Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

I think I saw this problem discussed on either our forum or another RV forum but my search for it was not successful.

On the Flexsteel sofa in our 2002 BF 26' RSB coach, either the foam padding in the seat portion is not think enough or the springs have gotten weak as sitting on this sofa is rather uncomfortable after a period of time. To me I can feel the sofa seating surface bottoming out against the hard metal structure underneath.

Has anyone suffered the same problem and is there a solution?

It would appear to me that either additional padding needs to be installed in the seating portion of the sofa or maybe additional springs installed. Unfortunately like most of these Flexsteel sofas, adding more foam padding in the seating area will cause an even higher offset of this surface above the seatback surface when pulled out into a bed.

One of the Flexsteel factories is located in Dubuque, IA but I don't know if these sofas are made there for the RV industry or not. I wanted to call them about this problem but they provide no factory contact information on their website other than to contact a franchised Flexsteel RV dealer.

Sam Ryan,

Thanks a lot for that info. You wouldn't happen to have the Flexsteel phone number in Dubuque that I could call? I could not find any customer service phone numbers for Flexsteel anywhere on their website.

Bill, I had my couch replaced Back and Bottom 7-29-04 still under the 2 year warranty. They sent them no charge. The shop they hired in my town to install the foam butchered it. So they sent me new finished complete top and bottom and I put them in. (No Charge)

The contact was Flexsteel Lisa Bauer 563-585-8356 3400 Jackson St. Dubque I.A. 52001

Bill, we were unhappy with the soft foam in our 2004 RB as we experienced the same problem you expressed. We called Lisa Bauer at Flexsteel and made an appointment to have the foam replaced. She was wonderful to deal with and agreed to replace it at no charge although Flexsteel had no fault in the choice of the original foam. We took our rig to Dubuque and toured the Mississippi River Museum and other waterfront attractions while the work was done. It took about 4 hours for both sofas (we had twin sofas instead of chairs). It's worth giving Lisa a call (Lisa Bauer, Customer Service Rep., Flexsteel Industries, Inc., 563-585-8356, 3400 Jackson St., Dubuque, IA 52001)

I also had problems with my sofa in my 1995 BF 26 ft RSB.I talked to Lisa
at Flex steel 563 585-8356.I replaced the bottom and back Poly foam padding.The part number for mine is-bottom 41207631 back-41207621.
I also raised the back by@ 1 1/2 inches to make it more level when it is in the open position to sleep on.

Hans Rueckert

1995 BF 26 RSB

This website is really a great source for information to be shared by all. Thanks to all that responded with great information and I certainly know now who to call at Flexsteel to resolve this problem. Evidently this problem is fairly widespread in the earlier model Born Free coaches equipped with this jack knife sofa.

We have a 2002 and had Flexsteel replace the foam like the ones mentioned above, but we sleep on the sofa. I sleep on the window side and the foam isn't enough even with the replacement. I went to a local autobody place, they replace the foam again and added a piece of plywood between the foan and the frame on the upper section. that made a big and better improvement. It looks and feel normal when used as a couch.

How much do they charge at Flexsteel to replace the foam? The seat on our coach is soft enough, but the back is thin and when in the bed position is not level for a bed.

GKarschnick,

If you have read some of the earlier posts in this thread, some were able to have their Flexsteel jackknife sofa foam inserts replaced free of charge by the Flexsteel factory in Dubuque, IA. They evidently are not doing it for free anymore. I removed my sofa bottom and back from the sofa frame and drove them over to Dubuque a couple of weeks ago and this is what it cost me.

New high density foam insert for bottom cushion - $65.00
New high density foam insert for back cushion - $55.00
Labor for factory workers to replace both inserts - $75.00

Total cost including Iowa 7% sales tax was - $208.65

Now concerning the unevenness of the back cushion and bottom cushion when made into a bed, you might want to read an earlier post on this subject by hrgermany and what back cushion mounting modifications he did to make the cushions more level. Look for his posting dated Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:12 AM at this direct website link:

http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... .php?t=998

I have not had a chance yet to reinstall my modified cushions so I don't know if the high density foam inserts will make the back cushion more level with the bottom cushion or not - Lisa Bauer at the factory did not think it would change. I have purchased quantity four 5/8 inch steel coupling nuts that are 1-1/8" long and that are internally threaded for 3/8" x 16 bolts. I will use these hex spacers to raise the back cushion by 1-1/8" in a manner similar to what hrgermany used the aluminum channel for to make the back and bottom cushions more even if necessary.

The direct website link to the Fastenal catalog page showing this coupling nut as their P/N 37819 is:

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/de ... ?sku=37819