Interior upgrade

[jelmore]

We're thinking of updating the interior fabrics. At 10 years, they're starting to look a little tired and out of date. There's lots of fabric wrapped items -- window mullions and sills, decorative panels. The sofa could use a different look.

Seems Liberty would probably be a good choice since they built it and would have some other design ideas.

This is what it is like now...
http://2000liberty.info/all_pics/l/P8174570.jpg

Any other places you would recommend, or other advice? Other advice would be good. Maybe there's some pitfalls we should avoid?

Any experience here with doing something like this?

[BrianE]

Jim, Taking nothing from Liberty or their ability to do a fine refurbish job. There are a number of excellent coach interior specialists scattered around the country. Your choice may include your willingness to do some driving to reach them. Would strongly suggest you see other coaches they have completed, whether they met the owners expectations and time requirements and whether they stayed within budget. A good refurbisher will almost always cost more than you anticipated when done, especially if they have good ideas to suggest. Having a refurbisher that is close enough for you to visit from time to time during the process is also a consideration however shouldn't be the primary consideration. The cost of an airline ticket or two could well outweigh the convenience of choosing a nearby vendor.

By the way, listing your general location will almost certainly get you some specific recommendations. :)

[phorner]

Jim,

Last summer we had the opportunity to talk to a rep from Villa furniture. She indicated that Villa International would probably still have on file the original specs for our sofa from Liberty, and that they could use that info to duplicate it in any number of fabric choices.

Of course, Liberty Coach can handle the entire project for you. A friend of ours just got his back recently after a new floor install and it looks great.

I agree with Brian that there are several companies out there that can meet your expectations, and it's most likely in your best interest to shop around among the quality companies.

Good luck and take plenty of pics! We'll be happy to learn from your experience as we're not far behind you.....:D

[Petervs]

When we purchased our used Marathon back in 01 we also felt it needed some fabric upgrades. A year or so later we took it back to Marathon and had them redo all the fabric, sofa, window surrounds, bedspread, etc. They did a superb job, it cost a lot, but we remain extremely satisfied.

BUT,

As a new coach owner then, we felt having the "factory" do the job was important because they know the coach best. As time has gone on, I find that to be a less and less important concern, and now I have no compunction about drilling holes, cutting into parts, and otherwise messing around in and on the coach.

I would probably not have Marathon do it again due to cost, and would carefully shop various aftermarket independent shops and choose one based on their reputation, seeing examples of their past work, talking with other customers, etc. What better place to do that than a POG rally?

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Jim, Peg and I ( really me ) spent a long time with an interior designer to redo the fabric on our Dinette cushions. It turned out great and we are very happy with the outcome, except like others have said about this type of work, THE PRICE! :eek:

It was very expensive, because the only person I could find locally to look at it did custom homes mostly, and her hourly rate was $$$$$LARGE ! :eek:

Live and learn. There are several companies listed in the FMCA magazine that do re customization of our coaches, and they would be a good place to start with first.

( on a side note, if you happen to get rid of your wine colored ottoman, let me know I need one just like it and I think the color is perfect for us too ) :o

Gary S.

[GDeen]

Jim,

Villa International did all the interior remodel on my coach including recovering the front two seats, recliner and booth, building a new recliner, and building a custom designed sofa and valences. The quality of the work is very good.

Steve Bennett just drove us up there in the coach and we went through all the fabric and leather bolts in the factory, dragged the stuff we liked out to the coach, and pulled everything together in about 3 hours. 3 weeks later, new stuff!

Let me know if you want contact info. They are not too busy right now and were very reasonably priced. I recommend highly.

[Jerry Winchester]

Jim.

Somewhere on the forum is a thread where we completely updated the interior of our old XL coach. New carpet, tile, wallpaper, lighting fixtures, door hardware and sofa / chair recover.

We had a local trim shop do the sofa, chairs and carpet. My wife did the tile and we both worked on the wallpaper and hardware. It turned out okay and didn't cost us as much as taking it to someone but it was a lot of work.

We enjoyed the outcome, but I don't know if I would do it all myself again.

[jelmore]

Jim, Taking nothing from Liberty or their ability to do a fine refurbish job . . . [snip] . . . By the way, listing your general location will almost certainly get you some specific recommendations. :)

Well, Liberty isn't returning my calls.

We're in the Chicago area for a while and if anyone knows of someone we could visit with, I'd appreciate any leads. Thanks.

[Jerry Winchester]

I think between Trukman and Brillo Boy, they have all the lines at Liberty tied up dealing with tech issues.

[garyde]

Hi Jim. You definately have to call Joe C.

[jelmore]

Gary -- Joe Cannarozzi? We just spent a week at their place! A great week. Fabulous host, tour guide, entertainer & humorist. So many ideas! A great help. A highly recommended destination.

[GDeen]

Jim, I can't recommend Villa International highly enough. They are doing another coach for one of Steve's customers right now. One of our leathers we selected was actually used for some stuff they did or are doing for Liberty.

Cut out the middle man and go right to the manufacturer. They are way slow and will make you a deal.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Gary:eek: Not me. Lucia is my seamstress.

Jim, Alak and Lucia have been bugging me to come out. I know they could fit the 2 of us but the question is could they put up with us:eek:

Ed and Cindy will also be here and I know Cindy did a really nice job on the window accents in their camper. Same thing you are looking to change.

[jelmore]

Well, heck. Maybe we'll just keep it in the club! Gary, I don't think we could get to Villa this summer. We talked about going to the west coast this fall, so maybe.

Joe, we might get to Oshkosh and see Ed if he's there. We got a glimpse of their work in Mobile. And didn't you say Lucia is not far west of you? We've given up on Liberty. This just isn't their thing.

[Jerry Winchester]

Press Release from the Marathon Website

06/18/2009

If you’re considering a coach remodel, Marathon is here to help. Unlike a remodeling project in your residential home, in which you must work with several companies and people—one business for flooring, another for countertops, yet another for tile, and so on—Marathon’s Oregon facility offers full service interior design, exterior paint, and service departments, all under one roof.


For more information about the many remodeling services we have to offer, contact the service department at any Marathon location.

[jelmore]

Hmmm. Maybe they'll take my calls. Thanks.

[phorner]

Hi Jim,

If Liberty isn't taking your calls, you might want to put Parliament Coach in Clearwater Florida, on your list.

They also do bus remodelling and I'll bet they'll be happy to listen to you!

[jelmore]

If we were near Florida, I'd certainly get with them. We're in the north for the summer, trying to find some cool weather. So far, it's not happening.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

We haven't been through a refreshing of our interior on this coach yet, but we did our first, and we did it in pieces. We did the work sequentially, and from start to finish it took place over about 3 months.

We switched out the furniture and had Villa custom make new furniture. Lost time was one evening removing the old furniture and replacing it with the new Villa furniture. We measured and created drawings and they did exactly what we wanted and it couldn't have been easier.

Then we redid the soft goods. Pillows, drapes, bed spread, and even a custom made dog bed to match the rest of the stuff. I just stripped the old stuff from the coach and delivered the items to be used as patterns for two women that previously worked for an Indiana RV manufacturer. They had previously sent samples that we selected from and in a few weeks we had our new items and in one evening those were in place. It made the coach look new when put in place alongside the new Villa furniture.

The floors we wanted changed. We wanted carpeting removed. We wanted some areas to be tile, some new carpeting, we wanted new treatment for the entry steps, so we found a small converter. We left the coach and two weeks later picked it up.

These are 15 year old dollars, but I bet the relationship hasn't changed.

Our quotes from the large converters were in the $20,000 range. By doing the interior piecemeal and dealing direct we accomplished more than we orginally planned, we had put our own touch on the materials, fabrics, colors and furnishings so the coach was now "ours" and the total cost was $7,000. At the time it was a lot of money, but compared to what we would have been charged if we turned it over to a converter it was a bargain. We used full leather for the furniture, the best wool carpeting, very good tile, and the fabrics wore like iron and still looked good when we sold the coach ten years after it was redone.

We lost the use of the coach for 2 weeks for the carpeting, tile and entryway work which was not bad considering the entire coach interior had a new appearance.

[Nolan]

Jerry,

We are new to the Prevost world and are going to redo much of the inside. I'm stuck on the tile. I know what I like in looks, but want to be practical in wearability as well. Can you share any wisdom about tile?

[Jerry Winchester]

We had tile in the first XL II along with carpet and I think I have a box of the tile in the hanger if you want to look over the style and texture. The current coach has granite entry and WC tile, but hand scraped wood in the rest of the coach. Also, the XL we had was mostly carpet with tile in the galley. Of the three, the wood wins hands down. Easier to clean, less maintenance and it looks "warmer"

We changed the tile ourselves in the first coach. Not a hard job, but the guy who laid the new carpet was sweating like a fat chick when that chore was over. Lots of cutting for such a small space. On the tile, we got several samples from a place over on Louetta, put them in place to see how it matched up and went to work.

Now the wallpaper - never again. My marriage has survived two wallpaper jobs and there won't be a third.

[Nolan]

Jerry
We have decided to remove most of the carpet as well as the existing tile, and put new tile in the coach. Nita found some granite she liked, but I was concerned that granite might not wear well. Any suggestions about tile ve granite?

[garyde]

Hi Nolan. You should first check your weight on your front end before installing granite. Then weigh the granite to see if your going to exceed front end weight.
Granite is a good product for floors but heavy.

[merle&louise]

Jerry
We have decided to remove most of the carpet as well as the existing tile, and put new tile in the coach. Nita found some granite she liked, but I was concerned that granite might not wear well. Any suggestions about tile ve granite?

Nolan,

Granite is the 3rd to hardest stone. I have it in my coach and I can tell you first hand, it wears very well. Gary is right, it is very heavy. Marble is softer and I have found that it scratches easily. I had marble floors in my previous coach. The granite wins hands down!

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Nolan, we have black granite in the kitchen and bath area of our bus and just love it for wear, easy maintenance and durability.

We are still talking about replacing the sculptured carpet in the salon and bedroom with a dark wood but haven't gotten around to it yet.

There are a number of POG sponsors you should talk too about what you want to do with your flooring and get their ideas and estimates to undertake this project.

Good luck, can't wait to see you, Nita and your new bus in Jeffereson.

Gary S.

[Nolan]

We really like the granite, but there is some concern about the weight. We are intending to have granite from the front of the coach to the bedroom door. We are looking at the 12" granite squares, and I think they are 3/8" thick. Looking forward to Jefferson. Hope everyone is well. Nolan

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Before you do anything you really should weigh all axles on your coach and compare those weights to the axle weight limits on the data plate to the left of your dirver's seat.

Assuming you are not in excess of the axle weight limits try to calculate how much weight you will be adding to see if you are able to stay within limits. Some coaches when loaded with full fuel, full water and the owner's personal belongings are over the specified limits. Adding even more weight makes a bad situation worse than bad.

[Nolan]

Thanks. I will do that next week.

[garyde]

Here is a company who makes a light weight granite for Motorhomes, Yachts, & houseboats;
http://www.luxuryyp.com/granite_tile.html

[Richard Barnes]

Jim,

We just finished a couple of upgrades on our coach. We removed the carpet and had hardwood laminate flooring installed, one sofa recovered - the other removed and replaced with a recliner, new carpet in the bedroom, new side panel trim and new curtains that my wife had made. We had this done by local craftsmen and the work was excellent. A flooring company installed the laminate and carpet and we had an upholsterer do the sofa. On my coach, the sofa base is built around the blower unit for the webasto heat exchanger, and a ton of wiring. We chose to recover the sofa rather than purchase a new one. We would have been required to move the wiring and blower unit to fit a new sofa base in the space. We have been really pleased with the results.

[Nolan]

Thanks for the input. My wife and I have decided to recover the sofa, dinette, and driver & copilot chairs. They are all custom as your are, so it is indeed cheaper and better. We are now considering other options, and I think the laminate may be a good answer. again, thanks. Nolan

[Nolan]

Thanks, I am contacting the company today to determine if that will work for us. Appreciate the suggestion. Nolan