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Old 08-03-2016, 02:51 PM   #1
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Please help; our leather is peeling

We have a 2012 Georgetown the upgraded version that we purchased in 2013. Starting almost a year ago our leather is literally peeling off the sofa, chair, foot stool and driver and passenger seat. We keep it in an enclosed shop so it's not exposed to the weather other then when we camp on weekends about once every 5 weeks give or take. The place we purchased it from was bought out and they say it's not under warranty and the rv shop we use said its not covered under extended warranty. We love our RV other then this issue its been good to us. Who do I contact about this and/or where is the best place to get replacements at a good price but one where they will not peel?
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Old 08-03-2016, 03:14 PM   #2
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If it is peeling, it is not true leather but rather "bonded" which means a thin layer of leather bonded to an underlayer of backing material

Very prone to peeling - many home brands are known for this as well

Look for real leather when you replace it 😊


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Old 08-03-2016, 03:18 PM   #3
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Leather doesn't Peel, you have imitation leather, the cheap stuff
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Old 08-03-2016, 03:23 PM   #4
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Went through the same thing on my 2014. Substandard material used on the furniture and captains chairs by Williamsburg Furniture. Went round and round with Forest River, Williamsburg and the extended warranty people. They are all well aware of the problem. Finally gave up and purchased and installed new captains chairs covers from Williamsburg. Much cheaper than buying new chairs. Karlie Fairfield at Williamsburg could not have been nicer and the material was a 1,000% improvement. Had the deteriorating piping in the couch covers replaced at a local furniture shop. There are a lot of threads on this forum about this problem. Do a search and you'll find a lot of info.
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Old 08-03-2016, 03:53 PM   #5
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Reach out to Bryan Knight or Kevin Stratton at Forest River 574-206-7604. They were able to help me with my 2014....Since yours it a couple of years older, you might have to come out of pocket, but it is worth a shot.
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Old 08-04-2016, 12:10 PM   #6
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We just replaced all the furniture in our 2012 Georgetown.

It was an industry wide problem in 12 and 13. If you are the original owner you may get some help from FR. But don't count on it.

Good time to upgrade your seats.

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Old 08-04-2016, 12:13 PM   #7
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The best method of handling this issue is to enroll in the Forest River International Rally in Goshen, IN in August. When you enroll, list this problem in the service request. They repair it as "customer service" and not under warranty. It will cost you the entry fee for the rally, but it is an excellent rally. It is normally in August so you may have missed the deadline for this year.We had the same issue and they were excellent at repairing ours. We have a 2012 Georgetown as well.
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Old 08-05-2016, 08:14 AM   #8
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We have a 2014 and one of our LazyBoy recliner (mine) started peeling. The Leather is leather sawdust and has a tendency to peel with repeated wear. There are a lot of repair kits out there. You may want to look at some Utubes videos to see how it is done. I like sonomalake's suggestion and will register for next year's rally and have them fix mine.
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Old 08-05-2016, 08:28 AM   #9
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We had a "leather" chair in our park model that peeled. It seemed that body oils and heat broke down the faux leather. I would clean it often with a leather cleaner before it falls apart.
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Old 08-05-2016, 01:10 PM   #10
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Leather Manufacturer's Representative

As a person who spent 50 years in the furniture business (20 with my own stores) other comments have some truth to them but the real story is worse. Bonded leather, which is what you probably have in your vehicle, is ground up and shredded pieces of leather that are then bonded (glued) to a piece of vinyl. What you sit on and touch is vinyl not leather. The leather is on the backside where you cannot touch. They should call the product bonded vinyl.
If you treated it like leather and used oil based cleaning materials to "to soften it" you ruined it. As with all vinyls...to clean it you should use water on a damp cloth. Remember it is a form of plastic made by bio chemicals.

Replacement: if I was going to replace what you have in my vehicle, I would go to a custom order furniture store and buy a couple of yards of "bonded leather material". A yard of material (36" X 54") costs the retailer about $5 plus freight. An expected sale price to you would be around $20. (Heh they have to make money somehow) Then I would find a local reupholsterer to redo the seats.

Now...you could reupholster with real leather...but your cost would be about $30 a square foot or about $400 for enough leather to cover the same amount as the 36" X 54" $20 product. But the challenge would be to find a good enough reupholsterer who is qualified to work with leather.
So...I'd go with the bonded leather, clean it with water, and expect about a good 8 years of wear out of it.
By the way the bonded manufacturers have gotten so good with their product that I've sat in furniture manufacturer's meetings where the reps could not tell the difference unless they turned it over. The bonded producers can put distress marks, cattle brands, skin patterns, scar marks and scent on the bonded so you think it is real. Hope this is helpful.!
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Old 08-06-2016, 05:22 PM   #11
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Like so many others our 2011 FR Georgetown is peeling. Found a web site...Seats4Sale. They have all needs covered it seems as far as our replacements, Sofa, Recliner, Captains Chairs. Anyone out there with experiences with this web based company? Second: QUESTION...on the Captains Chairs....numerous price degrees offered...any idea on What a good quality chair actually is? What is, at the very least, compatible to our current factory captains chairs? We are planning on going with cloth. Hope it holds up better all around. Thanks Thom and Debbie
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Old 08-06-2016, 05:30 PM   #12
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Maron, Interesting information. Thank You. As the "furniture guy" what is your opinion on using a quality fabric for furniture vs leather/faux leather on RV furniture. ThomandDebbie
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Old 08-06-2016, 06:17 PM   #13
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Does anyone know if this faux leather is still being used ?
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Old 08-06-2016, 08:35 PM   #14
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Does anyone know if this faux leather is still being used ?
Yep. Our sofa and theater seats are both covered in it. We have a 2016 Rockwood 2906ws.

The key to knowing if it's leather or not is the smell. Leather smells like leather. Fake stuff (like the "bonded leather") does not.
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Old 08-08-2016, 10:08 AM   #15
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Was hoping to read FR replaced the fake leather with better fake leather....lol ! Seats falling apart in two seasons is ridiculous !
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Old 08-08-2016, 05:40 PM   #16
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Was hoping to read FR replaced the fake leather with better fake leather....lol ! Seats falling apart in two seasons is ridiculous !
Well, I can't state for a fact that it's exactly the same kind of fake leather, just that it is fake leather. We've not had the RV in use long enough to know the overall quality yet.
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Old 08-09-2016, 09:58 PM   #17
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Wonder how many people have this problem without using any product on the surface. We have a 2013 328TS with the faux leather captains chairs, couch, and euro recliner. After reading all these threads, I've been watching them like a hawk. No signs of problems. If the get dirty I clean them with a damp towel...water only. Are most of you using products on yours other than a damp towel?


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Old 08-10-2016, 07:03 AM   #18
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I have a 2012 378 and the sofa,chair and front chairs fell apart. Horrible, I got free seat covers from forest river. Good material b u t fit is not the best. I'm saving to buy all new everything. Probably will cost 5,000 dollars! Horrible quality and williamsburg admits it. Very disappointing for a rv north of 100,000 bucks. Oh well still love my 378. Its like golf, a love hate relationship! Cheers
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Old 11-03-2016, 02:04 PM   #19
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Faux Leather Peeling in our Georgetown

I knew we couldn't be the only ones with this problem. Our captains chairs, dinette & sofa ALL started peeling the first year (2011-2012.) There was no way to repair or even conceal the wide-spread damage, except for the captains chairs (we purchased chair covers for them) so we were "forced" to purchase all-new furniture for an almost brand-new rig.

I'm wondering how many other manufacturers use the same type of product? The faux-leather on our furniture started breaking down within just a few months after purchase. We are brand-committed in most things but honestly, this will make us reconsider purchasing another Forest River motorhome.
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Old 11-03-2016, 02:44 PM   #20
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If you email this address with the furniture issues you have he may be able to help. Forest River is replacing the crappy furniture covers from Williamsburg Furniture but swap out will be owners responsibility and expense. Pictures of tags and of defects (VIN) will have to be sent. I'm expecting mine any day now. My coach is a 2012 GT. They are updated covers from Williamsburg and not familiar with fit/form/function. This email may not be for all type units but maybe he can direct you to the right person.

CLopez@forestriverinc.com
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