ATTN: Power Sofa Owners

[Marinelender]

Wife and I just bought an '03 Journey with an electric sofa that converts to a bed. It's pretty ugly but it works (noisily). Trying to make a decision between having it reupholstered or buying a new sofa or sofa/bed and throwing the power unit away. Anybody else faced this decision? Is it worth the considerable expense of reupholstery? Are we likely to have electrical problems in the future? Thanks in advance for your input.

[bellsharbor]

Hi Pat and Jim---We sold our 2002 36' Journey this spring, but never had a problem with the twin power sofa. It always worked without a problem. We had the cushions on the dinette redone and as you said, it is very expensive. I can't imagine how much the couch would cost, we were just getting to the point of having to make that decision. We sold the coach instead!! Good luck and let us know what you decide. John

[Hikerdogs]

We have the same sofa/bed (Winnebago calls it the RestEasy couch). It's made the same noise since the day we bought it in Jan of 01. So far in 10 years and over 80,000 miles we haven't had a single problem with it.

[SCVJeff]

They're ridiculous noisy when new.

[pameridan04]

Hi Guys:

It's almost a no win situation, it expensive to redo, it's very expensive to replace with a new one. They cost over $3K when I priced them. You might try finding a stick house couch to replace it, but I have my doubts about that.

I ended up passing on the coach that the couch looked in rough shape. On the coach that I purchased, mine looks just like new and works great. I even slept on it for a couple of days when we gave up out bedroom for realatives, it's pretty cumfortable.

Good Luck... if it were me I would look for a place to get it recoverd.

Jim P.

[dc8cappie]

I'm thinking of replacing mine with a Flexsteel Spring Air sofa bed. Got a quote of about $1500+shipping to house. I'd need to R&R myself.

[Suncircles]

We have the RestEasy sofa in our '05 Journey and yes, the upholstery is ugly and yes, it makes a lot of noise when being deployed. To ease the appearance DW made a cover for the sofa that softens its appearance. Much, much cheaper than re-upholstering.

I have not heard of a separate problem we had with our RestEasy: Our sofa quit working a couple of years ago. The motor would run, but the sofa wouldn't deploy. It turns out that a weld in one of the structural frame components broke, and, of course, the mechanism was out of warranty. I had the dealership's service department re-weld it. (I did not see the part that broke and by the time I got back to the dealership to see where the problem was, they had buttoned it up.) They said it was some sort of manufacturing flaw.

A search of this forum will yield a number of house remodels that may provide you with some good suggestions, should you decide to replace the sofa. We just live with it since DW made it look a lot better.

Suncircles
2005 Journey 36G with 2006 CRV Toad

[DeanLinAZ]

Pat & Jim:

We had the "rest easy" sofa recovered from the ugly cloth to a nice leather covering about a year and one half ago in our 2004 Journey. The cost was between $1400 and $1500. We had it done by a company in Phoenix that specialized in boats, aircraft and RV's. The sofa came apart into about five pieces that the guys took out, recovered and reinstalled without taking out the passenger seat, etc. It looks good and we are pleased with the outcome.

While the sofa was out, I cleaned and lubed the motor, drive cables and mechanism, so the action is much quieter now. There is a motor in the middle behind the frame and the drive cables extend to the mechanisms at each end of the couch. It is a breeze to work on when the couch is removed, but would be next to impossible with the couch in place.

We seldom extend the sofa, so I don't know how quiet it still is. Anyway, good luck in your decision to recover or replace. Our sofa sits in the slideout, so replacemednt was an iffy choice.

[Chuck 1935]

I also have the electric sofa bed in ultra leather (plastic). One of the grandkids got a big kick out of sitting on the couch and running it up and down until it broke. I was able to pull the back off the section that was broken and was able to repair the cable. DON'T SIT ON IT WHILE OPERATING IT.

[AFChap]

Ours is "ultraleather". We have used it a lot for g-kids. At about 2 yr one side would go out. The dealer said the "re-glued" the drive cable on that side. It has come loose on one side or the other a couple of times since. Each time, I opened the foot piece, went under head first until I can reach the drive cable, used plenty of plastic packing tape to secure the cable into the drive, and have not had another problem. I am not a small guy, apx 220lb, but it wasn't really difficult to do. The hardest part was getting out when finished ...someone to pull on the feet would be very helpful.

[txdutt]

I bought some "dry lube" to get in there & shoot it around to quiet it down, we'll see how that works..

[ron55]

I just had my redone added new and extra springs in the seat, covered in a saddle colored suede like material plus the dinette. It is now better that new. she done a real good job. $2000. winne wanted $900. just for the seat in orignal materia $600 for the back, $300. for the dinette seat each and $180 for the back each.

[PC-Bum]

I just removed my RestEasy couch and replaced it with a recliner. I was suprised how easy it was to remove when taken apart. A total of 6 pieces that had bolts/screws reasonable to reach.

Couch was in great shape. Just wanted the room and comfort gained. Any one looking for a used couch?

[JWatkins]

We just removed our RestEasy since it never was comfortable for my wife. It fit me fine, but I am 6'6". My daughter claimed it was the worst "bed" she ever slept on. We removed it and replaced it with a Flexsteel unit form Camping World that makes out flat and holds an air mattress of your choosing. Works great , looks great, very comfortable and the daughter loves it since the air mattress works much better for her.
Joe

[ichn2go]

Silicone or WD40?

[PC-Bum]

Joe,
Sounds like you found a good solution.

We only rarely had guests that used the sofa bed and I found it to be uncomfortable always being proped up at the end to watch TV or too short for a good end of day snooze. Now with the front 'booth' & RestEasy removed and replaced by my mae for RV's "Lambright Comfort Chair" there is a plethora of room. We carry two single air beds and there is plenty of room for them when needed.

All of that said, the electric self leveling sofabed was convienient.

[Jackhal1949]

We have the dual control sofa/bed in our 05 Journey, but the color of ours is OK. It works fine and we have slept on it for several weeks when we let company have the back queen bed, we thought it was plenty comfortable. If you sleep on it so you are from the wall outwards it is perfectly fine. The DW likes the sofa and I have the recliner, works for us. We have not had any issues with the electrical mechanical system and it is pretty quiet. Good Luck

[Roadking]

We were never happy with the rest easy as it was uncomfortable and after 7 years it was showing to much age. Several guests had slept on it and they all complained it was very uncomfortable. While staying at a CG in Michigan this past summer we mentioned to a fellow camper our plans to replace the rest easy. The next day we removed it from our rig and installed it in his rig. We had already replaced the "J" lounger several years ago and installed 2 Lazyboy wall hugger recliners. I had been trying to convince the DW to replace the rest easy for several years....and now this problem was solved!!!

We then went shopping and checked out several stores in the Elkhart Ind area including flexsteel, Amish items, and stick built furniture places. LazyBoy was having a summer sale and we found a very comfortable reclining love seat for under $800. We ended up buying a new matching Lazyboy rocking/swivel reclined and donated the two wall huggers to a needy family.

This arrangement makes the living area much more open and very comfortable. We can still seat 10+ should we need to and an inflatable mattress will suffice on those rare occasions when a guest spends the night.

[Chandler Bing]

We have had numerous people sleep on our rest easy. They have all said it slept good! Love it and it works well. Hope it continues to.

[pdq_bc]

Originally Posted by SCVJeff

They're ridiculous noisy when new.

this gives me hope!
(I even asked the dealer "Is this noise normal?")

regards, peter