Couch / Sofa ideas?

[PwrWgnWalt]

Only one (?!) interior item left to fool with... the original sofa / couch.
Located behind the drivers seat, it is not a pull out bed - just a fixed, poorly padded bench sofa. It can partially be seen in the picture below.

Our first MH, so want to do it right the first time... want to have a well-padded, comfortable sitting and dining seat.

Will re-do the couch, leaving the cabinet / storage space beneath it (nothing is in there), and am looking for ideas, thoughts, experiences, suggestions, etc.  Pictures of your would be good, too!  (We'll be recovering it)


Thanks for your ideas!
- Walt

[PwrWgnWalt]

Surely someone has updated their couch?   or has thought about it?

Looking for ideas on what works well in a MH and what you like about your setup,
and perhaps more importantly, what you DON'T like and why...

Thanks!
- Walt

[eXodus]

Ive got a pull out and can not store a lot underneith the mechanics blocks all the way.
modern coaches have there sometimes single seats.
dont know how much space you want to waste, but i love my recling sofa at home, comes with a solide metal frame so it ould be easy to screw it to the floor.

[pvoth1111]

I'm thinking of pulling mine out and installing a nice higher end wooden framed futon. I think it "wood" look better and function better than this big bulky pain in the butt thing I live with now.

[serenitygirl64]

You could remove the bench/couch and put in a murphy bed.  there are a lot of different options for small spaces... another thought is some of the old conversion vans come with nice couches that the back flips over to the front that turns in to a bed... these are very comfortable. 

[Lefty]

On our Chieftain, which had the couch in the same location as yours, as well as a chair in the same spot as yours on the other side too, I bought a set from a rolled over Conversion van... Got 4 captain's chairs (two front were 6 way power with dual armrests, two rear were dual armrests but manual) and a power couch that folded into a full size bed at the push of a button. All for just $200.00  (To be honest, the van had busted all it's windows out and they had gotten wet and had kinda molded a bit... but after a very hard scrubbing with hot water and Tide, they cleaned up like brand new)
I had to run a 12v power and ground to the seats and the couch... and I mounted a two way momentary rocker switch on the wall beside the couch to give me an "Up" and "Down" depending which way it was pushed. I ended up with one extra captain's chair, as I could only fit three and the couch. I sold it for $150.00  lol  So in all I had $50.00 in them plus a bottle of Tide.

Wheel and Deal!! That's the game I like to play best of all!!!

[PwrWgnWalt]

Thanks everyone!  That's a start to get me thinking, keep the ideas coming...


I will have to see what I can find at salvage yards around here.  They don't usually have too much, but one never knows!


I also like that flip-couch possibility, serenitygirl... Will have to investigate further.

[legomybago]

It depends on your plans of usage? If your going to have guests stay the night, you may want a pull out hidabed, the only problem with the hidabed is they are usually not very comfortable, and you cant store anything under them because of the frame work. If you leave a "booth" like you have, make some cushins that are comfortable and utilize the storage possibilities you have underneath, put gas shocks on the lid for easy up and down, and one person can still sleep there. Or rip it out, and put in a fold out dinnette with a small built in cab underneath with 2 captains chairs? Hm?

[DonD]

I pulled the couch out, took it to the local thrift store and put in 2 recliners....Ahhhhh    Any overnight guest will have the floor or a local hotel  W%  No chairs on the opposite wall, wide open spaces!!

[moonlitcoyote]

Does anyone know of a picture or something that will show/explain the power couch from a conversion van? I'd like to see that.

[PwrWgnWalt]

Well, after some consideration, it was decided to just re-do the existing setup pretty much as-is.


The better-half got some upholstery fabric she likes, so I'm going to renew the cabinet area it sits on (bench seat lifts up, like a toy box, and there are two doors in the front as well).  This will preserve the storage space beneath.  The back is loose, so it can be taken away to make for a 30" wide bed if needed, 6' long.


We are going to redo the seat and back with new foam, and recover it.  Will make sure there is good support underneath, too. I found a 3" queen size memory foam matress topper for cheap, so that will be incorporated into the seat/bed cushion for comfort; maybe the back rest, too.  I'll be sure to take pictures, since I'm finding out all kinds of things I never knew about upholstering!

[Rickf1985]

Walt, I missed the bit about the conversion van sofa/bed. I worked on one of these and I can tell you they are HEAVY!!!! That thing was at least 350 lbs.. Just getting it out of the double rear doors of the van was a tight fit, I have no idea how you would get it into the coach. I remember we were looking at taking it apart and it would have been a nightmare of a project. I think you are going the right way, weight is the enemy of campers.

[TripleJ]

Im in the same boat as the OP was. I had this




Now this



The black box is my generaton compartment. The old folding couch was ugly, cumbersome, heavy, uncomfortable, and made the space underneath very hard to access.

So far my plan is to reinforce a d insulate the functioning yet weak looking generator box, and building a simple daybed style couch above it.

Im also considering adding some sort of folding bunk to the mix sso i can put both kids up high when they sleep, keeps em out of the way.

Any ideas are welcome here too