2015 RT 190 Chevy Chassis 3500 drivers seat peeling/flaking

whoisjohngalt

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my drivers seat is peeling/flaking. It's my understanding the seats were not the same as the standard Chevy seats. Has anyone had success buying new covers that will fit these seats? (BTW, it's only the drivers seat that has done this. New purchase and no understanding why this happened) TY!
 

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We had a Phoenix Cruiser Class C that was developing the same problem. As I recall, a lot of folks on the Phoenix Cruiser Forum had the same problem. It was called Ultra Leather and apparently there was a lot of bad product used in the RV industry in the early 2010s. Our PC was a 2013 and I had read about folks having to have all of their upholstery redone because of this problem. We sold our PC to a dealer and he called it "cosmetic". One it started, it just kept getting worse.

I am not sure if your seats are this same "Ultra Leather" or not but they sure look like the problem. By the way, the "Leather" was not real leather, of course. It was a Chinese product and a US seat manufacture had gotten hold of a really bad shipment. Apparently, it took years for it to become a problem but once it started, it just kept going.
 
I think our 07 Roadtrek was one of the first where the went to Ultraleather, which as stated above is not leather but a salespeak term of PU leather which is short for polyurethane leather aka phony leather that is really close to being vinyl.

Our driver's seat is starting to flake on the beading on the seat bottom where you get in, the rest is OK but we don't expect it to last. Lots or Roadtreks over many years have had the same issue and Roadtrek ignored it all.

I have looked all over and have not found any reupholstery kits or even decent fitting covers for them. If ours go bad I will likely bite the bullet and pay the big cost of custom reupholstery in real leather or nice fabric.
 
I guess we are lucky. Our 2007 RT 210P is on a 2006 chassis and we bought it right at the beginning of the RT model year. Our front seats are made by Flexsteel and are real leather. After all these years they are without cracks. Storing inside and using saddle soap infrequently seems to have paid off for us.
 
I guess we are lucky. Our 2007 RT 210P is on a 2006 chassis and we bought it right at the beginning of the RT model year. Our front seats are made by Flexsteel and are real leather. After all these years they are without cracks. Storing inside and using saddle soap infrequently seems to have paid off for us.
I have heard the Flexsteel supplied the Roadtrek front seats a couple of places, but nowhere have I ever been able to find any reference on an official Roadtrek document or website. Only second hand information. A Roadtrek sales guy at a show back then was touting they used factory seats, but Roadtrek covers, because they were totally tested safe in OEM testing, but of course sales guys often have no idea what they are talking about.

Manufacturers were always very proud to say they used Flexsteel seats but no literature says that for Roadtrek front seats in the brochures.

Where did you find out this, as I am very curious. I put a Chevy power track on our driver's seat and the frame had all the correct holes in place for the oddball front mounted controls for the seat, and Roadtrek never offered that option. Folks have also replaced the seat bottom foam with standard Express van seat foam and it fit perfectly also and the seat shape is identical to the stock vans.

For the OP, there does appear to be one place now making replacement covers, though, in both tan and grey.
You can get full cover sets in grey cloth but only bottoms in tan, it appears. Ours are tan, but grey cloth would look just fine with the black dash and dark carpet we added. The cloth would also not be so terribly hot and unbreathable like the stock seats, which can get very uncomfortable when you stick to it so bad it nearly pulls your skin off. I never even consider driving a long distance in shorts for that reason.

 
Booster, you know a lot more about Roadtreks than I do. I have owned two of them and bought both new specked out from the factory. But you have really studied these things and I have not.

I have just always understood that these were Flexsteel seats. Actually, it makes no difference to me if they are Flexsteel or not. I just know that are almost nineteen years old, flawless and undoubtedly the most comfortable seats I have ever owned in any vehicle.
 
I'll answer our experience with seat covers for our 2008 Chevy 2500 - RT 170P.

Very satisfied with our Saddleman covers. We got the Neoprene for durability and ease of maintenance. Like them so much bought a set for my wife's Nissan Xterra. I'll consider for my Solstice when the time comes. Search the froum for other comments - all good as I recall. Not Cheap - but quality and made in 'Merica.

They have a CNC cutting setup, and with accurate plans, and they fit like a glove. They also kept me informed as the seat covers moved through the process; order received, designed, cutting, assembly, etc.. Very customer oriented.

We did have to remind them we needed 2 Arm Rests for the Captain Chairs. They sent the next ones out - no charge. Our arm rests are still in good shape and we'd need to remove the factory RT covers to install so the new ones are in reserve. They did a Mil/Vet discount of 10% when asked.

Cheers - Jim
 
RVSeatcovers.com. Had a 2017 MB Sprinter with same problem. Ordered perfect fit covers. Not cheap but worked well
 
I have heard the Flexsteel supplied the Roadtrek front seats a couple of places, but nowhere have I ever been able to find any reference on an official Roadtrek document or website. Only second hand information. A Roadtrek sales guy at a show back then was touting they used factory seats, but Roadtrek covers, because they were totally tested safe in OEM testing, but of course sales guys often have no idea what they are talking about.

Manufacturers were always very proud to say they used Flexsteel seats but no literature says that for Roadtrek front seats in the brochures.

Where did you find out this, as I am very curious. I put a Chevy power track on our driver's seat and the frame had all the correct holes in place for the oddball front mounted controls for the seat, and Roadtrek never offered that option. Folks have also replaced the seat bottom foam with standard Express van seat foam and it fit perfectly also and the seat shape is identical to the stock vans.

For the OP, there does appear to be one place now making replacement covers, though, in both tan and grey.
You can get full cover sets in grey cloth but only bottoms in tan, it appears. Ours are tan, but grey cloth would look just fine with the black dash and dark carpet we added. The cloth would also not be so terribly hot and unbreathable like the stock seats, which can get very uncomfortable when you stick to it so bad it nearly pulls your skin off. I never even consider driving a long distance in shorts for that reason.


So the seats are NOT different (shape, size) than the standard stock seats? Maybe what I was reading was referring to the Roadtrek badge seat cover.... Thank you for this!
 
Booster, you know a lot more about Roadtreks than I do. I have owned two of them and bought both new specked out from the factory. But you have really studied these things and I have not.

I have just always understood that these were Flexsteel seats. Actually, it makes no difference to me if they are Flexsteel or not. I just know that are almost nineteen years old, flawless and undoubtedly the most comfortable seats I have ever owned in any vehicle.
It only really makes a difference if you are looking to get new foam or upholstery for them, or if you might need parts for electric bolster which would also probably be different with Flexsteel.

I won't say most comfortable because I have 1996 Buick Roadmaster with the limited edition 8 way seats so van can't beat that in any category of comfort. But the van's seats were the most comfortable of what was available in 2007 when we got it compared to the competition.
 
I'll answer our experience with seat covers for our 2008 Chevy 2500 - RT 170P.

Very satisfied with our Saddleman covers. We got the Neoprene for durability and ease of maintenance. Like them so much bought a set for my wife's Nissan Xterra. I'll consider for my Solstice when the time comes. Search the froum for other comments - all good as I recall. Not Cheap - but quality and made in 'Merica.

They have a CNC cutting setup, and with accurate plans, and they fit like a glove. They also kept me informed as the seat covers moved through the process; order received, designed, cutting, assembly, etc.. Very customer oriented.

We did have to remind them we needed 2 Arm Rests for the Captain Chairs. They sent the next ones out - no charge. Our arm rests are still in good shape and we'd need to remove the factory RT covers to install so the new ones are in reserve. They did a Mil/Vet discount of 10% when asked.

Cheers - Jim
Did you order standard high back Chevy Express covers?

I have looked at neoprene in the past and always thought it would be horribly hot and not breathable like vinyl is.
 
We did an "order" based on the Chevy Express Van (2500) Roadtrek. It was on the webpage, but 2 minor "challenges." As I mentioned before, dual arm rests. They fixed with no questions asked. We have not installed these as the RT seats still have very nice covers on the armrests, and they would need to be removed first. The first set they set was sent back to modify for the arm rest mounts, which are slightly different than stock Chevy. We were prepared for this - as it was previously mentioned on the forum.

All-in-all. High quality, exceptional customer service - an American Small business.

An no, we find the neoprene not as "sweaty" as the "stock" vinyl.

Cheers - Jim
 
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We did an "order" based on the Chevy Express Van (2500) Roadtrek. It was on the webpage, but 2 minor "challenges." As I mentioned before, dual arm rests. They fixed with no questions asked. We have not installed these as the RT seats still have very nice covers on the armrests, and they would need to be removed first. The fist set they set was sent back to modify for the arm rest mounts, which are slightly different than stock Chevy. We were prepared for this - as it was previously mentioned on the forum.

All-in-all. High quality, exceptional customer service - an American Small business.

An no, we find the neoprene not as "sweaty" as the "stock" vinyl.

Cheers - Jim
Interesting on the not as hot as the vinyl "ultraleather". I did look at the site and appears they have bit of texture to them, and that probably would help.
 
Facing the same wear problem, we installed Covercraft Polycotton SeatSaver Custom Seat Covers. Better comfort than the vinyl.

When ordering there was 3 choices for the Express submodel. Not knowing which one to choose, I just went with the first one listed.

When installing, there seemed to be something not working out so we made a custom piece for the lower back of the seat to make it work and stay tight.
 

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I'll answer our experience with seat covers for our 2008 Chevy 2500 - RT 170P.

Very satisfied with our Saddleman covers. We got the Neoprene for durability and ease of maintenance. Like them so much bought a set for my wife's Nissan Xterra. I'll consider for my Solstice when the time comes. Search the froum for other comments - all good as I recall. Not Cheap - but quality and made in 'Merica.

They have a CNC cutting setup, and with accurate plans, and they fit like a glove. They also kept me informed as the seat covers moved through the process; order received, designed, cutting, assembly, etc.. Very customer oriented.

We did have to remind them we needed 2 Arm Rests for the Captain Chairs. They sent the next ones out - no charge. Our arm rests are still in good shape and we'd need to remove the factory RT covers to install so the new ones are in reserve. They did a Mil/Vet discount of 10% when asked.

Cheers - Jim
Saddleman is definitely a class act, The seats in our 2008C210P were shedding just like in the picture and we ordered icrofibre from Saddleman a few ywars ago. After installation I discovered that the seat back pockets were no longer sccessable so I called Saddleman. They sent a prepaid RMA and modified the seat covers. Very good serevice. That said, they do not look as nice as the OEM seats and I would like to have the foam replaced and proper covers installed.
 
Saddleman is definitely a class act, The seats in our 2008C210P were shedding just like in the picture and we ordered icrofibre from Saddleman a few ywars ago. After installation I discovered that the seat back pockets were no longer sccessable so I called Saddleman. They sent a prepaid RMA and modified the seat covers. Very good serevice. That said, they do not look as nice as the OEM seats and I would like to have the foam replaced and proper covers installed.
If you don't mind going to vinyl or cloth, the ebay source I used still has them in grey cloth and grey or tan in vinyl. They are listed as being full replacement covers not over the top covers. They also have the seat foam.
 
If you don't mind going to vinyl or cloth, the ebay source I used still has them in grey cloth and grey or tan in vinyl. They are listed as being full replacement covers not over the top covers. They also have the seat foam.
have you or anyone else here ever get pricing from a local upholstery shop? Any idea on cost? TY
 
About 4 years ago I got a quote on the similar seats in my 96 Buick Roadmaster and they wanted $800 in if done in vinyl and a one year backlog. I hear of complete jobs in leather being $1200 and up per seat from the hotrod people. The exception may be if you live near a neighborhood that is in to lowriders as there are some shops in those areas that do some fantastic leather work at reasonable prices, but I have no personal experience with that.
 

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