible. Below are quick tips to remember:

  1. Don’t smoke in your car as smoke can cause a lot of damage to your RV than you can imagine.
  2. Clean up spills as fast as you can. If you accidentally spill soda, juice, or coffee or any other liquid in your RV, soak the spill as much as you can quickly.
  3. Run the vacuum once or twice weekly to suck the dirt, dust or any debris
  4. Shampoo your carpet and fabric regularly for a deep clean.
  5. Condition the leather on the upholstery on a regular basis as leather tends to weaken or break over time.
  6. Don’t carry sharp objects or tools that can cause scratches, rips, holes or tears in the RV upholstery.