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goodshepherd · 04-13-2012, 07:33 AM

Does anyone know where one can find the fold out couches found in the airstream trailer. Our "old" fold out seat/beds have "bit the dust" and we need a new one but don't know where to look! Would appreciate any information!

Melody Ranch · 04-13-2012, 07:54 AM

Look right here on the Forum classifieds. Also you will find them on EBAY. Just keep an eye open. Those fold out beds from Ikea type stores are OK...but not my way to go... Then of course there is Flex steel itself. Expensive but just right. Camping World has some on sale at our local store right now.

Skatiero · 04-13-2012, 07:55 AM

You can order many aftermarket replacements. Our friends got a wonderful one from discountvantruck.com. Also, many here on the forum have flexsteel brand. There have been some stunning reupholstery/rebuilding jobs as well. We actually modified a light and comfortable Ikea l-shaped sofa and chaise.

xrvr · 04-13-2012, 08:33 AM

Just make sure it will fit into the door. Trust me. jim

arodriguez60 · 04-13-2012, 08:53 AM

Thats the beauty of the Ikea units. You can assemble them in the AS. We assembled ours in the Limited then unassemled it to lay laminate flooring then reassembled. Worked out great.

xrvr · 04-13-2012, 09:13 AM

I have a nice300 dollar chair for sale, of course it will not fit into the as. jim

Skatiero · 04-13-2012, 10:31 AM

LOL Jim! That could easily happen to anyone! It happened to me recently when my husband had surgery and I bought a recliner on Craigslist to help him rest. I spent time rearranging oujr bedroom to make a good spot for it next to his side of the bed. Then I had our seven children help me move the pool table in our living room so we could get the chair past it and THEN we realized it would not fit through the bedroom door. Meanwhile, my husband was laid up from his major surgery that day and the chair was completely blocking the bedroom door and stuck fast. It took quite a bit of brute strength to extricate it. It now sits in the living room.

Anthony and Tamara, thanks again for the great photos of your Ikea sofa! Our Airstream now matches yours!

Janie Q · 04-13-2012, 11:04 AM

I'd love to see the Ikea photos.
Thanks
Jane

Skatiero · 04-17-2012, 07:14 AM

Here is ours!

yve79 · 04-17-2012, 07:30 AM

Hey I know that sofa; it's the Manstad! We ended up recovering our existing sofa but I had that sofa saved in my airstream reno photos for over a year. It looks great. I really loved the L shape as sometimes I would appreciate having a sofa that fits just one more (four) so we sit comfortably when we have another couple over for a movie night. You can't beat it for the price. It cost us more to recover our sofa.

~Yevette

Skatiero · 04-17-2012, 08:31 AM

Anthony and Tamara (arodriguez60) were kind enough to share photos of their IKEA l-shaped sofa (click on their images and you can see) and that's what convinced me to go with the Ikea-- Theirs looks awesome! We were going to go with the Manstad-- this is actually the older version of the Manstad, called a Fagelbo. They are incredibly similar. We were looking for a used Manstad and ended up finding this Fagelbo instead, and in the long run it worked better for us for a couple of reasons. Oh! I should note that the Manstad has had some changes over the years. The current Manstad is reversible and the chaise can go either direction. The older Manstads and their predecessor, the Fagelbo, were only left-handed or right-handed. That is important to know if your end up buying a used one. The chaise on all of them opens for storage, but the fagelbo hinges on on the long side of the chaise and the Manstad hinges are on the short side of the chaise. On all of these, the other part of the "L" shape has a trundle underneath which pulls out and pops up to make the rest of the bed. The Fagelbo turns into a queen and the Manstad I THINK turns into a full, Ikea just says a "bed for two" but it seemed like a full in the store. The Manstads have thicker arms and back. The Fagelbo has thinner arms and back, and the bed part seems a little bigger. The Manstads have the feet on the arms and back and the Fagelbo has the feet on the bottom of the inside parts or bed parts, if that makes sense.

We had to take it apart (we would have had to have taken it mostly apart to get it through the door anyway) and we had to do some carving to get it to fit in the space in our particular airstream-- some would not have that issue. We had to cut the bottom of the storage part as well to make room for the battery, and you can see the battery housing if you look in the storage part. We had to permanently remove the long back against the streetside window, and we permanently removed the side arm against the stove and the one against the front panoramic windows, again so it would fit. The streetside front corner had to be kind of shaved off with a circular saw too-- you'd never know to look at it! We were glad the feet were on the main part and not on the arms since we had to lose the arms!

We then took an Ikea Karlstad chaise we already had and cut the back off, shortened it and curved the back curbside corner, and bolted one of the arms we took off the sofa to make a new back so there is a continuous back all the way across the front of the Airstream. Then Rob made a nice shelf to fill in across the back and stained it to match the rest of the woodwork. It has a removeable center to get to the battery switch etc and offer some provate storage. And he put longer legs on the chaise to make it match the sofa in height and be a good height for eating etc. This completes the U-shape we wanted.

Aviator · 04-17-2012, 08:42 AM

I can't wait to see your trailer in person again, Katie. Carol and I have been talking about changing our front couch into an "L" setup. Yours looks ideal.

Skatiero · 04-17-2012, 08:46 AM

I meant to add-- the Fagelbo was only 200 on Craigslist. It is off-white, which is a tough color with kids, but I discovered that crib sheets fit the cections perfectly-- they are on in this phot and easily remove for washing. we also scotch-guarded the fabric, so this is just an extra precaution.

I think I might have neglected to add that the Fagelbo has five back cushions and the Manstad has three. The pillows are all the same size either way. I may slip pillowcases on mine for the same reason i put the crib sheets on but we'll see how it goes!

Skatiero · 04-17-2012, 08:47 PM

Craig, with your airstream being a widebody you would not even have to reconfigure your sofa if you went that route. I am a big ikea fan and you have room for some really great options from them!

c_lewis77 · 04-17-2012, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skatiero

Here is ours!

That looks great!

CMSmith · 07-22-2012, 09:17 PM

I am trying to figure if the Ektorp sleeper sofa would fit in the front of my 1975 Tradewind seems like it would be tight to unfold the bed, but it just might fit. Does anyone know?

Skatiero · 07-24-2012, 09:43 PM

Measure, measure, measure. We put a modified fagelbo ( an ikea sofa similar to a manstad but no longer made) in our 89 excella and had to do quite a bit of modifying!

pauliesg · 06-03-2017, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arodriguez60

Thats the beauty of the Ikea units. You can assemble them in the AS. We assembled ours in the Limited then unassemled it to lay laminate flooring then reassembled. Worked out great.

What Ikea sofa do you suggest. I just purchased an Excella 34 ft (1985). Sofa broken so need replacement soon.

pauliesg · 06-03-2017, 08:11 AM

Could you please tell me which Ikea sofa you used. Need one for a 1985 Excella 34 ft. Old sofa is 76 inches long.

Ms cole · 03-28-2021, 10:34 AM

Can anyone please tell me the dimensions of the front sofa area at the hitch's window? Our trailer is in storage and we need to find a replacement sofa bed for the front of the RV.

Any ideas for the most comfortable??

Thanks