thomasville furniture

[disappointed]

Does anyone else have any concerns regarding the thomasville "leather (vinyl)" furniture that keystone is using. Thomasville has horrible reviews online about their shoddy structure etc. It looks beautiful now but will it be a disaster a year from now. I am nervous we have bought a future problem.

[therink]

I see you are relatively new to the forum, welcome. Based on your user name and 2 posts, you are not a happy Keystone owner. Sorry to hear about your problems and I hope you get them worked out.
RV furniture is what it is. No manufacturers use quality "home grade" furnishings in mid price level models. My couch sucks too, but I knew that when I bought it. Eventually, I will remove the couch and replace it with one I like. If I bought a house already furnished, odds are I wouldn't like the furniture that came with it either. An RV is no different.

So how did you make out with your cracked front cap? I noticed that you didn't give us an update.

[EricLynnAllison]

I'm not sure about the brand of our RV furniture, but after over 200 nights, its still looks new.

[disappointed]

Originally Posted by therink

I see you are relatively new to the forum, welcome. Based on your user name and 2 posts, you are not a happy Keystone owner. Sorry to hear about your problems and I hope you get them worked out.
RV furniture is what it is. No manufacturers use quality "home grade" furnishings in mid price level models. My couch sucks too, but I knew that when I bought it. Eventually, I will remove the couch and replace it with one I like. If I bought a house already furnished, odds are I wouldn't like the furniture that came with it either. An RV is no different.

So how did you make out with your cracked front cap? I noticed that you didn't give us an update.

I am sorry about not updating about the crack. After many months of fighting with the dealership they finally talked to Keystone that they could not repair this crack (it popped every time they did). They arranged for us to speak to Keystone directly and in one conversation arrangements were made to have the fifth wheel transported to the plant to have it repaired there. The only thing we had to do was to come get it when it was finished. (no problems there as we love road trips!). The guys who repaired it all came out to greet us and show us what they had done when we arrived to get it. Turns out the whole side of the rv needed to be replaced. Seems when it was constructed they had taken another trailers side piece and made it fit to ours. There were "puttied" holes all over the side (one had already been visible when we had sent it off) which had been the pre-cut holes for speakers etc for the original rv it was to go on. He said it would have only gotten worse. They gave us a cupboard in the bathroom as there was none and a fantastic fan for our trouble. After such a horrible start it ended with great customer service. That was the last problem we had with our rig.

We traded it in recently for a 2014 327res. We actually chose another Cougar because of keystones treatment of the other rigs problems. I have my fingers crossed that we won't have to go through anything similar.

I was only asking about the furniture because I love the way it looks. But was surprised that keystone went with a company who has so may complaints against them. I want this furniture to last but am afraid the quality isn't what it looks like! I am just wondering if anyone has any comments to make about it or experience with it.

PS I would change my user name from disappointed if I could figure out how!!!

[JRTJH]

Somebody is going to complain about the Lane furniture just as they complain about Keystone, Forest River, Jayco and yes, even McDonald's. No matter what commercial product you look for, you're sure to find somebody who thinks it's "trash" even in the face of the vast majority who find it just the opposite.

As for the Lane furniture that's in our Cougar, it will be one year old in just a few days, we've been to North Carolina twice, to Louisiana/Texas twice, to Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana multiple times and to Ohio too many times to count. We've spent probably 100 nights in our Cougar and the furniture looks like it did the day we did our PDI.

I'm a strong believer in taking advantage of what we have, not in looking or worrying about "what if"... Maybe you just need to get out and use it more rather than staring at it and wondering if it is going to last ?????

If you really want to change your user name, contact Courtland, the forum administrator to discuss your wishes.

[disappointed]

You seem to think I logged on here to complain. Obviously you aren't the one who is in trusted to care for the interior furniture. My concern was only to see if anyone had trouble with cracking , it being scratched or tearing (as in keys in pocket). My interest is in prolonging its life. I try to head stuff off instead of waiting. Oh by the way we just traded in a cougar similar to yours, five years old and looked brand new and we had logged over 50,000 miles on it. I think taking care of something and knowing any possible problems is important. I thought we were on this site to help each other.

[SkiSmuggs]

Okay, we are just a little too touchy. It appeared to me he was referring to the complaints you had seen rather than making a nasty comment to you. He advised you to wait and see rather than expecting the worst. And he told you how to get your user name changed and that was helpful.
Relax and enjoy your stay.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by disappointed

Does anyone else have any concerns regarding the thomasville "leather (vinyl)" furniture that keystone is using. Thomasville has horrible reviews online about their shoddy structure etc. It looks beautiful now but will it be a disaster a year from now. I am nervous we have bought a future problem.

Just a question, you state that you've done all this research about the shoddy furniture but you still went ahead and bought the trailer and now you complain

[disappointed]

First off I was not complaining. Read my first post, I asked if anyone else had a concern about the furniture. I did not say it was shoddy or anything else just that I had read that people have been having a problem with Thomasville quality in the last years.

As to why I went a head and bought the trailer (and again someone says I am complaining) because it is a beautiful trailer. The furniture issue did not even come up till I was cutting the tags off of it. It made me wonder what it was made of. It says vinyl so I googled the proper care for vinyl which lead me to google Thomasville Furniture. Nothing positive comes up. Try it. Shocked me. I had always believed Thomasville was a great company. Unfortunately it seems they are sending their work out to china and the quality is not like the American made items. And yes there are always complaints about everything.

I don't understand that when someone asks if anyone else has questioned this, had experience with type of furniture etc you all think I am complaining. And yes, using it will definitely tell me whether it is up to the task don't you think that if someone had a problem or even a good experience it is helpful to me.

[disappointed]

I was also wondering which ones of you have Thomasville furniture in their rv? Are these comments all generic or has someone actually had first hand experience with this type of material.

[upnorth]

We just purchased our first Cougar. Model 337fls. We originally were looking at a 2015 with the High Country Package. We kept looking and found a 2014 non High Country with a much more attractive price. I personally didn't care for the comfort of the Thomasville. The furniture in the "standard" model was much more comfortable to us.. Everyone is different....

[dankent]

Well in an actualy answer to your question .. No not yet I am also coming up on 1 year with no problems at all with our furniture. I look after it like i do my house / car furniture. Keep it clean and treated. My trailer still looks as new as the day i bought it.

[Hoojs12840]

Disappointed. Not sure about the Thomasville. I always thought they were a quality brand. I am on my second RV and use it a ton for a non full timer. I have 7yr old son and a golden retriever that has been coming since he was a puppy. Our first RV was a Fun Finder, and had some questionable quality. Never had an issue with the furniture or it's construction in 5 yrs. Our new Cougar furniture seems durable so far. ( we don't have Thomasville)

Would I worry? No. Can't change it. Take care of it as you think you should. The rest is beyond control.

Don't read to much into some of the response's. It's a Internet forum and has a ton of valuable information and insight. Like most Internet forums it is hard to interrupt "tone". Most don't intend to come across rudely, some scoff at any hint you didn't do what they would have done. Everyone's different and you are what your experiences are.
I love the floorplan on the 327. If I didn't have a young child and a fullsize dog we would have gotten that one.

[sjturbo]

I'm not sure if I am complaining about the furniture or standing up for the right to state an opinion. IMHO I think that forum's are a place where you can share your opinions good or bad. They are opinions and everyone has one, or more. Regarding furniture in RV's I don't expect much. Regarding furniture in general, (home furnishings), I don't expect much either unless you spend a lot. I was looking at recliners for the house and expected Lazy Boy to be made with hardwood frames, not OSB. I also did not expect Steel to be made out of flexing steel. I just want to be able to share my opinion when I feel like it.
BTW, thanks for listening. I'm not sure I would use a "feeling" as a user name.
But, that's just my opinion.

[disappointed]

I have to comment on my "name - disappointed". First it came about back in 2010 the first time I logged in and I was frustrated like you can't believe. We took our brand new cougar out on our first long trip and came back with a rather large crack down the door side of the rig. When I had logged in we had been trying to have it fixed for two months and that was June. (it wasn't actually repaired till November) Keystone ended up being great. But only one person answered my comment about it. Hence I thought no one was interested and never returned to this site. Obviously that annoyed one of the people who answered this time who even went so far as to start private messaging me about what he really thought being I only logged on to complain and slam Keystone. Nothing like being judged.

Interestingly the question about the furniture started because I absolutely love this furniture. It is the most comfortable couch I have ever sat on in a Cougar. I want it to last and last and last. I was never disappointed in it! I was just startled when I googled Thomasville. I wasn't looking to find out anything bad. I realize that RV furniture is not house furniture! A suggestion was I could just get new furniture down the road and normally that would be my thinking too except there is an L shaped couch with rather special rolling system as it moves with the slide!

I have been informed that Lane is Thomasville (which sadly I did not know because nothing in our RV says anything about Lane). And as it was put rather bluntly to me (privately) I should have know that, I googled Lane furniture. Did you know that in 2013 Lane filed chapter 11 bankruptcy which simultaneously brought up Thomasville is shutting down plants and laying off workers. Some speculation is that it is due to their quality going down hill. But I am still not disappointed in this furniture. Because with all my googling the complaints on the companies are about the furniture they have had made in China (and arrive with made in China tags) . Supposedly they fill their show rooms with the American made samples that are beautiful. So I give kudos to Keystone, the furniture in my RV is all tagged MADE IN AMERICA!!

Am I disappointed no way!

[disappointed]

Originally Posted by dankent

Well in an actualy answer to your question .. No not yet I am also coming up on 1 year with no problems at all with our furniture. I look after it like i do my house / car furniture. Keep it clean and treated. My trailer still looks as new as the day i bought it.

How do you clean and treat it. I have never had any vinyl furniture before and I would love any tips you can give me.

Anyone else have any tips?

Thanks!

[Yosemitebob]

I don't have vinyl and/or leather, mine is cloth, but my son's is leather (maybe vinyl) and it is made by Thomasville. He (my son) also has a mean cat, he left it in the trailer for a while (it sneaked in somehow) and he finally found it 10 hours latter. The cat clawed the couch so bad he had hundreds of little tiny holes in it. A leather guy came in and made it look new again. The leather guy said pretty good furniture, he didn't have too much of a problem fixing it to look almost like new. I wished I had pictures. So..the reason for the story, the leather buy said "pretty good furniture" and he was able to fix it. That tells me it is really not all that bad as your reviews you have been reading. Remember those reviews are from a few compared to how many people are satisfied with what they have. I might have Thomasville, I don't know, except I ordered it with cloth. But my son is happy with his choice as well.

IF you have a cat, make sure you don't leave it in the trailer alone.

We have two leather couches in the house, one white and one brown. The boss uses a leather kit she gets from the furniture store (Mathes Brothers) it has three steps to it. A cleaner, a protector, and a softener, oh, and an applicator. She says you can also get it at ACE Hardware.

I order special stuff for my boots and saddle, but they are very costly and the boss said no to enough for the couch But you can go to a tack shop and get that.

[dankent]

Probably pay too much ... but i use adamspolishes products. For vinyl i use VRT for treating it, It also has a SPF of 35 as well for things near windows that dont have UV protection. For cleaning it i use warm soapy water on a microfiber towel and imediatly dry with a microfibre towel, then treat with VRT. For the leather , i use a special leather cleaner and leather conditioner from adamspolishes as well.

Originally Posted by disappointed

How do you clean and treat it. I have never had any vinyl furniture before and I would love any tips you can give me.

Anyone else have any tips?

Thanks!

[Bill D.]

My 2015 Cougar 28RLS High Country has the Lane/Thomasville leather look sofa and recliners and I thought I was getting better quality furniture with the High Country package but I was wrong. A year and a half later of limited use, the material started flaking and cracking along the folds. Warranty on the material was only a year and Keystone basically said there was nothing they could do. Stay away from the Lane or Thomasville furniture and ask what the furniture fabric warranty is when shopping around...a nice camper with cracking and flaking furniture is a huge dissapointment.

[goducks]

Unless you get some furniture like Lazy-boy, which isn't all that great either, then most RV furniture is not really very well made. MFG's know that most buyers will only use their trailers a short period of time during the whole year. Not like at home where you sit in the same chair every night. RV furniture is as cheap as it gets. Stuff that you'd find in low end furniture stores. When we look at TT's and 5ers we never care about the main seating. We know that will be the 1st thing to break or wear out.
Expecting quality furniture in most RV's is really expecting too much.