double recliner leather tearing

[vcalder]

Our 2012 Columbus 320RS has the Ashley Furniture brand "leather" double recliner. We just noticed the "leather" tearing and separating from the backing fabric on one of the headrests and the other one is showing signs of breaking open soon. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm guessing we've only had our trailer out maybe 90 days over four years and it is garaged at our home in a covered storage where the furniture doesn't get exposure to sunlight. Therefore--no extreme usage. The defects in the leather were not caused by punctures. All I can think of is that it is from body oils from people's heads. I would have expected wear and tear on the leg rests or the seats, but they are in perfect shape. Any suggestions on how to get this repaired, since you can't remove the furniture without removing the slideout?

[grumpy0374]

Don't know about the repairs, but as far as removal....the back of the recliner should just slide off the seat portion, in two seperate sections, one for each side.
May be a bit awkward due to it's position, but try placing the recliner in the upright position, and firmly pull the back section up. May have to wiggle it a bit, but I'm almost 100% sure the back is made to come off.
Grumpy

[bubbles]

HMMMM! Leather with a backing is called vinyl. Anyway, the units have to come apart and if the recliner was opened to the fully reclined position it should go through the door. I think.

[heavynlori]

Ashley sells alot of furniture that is "bonded" leather which is a thin layer laminated to a polyester backing

True leather will not peel apart ...

Cheap inferior product - lots of complaints online about Ashley quality


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[D_B Travelers]

Pleather > plastic leather. Not unusual, my media room recliners are the same thing.

[CaptnJohn]

Long ago auto dealers found people to come to their lot and repair leather and cloth to the point it could not be found. Years ago I dropped my truck off on a Thursday morning and picked it after work like new. My seat had cigarette burns and a tear (never sit down with a large screwdriver in your rear pocket). Long ago at $35.

[D_B Travelers]

CaptnJohn, indeed there were and I am sure still are upholstery repair companies out there. I ran restaurants for many years and we would have them come in and repair booth covers and chair seats. Could not tell where the bad spot was. Excellent suggestion. Perhap the OP can find one in their area to repair the cushion.

[TreeLady]

Originally Posted by grumpy0374

Don't know about the repairs, but as far as removal....the back of the recliner should just slide off the seat portion, in two seperate sections, one for each side.
May be a bit awkward due to it's position, but try placing the recliner in the upright position, and firmly pull the back section up. May have to wiggle it a bit, but I'm almost 100% sure the back is made to come off.
Grumpy

Most recliners will come apart. But, before you start pulling, check at the bottom of the back on each side, see if there is a bracket with a clip on it. Usually the back pivot slides into another bracket that has a clip at the top to keep it from coming out. You might have to press on that clip to get it apart. Have someone help you so you can pull the back evenly on each side. I used to do upholstery and this was the way some recliners, not all, come apart.

[sabrecanuck]

Yep, for what it's worth our brand new Ashley reclining loveseat that is in our basement came in pieces. The back comes off but releasing and lifting up... Amazing how flimsy it seemed when it came in the door.

As for quality, I am assuming all the RV furniture out there is pleather, otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford the RV.

[phillyg]

At best, I'd call it pleather. I did a quick google search for vinyl repair in my locale and came up with a handful of vinyl repairers, including one that provides mobile services. I suspect you'd find it similar in your area.

[SYE]

Many in our Columbus Group have experienced the same thing. I didn't have anything on mine, but I have Lane not Ashley

[Enjoying the Good Life]

We also have the Ashley bonded leather recliners in our 2014 320RS. They can be removed out of the rv through the door if they are disassembled. To do so you will need to tip them forward to expose the bottom of the assembly. There your will find a rail that is used to combine the pieces into one piece. By removing the bolts it will come apart into three sections. There have been a lot of owners that have experienced the separation of the bonded leather from the backing. We personally don't like ours as they are not very comfortable as they lean back to far when seated in the upright position. We hope to change them out with perhaps lazyboy recliners.

[sabrecanuck]

Originally Posted by Enjoying the Good Life

We also have the Ashley bonded leather recliners in our 2014 320RS. They can be removed out of the rv through the door if they are disassembled. To do so you will need to tip them forward to expose the bottom of the assembly. There your will find a rail that is used to combine the pieces into one piece. By removing the bolts it will come apart into three sections. There have been a lot of owners that have experienced the separation of the bonded leather from the backing. We personally don't like ours as they are not very comfortable as they lean back to far when seated in the upright position. We hope to change them out with perhaps lazyboy recliners.

For what it's worth, we have a Ashley reclining loveseats in the house and I bought a Lazy-boy recliner for myself. It is night and day difference between the two products. Lazy-boy is absolutely worth the extra $$ if you were wondering.

[jonwisconsin]

I have one 340RK for two years that we spend more than six months/year. I don't have issues with the recliner. I agree with others, they can be removed.

[SYE]

The Ashley furniture seems to be the problem, that is what everyone in our Columbus group is complaining about, I am glad mine are Lane and this will be our 5 season for mine and still look good. I hear that Ashley is not fixing any of them either.

[Maron]

As a retired furniture man, here are some facts: real leather does crack overtime unless it is moisturized annually.
No where on the surface of bonded leather do you touch leather. Scraps of leather are shredded and put into a bond which is then covered by vinyl. Cracks are not repairable.
Ashley and Lane both use bonded leather and are comparable in quality. Lane went out of business a couple of years ago & may have been bought out by a Chinese company but for the last 10 years it was all made in China. I spent 50 years in home furnishings and at one time was a sales manager at Lane.

[Maron]

Some other sad leather facts: retailers sell leather, pleather, splits and matched. Splits separates the top grain from the under layers, under layers are then compressed and embodied with a skin pattern. It is usually applied to the sides of chairs or sofas cuz seating pressure will cause it to...split.
Hope that helps.

[TreeLady]

Originally Posted by Maron

As a retired furniture man, here are some facts: real leather does crack overtime unless it is moisturized annually.
No where on the surface of bonded leather do you touch leather. Scraps of leather are shredded and put into a bond which is then covered by vinyl. Cracks are not repairable.
Ashley and Lane both use bonded leather and are comparable in quality. Lane went out of business a couple of years ago & may have been bought out by a Chinese company but for the last 10 years it was all made in China. I spent 50 years in home furnishings and at one time was a sales manager at Lane.

This is good information to know. Thank you!

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by Maron

As a retired furniture man, here are some facts: real leather does crack overtime unless it is moisturized annually.
No where on the surface of bonded leather do you touch leather. Scraps of leather are shredded and put into a bond which is then covered by vinyl. Cracks are not repairable.
Ashley and Lane both use bonded leather and are comparable in quality. Lane went out of business a couple of years ago & may have been bought out by a Chinese company but for the last 10 years it was all made in China. I spent 50 years in home furnishings and at one time was a sales manager at Lane.

Stating real leather does crack overtime unless it is moisturized annually is so true. More difficult in a part time home. We have real leather in the S&B and would have no problem with it in the 5er. The major thought is real leather is expensive and therefore put on a premium frame which means more weight. Changing out the theater seating and sofa could add 500#.

[vcalder]

Hey everyone who has experienced the problem with the Ashley "leather" sofas/recliners peeling. I just learned that there is a class action lawsuit in California against Ashley claiming they misrepresented this Durablend leather by stating it has more leather content than it does. You can find information about this lawsuit at the website topclassactions.com and searching for Ashley Furniture Durablend. Apparently, this class action lawsuit is being expanded outside California and will include complaints about the peeling as well. Hopefully, those of us who have this problem can get some sort of settlement from Ashley. Unfortunately, there are no instructions yet concerning how to join the class action, but that should be forthcoming.