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RecPro Recliners Upgrade: Our Thoughts

Woohoo new RecPro recliners! We recently installed recliners in our motorhome and are now “happy campers”. The recliners have made a huge improvement in our comfort levels when relaxing inside the RV.

Our 2017 Thor Vegas 24.1 came standard with a couch and three seat belts. Even before taking possession of the motorhome we planned to replace the couch with recliners as it was lacking in comfort. We shopped at several furniture stores but couldn’t find exactly what we wanted for size, fit and comfort.  Finally we found the perfect furniture at RecPro in Bristol, Indiana. 

We purchased the RecPro Charles 67″ Double RV Wall Hugger Recliner Sofa w/ Console to fit in the 68″ opening where the couch was. We chose the Mahogany color as it matched the front seat trim and floor the best. Other available colors are Toffee, Putty and Chestnut. RecPro offers free color swatches upon request. RecPro carries many additional types and sizes of furniture to meet RVers needs. They also provide free same day shipping if products are ordered by 2pm eastern time. 

Follow along for a pictorial of the couch removal and recliner install in our Thor Vegas 24.1. 

The couch folded out into a bed large enough for two people. Changing the seating out for recliners eliminated the bed but since we hadn’t used it like this for two years, chances are we wouldn’t miss it.

Taking out the couch was not a simple task. Cushions were the first to go. 

There was a small storage area under the couch that we lost from the elimination of the couch. We did use the area but since it was hard to access, storing the items in an alternate location is better anyway.

Removing the bottom cushion was a cumbersome task as it was bulky and hard to spin around to get it out the door.

The couch was screwed and bolted together. We ended up with a sandwich size bag of hardware when finished with the removal.

After the cushions were out we tackled the bottom frame.

Next up for removal were the couch arms. Interesting that both arms were bolted to the bottom frame but only the left side was screwed into the side wall. Not sure if this was on purpose or a few screws were missed upon installation.

Our initial thought was to store the couch in case we ever sold the motorhome and the new owners wished to have the couch instead of recliners. After it came apart in a dozen pieces we decided that it would be difficult to reassemble correctly so to the dump it went. 

Here’s our new recliners from RecPro of Bristol, Indiana. They arrived promptly via FedEx in good condition. The two large boxes are recliners and the smaller one is the center console.

The recliners were packaged extremely well with plenty of cushioning and wrapping.

The recliners were packaged extremely well with plenty of cushioning and wrapping.

The front legs of the recliners extended past the edge of the slide platform. Since the legs needed to be securely fastened to the RV the slide platform needed to be extended.

We used a 4 x 4 post and leftover brackets from the passenger seat desk that we had previously modified to build out the slide platform. 

We trimmed the 4 x 4 to a finished dimension of 3.5 x 3″ to allow clearance over the table leg bases. The angle cut was placed as the table saw we were using only had a 3″ maximum cut.  The cut also shaved off a little weight.

We painted the post black to match the plastic trim piece that was removed from the slide platform and reattached to the the extension post.

The recliners were bolted into place after securing the extension platform. 

Once the recliners were bolted in place it was time to test them out. We love them! They do extend higher on the window than the couch did but we are still able to easily reach the blinds and the knobs to open and close the windows. Two seat belts are fully usable as well with the recliners securely bolted down.

Here is a photo of the chair in a reclined position.

In this photo the chair is in the full reclined position. The top is 3/4″ away from the wall when fully reclined. 

This photo shows the floor distance between the recliners and the kitchen. There is ample space to use the table(s) with the recliners in place. 

Here is a photo of the chair in the reclined position with the RV slide in. With the recliner fully extended to the maximum position there is about 3″ of clearance from the end of the foot rest to the cabinet hardware. 

We love our RecPro recliners and are very happy that we made the change from the original couch. RecPro has been fantastic to work with and have gone above and beyond in assuring a pleasant customer service experience.