Removing Sofa

Section for discussion of Chinook interior and appliance issues, repair or installation.
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Skillet
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Joined: March 22nd, 2015, 7:45 am
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Removing Sofa

Post by Skillet »

How difficult is it to remove the futon-like couch? When I drop the panel under it I can see 2 large bolts at each leg. Are there more in the back and is it as easy as that? I'm getting closer to getting flooring and tearing up the carpet. It appears if I can get the couch out of the way I can unbolt things like the water pump. I have a minor leak somewhere under there and I don't want mold from the carpet holding it. I'd like to replace it with flooring that I can easily inspect and clean up in the future.
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Blue~Go
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Re: Removing Sofa

Post by Blue~Go »

I've only removed the top bits (seat and back cushion plus associated metal "arms"), but because of that I have a good view of the rest of the couch frame. It looks to me as though it could be removed fairly easily. There are (on mine) two large floor bolts holding the front (ankle side) to the floor - and I can see both of them from below lying under the rig. Then two round arms that attach to the 2 x 4 cleat on the outside wall. The side panels are just held to the frame with small screws and are largely decorative, as is the fold down front panel.

As I said, I have not removed it altogether (yet).
1999 Concourse
Skillet
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Re: Removing Sofa

Post by Skillet »

From what you've seen or remember, do you think it'll be too much of a chore to unbolt everything from the floor to get the carpet up? Looks like it'll be a pain in the butt...
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Blue~Go
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Re: Removing Sofa

Post by Blue~Go »

That's what I'm planning to do. At some point I'm going to remove the main carpet and do something else. Additionally, although I can live with carpet in most of the other storage areas (it can actually be a nice thing for keeping things from rattling/sliding around), I really don't fancy having it under the water tank, etc. under the couch. So I plan to put hard flooring in there too. I can't see cutting new flooring all around the bolts, so I will at least try to remove them. I haven't done so yet though. I do have the water tank, pump, and water heater out though, so I have a big empty work space (until I put them back).

Incidentally, you have already have figured this out, but the water heater sits in a fiberglass well -- the carpet just runs up to the edge of it and looks like it's turned under itself and fastened.
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sliderock
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Re: Removing Sofa

Post by sliderock »

Blue~Go wrote:I've only removed the top bits (seat and back cushion plus associated metal "arms"), but because of that I have a good view of the rest of the couch frame. It looks to me as though it could be removed fairly easily. There are (on mine) two large floor bolts holding the front (ankle side) to the floor - and I can see both of them from below lying under the rig. Then two round arms that attach to the 2 x 4 cleat on the outside wall. The side panels are just held to the frame with small screws and are largely decorative, as is the fold down front panel.

As I said, I have not removed it altogether (yet).
Are you saying you have removed the backrest part of the sofa? If so, can you elaborate a little on how you went about doing that?

Thanks
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Blue~Go
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Re: Removing Sofa

Post by Blue~Go »

sliderock wrote: Are you saying you have removed the backrest part of the sofa? If so, can you elaborate a little on how you went about doing that?
Yes, I did. This was as a part of a project wherein I permanently removed the Flexsteel seat cushion and backrest, and then put in a different seat cushion/backrest (that I find more comfortable). I kept the "floor" part of the Flexsteel frame though. I actually went back and forth on that, and I can see advantages to just building a wooden box frame (or similar), but I decided to keep the steel frame because it spans such a large area with such narrow members, and that's useful.

Anyway, let me look at my notes from when I took it apart and if there is anything that looks helpful, I'll post it back here.

***
Essentially, there are two parts to the couch, what I think of as the moving part, which includes the back cushion, seat cushion, and a bunch of framing that moves with them when converting from couch to bed. Then there is the fixed frame, which is attached to the Chinook and is sort of a "box" and does not move when converting the couch. I removed all of the moving part.

I started by detaching the seat cushion frame from the "floor frame" (which is what I'm calling the part that is an unmoving square steel "box" that is attached to the floor of the Chinook). I did this by removing two fasteners on each end of the couch. You can see them attached to triangular black steel "wings" on each end of the couch if you look in under the pull down door.
couch 1.jpg
couch 2.jpg
Next (going from memory/photos here - this was a year ago), I removed two pairs of fasteners that are near the outside wall, one set on each end. These are behind the back cushion and near the back (outside wall) of the seat cushion, and hold the moving frame to the fixed frame.
couch 3.jpg
I can only put three photos in any one post, so continued in next post...
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Blue~Go
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Re: Removing Sofa

Post by Blue~Go »

Then, I detached the backrest cushion (and its internal frame) from the exposed moving part of the frame. This photo is taken as if you were outside the window looking in at the back of the backrest (the white area).
couch 4.jpg
This (as I remember it) separates the back cushion and the seat cushion. So now you have the seat cushion with a bunch of movable framing attached to it. If you pull up the round rod to the top, you have a sort of giant suitcase that you can carry (seat cushion plus "handle" of framing at top). Sorry about my lack of photoediting skills - hopefully you can look past that and see the "suitcase" of the couch seat cushion after I removed it.
couch 5.jpg
The backrest is another separate piece you can carry out.

What is left is the fixed "box" of couch framing that is attached to the Chinook, along with the side and front panels (the front panel "door," that is). Any of this can also be removed, but I chose to use it as the base for my new couch/bed.
1999 Concourse
sliderock
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Joined: April 25th, 2015, 8:20 am

Re: Removing Sofa

Post by sliderock »

Thanks a lot. I will print these instructions out so I can compare and then go to work. I will take a few shots as I progress. Got to get started first, though, and I am going to leave tomorrow for a few days in Yellowstone Park. So when I get back, it's time to get to work.

Ivan
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Re: Removing Sofa

Post by Concourse St Tropez »

Very interesting pics. Could you post pics of the new sofa or bed . That's what I want to do to mine.
Sliderock.. did you finish your project ? Any pics ?
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