Don't shred you leather chairs while traveling - Montana Owners Club

jfaberna · 03-01-2014, 03:05 AM

I found out the hard way that the standard method of putting the rear recliners back to back and strapping them to the floor is not good enough. One of my recliners back hit something hard and a piece of metal got exposed at the top left and it proceeded to shred the back of the other recliner. Still functional, but don't look at the back because it's ugly.

So now I completely cover the recliners with the covers that come with them and then roll up the sofa cover and wedge it in between the tops of the recliners. I also bought some 10' strap at CW that have metal clasps since the original ones break if you try to tighten them.

bncinwv · 03-01-2014, 03:06 AM

When we had recliners that we transported in that manner,we always sat them back-to-back with a pillow between them at the contact area, and then strapped them together.
Bingo

scott-pati · 03-01-2014, 03:25 AM

Could never get the pillow or blanket to stay between the chairs. I guess I should bungee a blanket around just one of them. Never gave it to much thought until this thread.
Scott

**DQDick** · 03-01-2014, 03:52 AM

It is something that it's best to have a solution for. When we had them we also used a bungee cord and pillow.

DarMar · 03-01-2014, 04:00 AM

We have always made a habit of covering the back of one recliner with a folded blanket to protect them from each other and then strap down.

dieselguy · 03-01-2014, 04:11 AM

We back to back them with a little preload against each other and chinch them down with the stock straps. We put a big terry cloth beach towel folded in half between them. With part of the beach towel laying over the top of one chair and the other part hanging down inbetween the chairs, it's big enough that what jostling does go on doesn't make the towel simply fall to the floor. This has worked well on both my current fiver and my previous 2980RL. Other posts sound equally sucessful. Keystone must be cutting corners on the straps as I've never come near breaking any of mine.

scott-pati · 03-01-2014, 05:06 AM

If the chairs were to lock in place, that would solve our dilemma. Do we have a taker to design a locking system? LOL
There's smart people here who can get it done. Need a wielder, isn't Ozz a wielder?

Scott

jfaberna · 03-01-2014, 05:23 AM

Even if the chairs didn't move because the metal ring on the frame was locked down, it still swivels and rocks. I was thinking about after you put them back to back, you need some sort of foam rubber piece that slides completely over the back of one chair like a sleeve about 12 inches down and secure it with a strap or hook under the chair.

I don't think the chair base ring moves enough to cause any issues. I think the rocking and swiveling mechanism allows them to bang around too much. I'm betting that you could glue up some foam sleeves that covered both chair backs as one piece and that would keep the chairs from rocking independently or swiveling against each other. That way you'd not need to strap the chairs down at all. It would work like the foam swim tubes that I see people slip and put on the corners of their slide to keep from banging into them.

MDL · 03-01-2014, 05:34 AM

This has been one of my concerns too, so I'm planning to make a slip cover for the chair backs that is big enough to go over both, but has a divider in the middle that's a foam pad in a cloth casing (kind of like a pillow). It might need foam on the portion against the window and slides too, but not sure yet until I get the trailer (which is somewhere between the factory and the dealer). Sounds like if there are better straps, I should look into that too.
When it arrives I'll get a prototype built and adjust the length and tightness from there I think. Being a weekender, I'm also concerned about the setup time and would have rather had another couch in there as the setup time is much less.

1retired06 · 03-01-2014, 05:39 AM

Guess we have been lucky, we have never strapped the recliners down, just made sure they were centered correctly.

jfaberna · 03-01-2014, 05:39 AM

Setup time is key, but storage of covers and foam is a concern to me as well. I hate trying to get the straps connected on the floor, particularly behind the chair. Maybe a real leather "pillow case" for each chair that was connected at the top would work?

Art-n-Marge · 03-01-2014, 06:34 AM

My wife is always cold, so even in the trailer she has used a small blanket on her recliner. When we set up the recliners for towing, back to back, this blanket is folded and put over the top of one of the recliners, then we strap each recliner down. This has worked for us since we've gotten the trailer. Manuevering the recliners into place has always been the hard part. Our recliners are fabric since we've never been found of leather for our furniture.

scott-pati · 03-01-2014, 08:04 AM

Now that I thought of it our new Monty came with black covers for the recliners and sofa. I forgot I put them under the bed. Anybody else get those covers with their new Monty?

Scott

bncinwv · 03-01-2014, 10:34 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by scott-pati

Now that I thought of it our new Monty came with black covers for the recliners and sofa. I forgot I put them under the bed. Anybody else get those covers with their new Monty?

Scott

Ours came with the covers for the leather couches. Pain to put on, and we likewise stashed them out of sight. Still deciding whether to even keep them??
Bingo

jfaberna · 03-01-2014, 10:44 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by scott-pati

Now that I thought of it our new Monty came with black covers for the recliners and sofa. I forgot I put them under the bed. Anybody else get those covers with their new Monty?

Scott

We have the covers and when I remembered that, I put them on, but too late. I use the sofa cover rolled up and stuffed between the recliner tops.

Slufoot733 · 03-01-2014, 10:45 AM

We secure the chairs face to face. I place the little end table, covered with a thick blanket, between them. I then run one strap from the floor over the back of one chair, over the back of the second and back down to the floor on the other side. I then use the second strap, secured on the floor in the middle of the rear wall, and place it over the first strap and down to the other securing point on the floor. When both straps are pulled snug nothing moves. We've had no damage to either chair or the end table.

Billorn · 03-01-2014, 03:22 PM

We have always stored face to face with the island between them. We have never had a problem with anything moving or getting damaged.

RichR · 03-01-2014, 04:24 PM

We too transport face to face-other brand did back to back,didn't work so well.

MDL · 03-01-2014, 06:53 PM

We'll be getting the same trailer any time now. Do you cover the island, or is there any issue with the chairs rubbing on it while in transit without protection?

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Billorn

We have always stored face to face with the island between them. We have never had a problem with anything moving or getting damaged.

jfaberna · 03-02-2014, 03:12 AM

Our 3402RL has a table and chairs in the slide that comes right up to the kitchen sink cabinet in the middle of the room. Similar to the island kitchen. Because the table is screw to the floor and the chairs are strapped to the table and floor, it has not moved for us. I do worry that something may break loose and start banging around. The MorRyde 4000 is supposed to minimize that, who knows.

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