Slipping dinette cushions . . . . . has anyone used velcro?

[Ray and Susan Huff]

We have Ultrafabric cushions in our Elite II.  We chose this option because our previous RV (Leisure Travel Van) had Ultraleather which we found comfortable and easy care.  The seats in our van had wood bases. The seat cushions and seat base were fitted with automotive strength velcro to prevent the cushions from slipping.

I find the cushions in our Oliver annoying in that they refuse to stay in place, while seated, despite the nonskid mat Oliver includes; not sure if this is also a problem with the fabric upholstered cushions.  The back cushions tend to slide around too, but not as much; the LTV van back cushions had tabs with snaps (like the back cushions for the Oliver rear dinette) that attached to a snap on the wall.

My question is: has anyone used heavy duty automotive velcro to secure the dinette seat cushions to the base hatch?  I hesitate because doing so would render them non-reversable (probably not a big deal).  Also, if the velcro was to be removed would it damage the Ultrafabric?

I welcome any other solutions to the problem of slipping cushions.  Thanks!

[SeaDawg]

Susan, that's a problem for many people on sailboats. When heeled and under sail, cockpit cushions tend to slide off the benches.

Ours originally had a shock cord fed through loops on the cushion. We don't use that anymore. Additional nonskid and older cushions don't slide as much.

(Seat cushions below have a small fiddle (rail) to keep them in place. Back cushions have some velcro dots)

You could try a better quality nonskid mat for the seats. Or, put the velcro on the back short edge of the cushion , so your cushions would still be reversible. I'd put the softer tape on the fiberglass wall surface, and the nubby on the cushions. If the velcro didn't match up, it wouldn't likely mar the ultraleather. If the velcro doesn't want to stick to the ultraleather, you may have to sew it on, or take it to an upholstery shop to have it done.

You could also add snaps to the back of the cushion, and tabs. You could buy a kit, or just take them to un upholstery or sail shop.

The discs on our boat seatback look like these from sailrite. They're meant to be screwed into wood, but vhb or command tape should work fine. Then cut strips or circles of the hook side, and sew or fasten to the cushion.

[SeaDawg]

I read once about a guy who sewed bolt rope to his cushions, and glued flexible  awning track to the seatback of the cockpit. That would surely be a pain to remove and reset any time you needed access to the areas under the seat, but it sure would keep the seat cushions in place.

Sailrite photo.

Btw, our fabric cushions slide a bit, too. But, a piece shelf liner or carpet nonslip works pretty well. When we travel, I stack the dinette cushions on the bed, in back of the kitchen counter, so they don't wind up on the floor. I don't leave the liner in place, even in short term storage. Even if it says safe for hardwood,  I've always been concerned that it would leave a residue on my cushions in the Florida heat and humidity.

 

[Overland]

We had Velcro added to the backs of all our cushions when we had them made. It works very well but I’d love to have them redone with a bit more thought put into it. 

The problem we’ve run into is that the glue on the velcro that the upholsterer used will melt in the high temps that the trailer sees when in storage, and that’s caused the Velcro to come loose and not want to stick as well to the fiberglass. The bigger problem with that though is that since the upholsterer bought sticky Velcro, both sides have glue. He sewed the Velcro to the cushions but there’s glue underneath and guess what?  In the heat the glue melts, seeps out around the Velcro, and makes a sticky mess. I think the only solution is to remove the Velcro, clean off all the residue, and redo it.  Or live with it.

Moral of the story: make sure if you use sticky Velcro that the glue will stand up to high temps. That, or store your trailer where it’s cool. 

[Nancy K.]

We just use a rubber webbed mat similar to shelf liner.

 

[GraniteStaters]

We changed to denser and heavier foam cushions to prevent "bottoming out" when we sat at the dinette for a long time. One benefit was that they no longer slip, even without the nonskid mat. We have the ultrafabric.  Paula

[SeaDawg]

8 hours ago, Overland said:

In the heat the glue melts, seeps out around the Velcro, and makes a sticky mess. I think the only solution is to remove the Velcro, clean off all the residue, and redo it.  Or live with it.

Well, that's a crummy (and sticky) situation. 

I have both adhesive, and non-adhesive,  meant to be sewn, velcro in my supply crate. 

Good warning.

I've not had velcro on the walls weep adhesive in Florida,  but the trailer is usually only home for brief periods in the hot, humid summers .

[SNY SD UP]

19 hours ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

We have Ultrafabric cushions in our Elite II.  We chose this option because our previous RV (Leisure Travel Van) had Ultraleather which we found comfortable and easy care.  The seats in our van had wood bases. The seat cushions and seat base were fitted with automotive strength velcro to prevent the cushions from slipping.

I find the cushions in our Oliver annoying in that they refuse to stay in place, while seated, despite the nonskid mat Oliver includes; not sure if this is also a problem with the fabric upholstered cushions.  The back cushions tend to slide around too, but not as much; the LTV van back cushions had tabs with snaps (like the back cushions for the Oliver rear dinette) that attached to a snap on the wall.

My question is: has anyone used heavy duty automotive velcro to secure the dinette seat cushions to the base hatch?  I hesitate because doing so would render them non-reversable (probably not a big deal).  Also, if the velcro was to be removed would it damage the Ultrafabric?

I welcome any other solutions to the problem of slipping cushions.  Thanks!

Susan,  we use the following

  https://www.amazon.com/DAZZ-8714388-Taupe-Classic-Shelf/dp/B01LWASQEE/ref=asc_df_B01LWASQEE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216569127040&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15415255600688357079&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021082&hvtargid=pla-361000286526&psc=1

i believe we got the 18" x 5' roll.  

or as Nancy K. said -  "We just use a rubber webbed mat similar to shelf liner."

[Ray and Susan Huff]

3 hours ago, SNY SD UP said:

Susan,  we use the following

  https://www.amazon.com/DAZZ-8714388-Taupe-Classic-Shelf/dp/B01LWASQEE/ref=asc_df_B01LWASQEE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216569127040&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15415255600688357079&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021082&hvtargid=pla-361000286526&psc=1

i believe we got the 18" x 5' roll.  

or as Nancy K. said -  "We just use a rubber webbed mat similar to shelf liner."

Thanks . . . . This is similar to what came with our 2021 Elite II (provided by Oliver) but I found the cushions still moved around quite a bit.  I then tried the exact same matting as you mention and it is still not satisfactory.

Do you have fabric upholstery or did you upgrade to Ultrafabric?  I can see where this matting might secure the standard fabric cushions, as they are heavily textured.  But with the slick Ultrafabric, we find the non-skid matting is not an ideal solution.  Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

 

[SNY SD UP]

10 hours ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

Thanks . . . . This is similar to what came with our 2021 Elite II (provided by Oliver) but I found the cushions still moved around quite a bit.  I then tried the exact same matting as you mention and it is still not satisfactory.

Do you have fabric upholstery or did you upgrade to Ultrafabric?  I can see where this matting might secure the standard fabric cushions, as they are heavily textured.  But with the slick Ultrafabric, we find the non-skid matting is not an ideal solution.  Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

 

after i punched submit/reply, Maggie reminded me that we have reg. fabric.  her comment was, "it may not work as well on ultra-fabric". 

So no, this may not work for you. 😬

[Time2Go!]

17 hours ago, GraniteStaters said:

We changed to denser and heavier foam cushions to prevent "bottoming out" when we sat at the dinette for a long time. One benefit was that they no longer slip, even without the nonskid mat. We have the ultrafabric.  Paula

Could you advise where you purchased your denser foam cushions. We were just saying on our last trip that in the future we would prefer denser foam so we didn't sink down so far in the cushions. 

Thanks,

Cindy

[GraniteStaters]

Cindy, We ordered the denser foam cushion from Foam Source https://foamsource.com/. We bought the densest, heaviest (ridiculously expensive!)  ones. We do like them a lot though!  Paula

[Ray and Susan Huff]

On 7/1/2021 at 5:30 AM, SeaDawg said:

Susan, that's a problem for many people on sailboats. When heeled and under sail, cockpit cushions tend to slide off the benches.

Ours originally had a shock cord fed through loops on the cushion. We don't use that anymore. Additional nonskid and older cushions don't slide as much.

(Seat cushions below have a small fiddle (rail) to keep them in place. Back cushions have some velcro dots)

You could try a better quality nonskid mat for the seats. Or, put the velcro on the back short edge of the cushion , so your cushions would still be reversible. I'd put the softer tape on the fiberglass wall surface, and the nubby on the cushions. If the velcro didn't match up, it wouldn't likely mar the ultraleather. If the velcro doesn't want to stick to the ultraleather, you may have to sew it on, or take it to an upholstery shop to have it done.

You could also add snaps to the back of the cushion, and tabs. You could buy a kit, or just take them to un upholstery or sail shop.

The discs on our boat seatback look like these from sailrite. They're meant to be screwed into wood, but vhb or command tape should work fine. Then cut strips or circles of the hook side, and sew or fasten to the cushion.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I didn't think about applying the Velcro to the sides rather than the bottom of the cushions.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

On 7/1/2021 at 6:04 AM, Overland said:

We had Velcro added to the backs of all our cushions when we had them made. It works very well but I’d love to have them redone with a bit more thought put into it. 

The problem we’ve run into is that the glue on the velcro that the upholsterer used will melt in the high temps that the trailer sees when in storage, and that’s caused the Velcro to come loose and not want to stick as well to the fiberglass. The bigger problem with that though is that since the upholsterer bought sticky Velcro, both sides have glue. He sewed the Velcro to the cushions but there’s glue underneath and guess what?  In the heat the glue melts, seeps out around the Velcro, and makes a sticky mess. I think the only solution is to remove the Velcro, clean off all the residue, and redo it.  Or live with it.

Moral of the story: make sure if you use sticky Velcro that the glue will stand up to high temps. That, or store your trailer where it’s cool. 

These are the things I wanted to hear, before trying the Velcro.  We have a Canvas Back liner in the cargo area of our BMW X5,  The Velcro on the liner itself is sewn on, but the other side (soft side) is stick on.  Canvas Back intended for the Velcro loops on the liner to stick to the cargo area carpeting, but the loop material does not adhere to BMW or Mercedes carpet; this was also the case in our MB Sprinter based RV.  Consequently, Canvas back has resolved this incompatibility by shipping the liners with the soft Velcro strips that are automotive grade, so they stick to the carpeting.  I have not noticed the sticky side of the strips melting in the heat, and the interior of an SUV can get quite warm, with all the windows.  Perhaps automotive self-stick Velcro has a more heat resistant adhesive.

I suppose it would be easy to remove the cover from the dinette cushions and at least sew on the loop side of the Velcro.  Might need to experiment and see how the adhesive holds up to the heat generated in the Oliver cabin.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

On 7/1/2021 at 2:56 PM, GraniteStaters said:

We changed to denser and heavier foam cushions to prevent "bottoming out" when we sat at the dinette for a long time. One benefit was that they no longer slip, even without the nonskid mat. We have the ultrafabric.  Paula

Do you know what the foam is called?

Oops . . . . I just read your next post 😀

 

[Ray and Susan Huff]

23 hours ago, SNY SD UP said:

Susan,  we use the following

  https://www.amazon.com/DAZZ-8714388-Taupe-Classic-Shelf/dp/B01LWASQEE/ref=asc_df_B01LWASQEE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216569127040&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15415255600688357079&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021082&hvtargid=pla-361000286526&psc=1

i believe we got the 18" x 5' roll.  

or as Nancy K. said -  "We just use a rubber webbed mat similar to shelf liner."

Hmmmm . . . . I've tried some of this we have on hand.  But it was repurposed from our old RV.  Maybe I need to give it a good washing with soap and water to restore the adhesive property.  Can't hurt to try.

[SeaDawg]

1 hour ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

suppose it would be easy to remove the cover from the dinette cushions and at least sew on the loop side of the Velcro.  Might need to experiment and see how the adhesive holds up to the heat generated in the Oliver cabin.

I would sew the hook/rough side to the cushions. 

The "made to be sewn" type has a thin edging that's easy to sew with just about any of my four machines. No adhesive. 

Put the softer/loop side on the fiberglass. Two advantages. No scratchy stuff on your hands when cushions aren't there. No abrasion on fabric if you don't catch all the "hooks" when you situate the cushions.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

3 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

I would sew the hook/rough side to the cushions. 

The "made to be sewn" type has a thin edging that's easy to sew with just about any of my four machines. No adhesive. 

Put the softer/loop side on the fiberglass. Two advantages. No scratchy stuff on your hands when cushions aren't there. No abrasion on fabric if you don't catch all the "hooks" when you situate the cushions.

Hook side is what I meant by "loop" side. . . . . probably not the correct terminology.  

You definitely don't want to sew adhesive backed Velcro; at least not with your favorite sewing machine.  The adhesive will gum up the workings under the throat plate.

We have a little hand sewer called The Speedy Stitcher that works well for small projects, especially heavy fabrics and leather.  I didn't know they still make these.  Ours belonged to my dad; he bought it to make a sail for a small sailboat he built as well as to repair canvas covers and accessories on our houseboat and ski boat.  It's not appropriately named; there's nothing speedy about it 😀, but it does the job.  My husband used it to sew new zippers in his motorcycle saddle bags.  A handy little tool.

[SeaDawg]

@Ray and Susan Huff, I  thought of you the other day when I spotted this, wandering harbor freight while Paul filled the cart. We picked up a couple extra $20 camping chairs, and a few other items.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

21 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

@Ray and Susan Huff, I  thought of you the other day when I spotted this, wandering harbor freight while Paul filled the cart. We picked up a couple extra $20 camping chairs, and a few other items.

Yep . . . . very much like our Speedy Stitcher 😊  A handy tool to have and it takes up little precious cargo space.

 

[SeaDawg]

I didn't pick one up, but should have.  Sure beats big needles, a punch, and a leather palm. If they still have any next trip, I will. Would be handy on the boat, too.

[topgun2]

When SeaDawg posted this on Sunday I simply added another item to my Harbor Freight shopping list.  For whatever reason I've looked at these while cruising the HF isles in the past but never actually bought one.

Bill