Can we get that big couch in the motor home?

For six years we have lived with the furniture that was in our motor home when we bought it. The previous owners had upgraded the couch during the 13 months that they had the coach, so it was actually already improved from what it could have been. But we were really tired of the RV industry's reputably uncomfortable furniture. 

We removed the corner of the L-sectional in April when we had a custom cabinet built in its place. 

That left us with a shorter version of a sleeper sofa and a chair. After six years of not having a recliner in our living room, we were ready for another change. Both the chair and sofa technically have foot rests, but they are too short to support Mark's long legs, and the leather on both was cracking and peeling. Even though we got the couch cushions recovered last year, now the back is doing the same. It was a bad batch of synthetic leather in 2014!

We really wanted a sofa with two recliners to replace the sleeper sofa and chair. So we started shopping a year ago. Our main problem with finding a replacement sofa is that it must fit in the driver's side slide. It's exactly 35 inches from the wall to the lip of the slide floor. Over and over we found that reclining sofas were 37-40 inches deep. We sat in and measured a lot of sofas in furniture stores across four states in the last year! To make the process more uncomfortable, those shopping trips had to be made while wearing a mask.

To further complicate our search, we preferred cloth over leather, manual recliners over electric, and we needed a color that would match the interior of our motor home. At this point, however, we might have settled for a purple couch if it fit in our spot! We also had to find one that has a removable back, so that we can get it through the motor home's small doorway. After looking at hundreds of sofas, we had decided that this was just too much to ask!

Then we found "it" on Christmas eve in Oklahoma City. It might not be the most stylish couch in the world, but after our long search we thought it was beautiful! It was 35 inches deep, it had cloth upholstery, the backs are removable, and the reclining mechanism doesn't need electricity. Yay!

We picked it up on Christmas Eve. What a good Christmas gift for us! We were glad to have our new pickup to transport it back to the motor home. But because we had family plans for the next week, we had to wait until after the new year to do anything with that new couch. We sure hope it will really fit in the motor home!?!

Oklahoma was slammed with another snow storm. So by the time we got back to the motor home sitting at Denisa's sister and brother-in-law's house, it was surrounded by snow.

We put out the slides and started the process of taking out the old sleeper sofa. Mark unbolted it from the floor and we began disassembling it. In order to get the old sofa out through our 28-inch motor home door, we had to unscrew and completely remove the back and sides of the couch. We were glad that the chair was much easier to get out the door.

Now we have a big bare wall where the sleeper sofa and chair had been sitting. Mark also took off the padded valances that hold the blinds, because they are two long for the new taller couch. The only thing left is the pile of seat belts on the floor.

This really was the perfect couch for us, as it came apart into six pieces to make it the easiest possible to get inside the narrow door and into our cramped quarters. We were also in the perfect place to do this job, as our brother-in-law was there to help us.

Connie and Joe both helped, and we carried the six pieces into the motor home and then put it back together.

We were pretty happy when all six pieces were inside and all put together!

The next step is taking the fabric off the valances, cutting them off to the appropriate lengths, and re-upholstering them. Mark is literally standing on his head, taking out all those staples, and then re-stapling the shorter fabric in place.

We re-hung the valances, and it is amazing how much they help to make the room more finished.

We have just enough room beside the longer couch for a little end table. We wonder how many furniture store shopping trips it will take to find the perfect end table to go with our perfect-for-us couch!?!

After years of having a couch that wasn't tall enough for his back and long enough for his legs, Mark is now a happy camper! When we are in travel mode, we often don't put out our slides. We're glad to show in this picture that Mark can still sleep in his new recliner even when the slides are in!

The answer to the blog title question, "Can we get that big couch in the motor home?" is obviously "Yes!" Now we hope we never have to find out if we can get it back out!