Comfortable seating jk sofa

[Outback290UBH]

Hi all, I have a 62” jackknife sofa, that’s very uncomfortable to sit on. It’s in a 2018 Keystone Outback 290UBH ultra lite, and sits on the wheel well for the tandem axle, so not able to put in theater seating or recliners. We don’t use the jackknife for sleeping, except maybe once a season for a grandchild. Any ideas of a replacement that’s comfortable for sitting?

[JRTJH]

You might take a look at the RecPro site. We bought two rocker recliners from them and they are "hands down better built and much more comfortable than the Thomas Payne recliners that came from the factory. RecPro has several styles of JK sofas, some with a center arm rest, some without. Most are available in vinyl or cloth covered. The cover is a personal choice, but when you consider that if someone is sleeping on it, not having the vinyl to sweat under them is much better for sleeping.

At the following links, I don't think the JK sofas with end arms will fit your trailer, but you can contact RecPro to check on that. Here's a link to the main jack knife sofa page and the center fold down arm model:

https://www.recpro.com/rv-jack-knife-sofas/?page=1

https://www.recpro.com/recpro-charle...ders-in-cloth/

[fjr vfr]

You might think about ditching the sofa and building a wood frame to support a twin mattress or foam. You could ad some big pillows/cushions in back in order to use it as a sofa or guest bed without the cushions. Build a front face board under that hinges so you could ad storage underneath.
Just an idea.

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

You might take a look at the RecPro site. We bought two rocker recliners from them and they are "hands down better built and much more comfortable than the Thomas Payne recliners that came from the factory.

John, did you purchase your recliners from them sight unseen/ untried, or was there a store you can go to, to try out recpro furniture? Because they say they don’t have a store, but can send fabric samples. I was hoping to take hubby sometime to test sit some new furniture hopefully.

[JRTJH]

Lynette,

We saw the RecPro Charles rocker/recliner on display at a RV show several years ago. They are a bit short for me (6'2") but comfortable and really the largest that will fit the space in our fifth wheel. Since we had seen them years ago, our only question was the color/fabric choice. We ordered a "fabric sample kit" from RecPro, chose the color we wanted, ordered a "2 pack" and requested a discount for picking them up. Our grandson and his wife live in Auburn, IN, about 30 miles from the RecPro warehouse/shipping facility, so we stopped by on the way home from visiting them for a weekend and picked up the chairs.

They were in two boxes that fit in the back of our short bed truck. Honestly, it was harder to get the Thomas Payne recliners out of the trailer than it was to get the RecPro ones into the trailer...

So, to answer your question, yes, we bought them "sight unseen based on memory from about 4 or 5 years ago.

As I said, they're "hands down more comfortable" and for us, it was the right choice for the trailer. We've lived in the trailer last summer in North Carolina for about 4 months and honestly, we looked forward to evenings when we could "just sit and relax for a bit"...

For us, it was a good choice and the only compromise was the reclined length is a wee bit too short for me, but anything taller or longer would not fit in the trailer, so the compromise isn't with RecPro, but that "nothing bigger will fit the space".....

I believe some Camping World RV stores have them on display. DW just reminded me that we saw them in the CW in Fort Worth back years ago.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Lynette,

We saw the RecPro Charles rocker/recliner on display at a RV show several years ago. They are a bit short for me (6'2") but comfortable and really the largest that will fit the space in our fifth wheel. Since we had seen them years ago, our only question was the color/fabric choice. We ordered a "fabric sample kit" from RecPro, chose the color we wanted, ordered a "2 pack" and requested a discount for picking them up. Our grandson and his wife live in Auburn, IN, about 30 miles from the RecPro warehouse/shipping facility, so we stopped by on the way home from visiting them for a weekend and picked up the chairs.

They were in two boxes that fit in the back of our short bed truck. Honestly, it was harder to get the Thomas Payne recliners out of the trailer than it was to get the RecPro ones into the trailer...

So, to answer your question, yes, we bought them "sight unseen based on memory from about 4 or 5 years ago.

As I said, they're "hands down more comfortable" and for us, it was the right choice for the trailer. We've lived in the trailer last summer in North Carolina for about 4 months and honestly, we looked forward to evenings when we could "just sit and relax for a bit"...

For us, it was a good choice and the only compromise was the reclined length is a wee bit too short for me, but anything taller or longer would not fit in the trailer, so the compromise isn't with RecPro, but that "nothing bigger will fit the space".....

I believe some Camping World RV stores have them on display. DW just reminded me that we saw them in the CW in Fort Worth back years ago.

A bumper pull with wheel well intrusion into the cabin and hidden by a sofa may not allow for recliners. I had a 2012 Sunnybrook and the wheel well would allow for any other type seating/sofa.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

A bumper pull with wheel well intrusion into the cabin and hidden by a sofa may not allow for recliners. I had a 2012 Sunnybrook and the wheel well would allow for any other type seating/sofa.

Please see my "quoted message answer to Lynette" (line 1 in my post #5). My response to the OP's question about replacement jack knife sofas is in post #2. The comments about recliners in post #5 is an answer to Lynette's question (post #4) and does not even mention jack knife options.

You're correct, many "pre slide trailers" and some floorplans being produced today do have wheelwells that intrude into the cabin space. Wheelwell mounted jack knife sofas (without legs) are one solution to "mask the wheelwell". Typically, taller travel trailers will have "flat floor slides" and the jack knife sofas in those trailers will not sit on the wheelwell and do require "legs to support the seating surface".

But, if you take a look at my post #5, you'll see it was directed to Lynette in response to her question to me.

[wiredgeorge]

Sorry, my confusion. Didn't notice another person jumped into the thread with a similar issue.

[Outback290UBH]

Hey thanks, after further inspection, my JK sofa sits on a wooden frame, that sits on the FLOOR of the slide, not on a box housing the wheel well, so this opens up my options. I checked out the rec pro site and there’s lots of options, just have to get the ok from the boss. Thanks again.

[Outback290UBH]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

You might take a look at the RecPro site. We bought two rocker recliners from them and they are "hands down better built and much more comfortable than the Thomas Payne recliners that came from the factory. RecPro has several styles of JK sofas, some with a center arm rest, some without. Most are available in vinyl or cloth covered. The cover is a personal choice, but when you consider that if someone is sleeping on it, not having the vinyl to sweat under them is much better for sleeping.

At the following links, I don't think the JK sofas with end arms will fit your trailer, but you can contact RecPro to check on that. Here's a link to the main jack knife sofa page and the center fold down arm model:

https://www.recpro.com/rv-jack-knife-sofas/?page=1

https://www.recpro.com/recpro-charle...ders-in-cloth/

Hey thanks, after further inspection, my JK sofa sits on a wooden frame, that sits on the FLOOR of the slide, not on a box housing the wheel well, so this opens up my options. I checked out the rec pro site and there’s lots of options, just have to get the ok from the boss. Thanks again.

[Kirk's Keystone Outback.]

Originally Posted by Outback290UBH

Hi all, I have a 62” jackknife sofa, that’s very uncomfortable to sit on. It’s in a 2018 Keystone Outback 290UBH ultra lite, and sits on the wheel well for the tandem axle, so not able to put in theater seating or recliners. We don’t use the jackknife for sleeping, except maybe once a season for a grandchild. Any ideas of a replacement that’s comfortable for sitting?

I never sat or slept on my jack knife couch, not until I performed a few simple modifications with some material I had laying around the house and a trip to Walmart.

The first thing I did was purchase a $17 Bed Topper (1 1/4" thick), and covered the entire couch with a reversible cover, held on by tiny bungee cords that will stretch when in bed position.
I also used a medium thickness pool noodle doodle in the seam when in bed position.
I then went one step further and filled in the vacant sides of the jack knife couch with soft foam to match the height of the cushion, and covered it with vinyl fabric I had in the garage.
It was about 3 hours of arts and crafts to make a perfectly comfortable couch and bed.
Couldn't be happier.