6 Tips for Replacing RV Furniture

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It goes without saying that you want your RV furniture to be comfortable. Unfortunately, the furniture built into RVs tends to get worn out pretty quickly. Because of this, many RV owners find themselves replacing the furniture in their rig after just a few years.

Fortunately this is totally possible, and replacing your RV furniture is a great way to improve the look and feel of your little home-on-wheels!

Here are our top tips for doing just that.

Tips for Replacing RV Furniture

Measure, Measure, Measure

First, it is so, so important to break out the measuring tape and measure the space (or spaces) you are trying to fill.

RVs are, as you know, very small spaces, and the furniture is usually wedged in pretty tight, meaning that if you remove one piece of furniture, you only have a certain amount of space to work with when replacing it.

Additionally, some RV furniture is actually smaller than traditional furniture, making measuring the available space against whatever you buy even more important.

Think About Weight

In addition to the size of the furniture you buy, you also need to think about how much it weighs.

All RVs have a cargo carrying capacity, and all trucks have tow capacities. Exceeding either of these limits could damage your RV or even put your family in a dangerous situation. On top of that, if the furniture is going into a slide, a piece that weighs too much could damage the slide, making it difficult or impossible to pull in and out.

In order to ensure you aren’t adding too much weight to your RV, consider weighing anything you pull out and limiting yourself to items that weigh close to the same. If you can go even lighter, that’s even better because it will free up some cargo carrying capacity for other items.

Consider Seat Belt Safety

Adding too much weight to your trailer or motorhome is one way that replacing the furniture could potentially cause an unsafe situation. Furniture replacement can also cause safety issues if you happen to be replacing pieces that people plan to sit on while the vehicle is in transit.

An RV captain’s chair should always be replaced with another captain’s chair that is made to go into a vehicle. Likewise, if you are replacing the couch in your motorhome and plan to use the couch seat belts, it is probably best to purchase a motorhome-specific couch with a steel frame, as this will work best with the provided seatbelts should an accident occur.

Obviously, this is not something you need to think about if you are replacing the furniture in a travel trailer or fifth wheel, as nobody should ever be in a trailer while it is in transit.

Look for Disassembled Pieces

Many people run into issues with replacing their RV furniture when it comes time to fit their new pieces through the front door. You see, RV doors aren’t as wide or as tall as traditional house doors, meaning many couches and tables simply will not fit through them. This is where disassembled furniture comes into play.

Buying pieces that you have to put together yourself means that you can carry the furniture into the RV while still in the box and then assemble it in the space where it will live. This could potentially save a lot of frustration.

Note: You may also find that getting furniture out of the RV is a pain. Remember, you can always take things apart in order to fit them through the door, especially if you don’t plan to use them again.

Shop for Multi-Functional Pieces

In our opinion, every large item that makes its way into an RV home should serve more than one purpose. This ensures the item works hard to earn its spot in your teeny tiny living space—and really, there is no reason furniture shouldn’t be held to this same standard.

If you’re shopping for a table, look for A) one that can be used indoors or outdoors, B) one that folds up small to give you more floor space, or C) one with drawers for extra storage. If you’re couch shopping, look for a comfortable sofa that can also be used as a bed or clothes storage.

By buying multi-purpose furniture, you will make the most of the small space that you have to work with your home-on-wheels.

Ensure It’s Secure

Once you have the perfect items picked out and assembled in your RV, you will need to make sure they are secure for travel. This is important because anything that isn’t secure could move while you’re driving down the road.

In a trailer, this might cause damage to the new piece of furniture, or to other parts of your rig (including walls and windows). In a motorhome, it’s even more important to secure everything because a moving table or chair could result in serious injury to the passengers riding in the motorhome or even the driver of the rig.

Most pieces can be bolted to the floor using “L” brackets. If you have a table or chair you would like to avoid bolting down, you may want to fold it down if possible, or flip it upside down (or onto its side if that makes more sense) and lay it on the floor to avoid tipping.

Where to Shop for RV Furniture

Wondering where to look for RV furniture? Honestly, you can buy pieces for your RV pretty much anywhere that sells furniture. That said, there are some options that we find better than others.

IKEA

We love to shop for RV furniture at IKEA because nearly everything comes disassembled. On top of that, many of their pieces are made for smaller living spaces, meaning they fit perfectly into trailers and motorhomes.

HomeReserve

HomeReserve couches are ideal for RV living because they are modular, meaning they fit whatever space you need them to. They also provide storage space under each cushion, and the covers can be removed and washed, meaning a bit of dirt is no big deal.

Amazon

We enjoy shopping for RV furniture on Amazon because there is such a wide selection. Additionally, most items will come disassembled, making it easy to fit them through an RV door. We find that the quality of Amazon-bought furniture does vary a lot, so that is something to be aware of.

RecPro

If you’re looking for RV-specific furniture, RecPro is the place to shop. This company stocks sofas and other furniture items made especially for RVs, meaning you can rest easy knowing they will fit and function perfectly. Of course, the drawback is that RV-specific furniture is quite a bit more expensive than regular furniture.

There you have it; everything you need to know to get to work replacing your RV furniture. Why not get started now so you can have a totally updated RV to return home to sooner rather than later?

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