If your RV is getting on in age, you might be dealing with some pretty worn-out furniture. This is fine, of course—if you’re okay with it, that is—but if you’d prefer something more stylish or just more comfortable, it might be time to consider buying new RV furniture.
The good news? This is totally doable! And with the tips below, you’re sure to get through replacing RV furniture without a hitch.
Measure First
The very first thing you will want to do? Measure the space where you want your new furniture to go. I recommend measuring more than once (just to be sure your numbers are accurate) and then writing all of the measurements down.
You can measure with your old furniture still in place, but in some cases, it might be easier to take measurements with the old furniture moved out of the way.
Watch Out for Weight
While the furniture put into the RV at the factory is taken into account when calculating the CCC, the furniture you purchase could very well weigh more than the stock furniture. In this case, you will want to figure out how much more the new furniture weighs and subtract that number from the total CCC when determining how much you can pack in the rig.
It’s also important to keep in mind that very heavy furniture should not be placed in a slide, as too much weight will damage the systems that put the slide in and out.
Keep Safety in Mind
Every RV out there is limited by its cargo-carrying capacity (CCC). This is the amount of weight the trailer or motorhome can safely carry.
Obviously, it is important to keep safety in mind when replacing your RV furniture. Watching the weight of whatever you put in is one way to do this. It’s also a good idea to keep seatbelt safety in mind.
If you drive a motorhome and people need to buckle up in the back of the RV, you will want to make sure you replace the couch with something that can be used safely with seatbelts. For this reason, we recommend buying from a reputable RV-specific furniture brand such as FlexSteel if you plan to replace your motorhome couch and want to continue using the seatbelts.
Look for Multi-Purpose Pieces
If you’ve spent much time at all in your RV, you know that every item you bring in needs to serve a purpose. If it can serve more than one purpose, all the better, especially if its secondary purpose is to give you more storage space.
Fortunately, there are a huge number of multi-functional furniture pieces on the market. Couches that turn into beds, ottomans that serve as storage boxes, and tables that can be moved around and used for different purposes all come to mind. Searching for these multi-purpose pieces can and will pay off in the long term!
Shop for Disassembled Furniture
The thing about RV doors is that they really aren’t very wide. This can make fitting furniture through them darn near impossible. What is the best way around this problem? Taking furniture through the door in pieces.
Disassembling the old furniture before you carry it outside is much, much easier than trying to squish a whole couch through a tiny door. Likewise, buying disassembled pieces from places like IKEA and assembling them in your RV will save you a lot of trouble.
Bolt Everything Down
Once you have your new RV furniture all set up in its place, it’s time to make sure it doesn’t go anywhere, no matter how bumpy the roads may get. Use “L” brackets and sturdy bolts to secure each piece of furniture to the floor or wall, ensuring it won’t go flying as you’re driving down the highway.
With these tips for replacing RV furniture, you should have no trouble at all outfitting your camper with some comfy new pieces. What will you buy first?
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About the author: Chelsea Gonzales
Chelsea has the amazing opportunity to take part in full-time RV living and traveling with her tiny tribe. She homeschools her five-year-old son as they travel, and takes full advantage of their unique situation by using the entire world as her son’s classroom. A group of total Disney fanatics, Chelsea and her family often find themselves in the Orlando area in order to visit the Disney parks, but they have also visited over 25 of the 50 states with plans to see many more along the way. No matter where her travels take her, Chelsea enjoys riding bikes, gazing at beautiful sunsets, finding new coffee shops, Irish dancing, and sitting around a campfire with her family.
You can join her adventures through her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander.
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