RV Furniture Fabric

Choosing the right furniture for your RV can make your rig feel like a castle on wheels. It’s not just about choosing the right size, shape, or function, though. The fabric plays a large role in how comfortable and long-lasting your furniture ends up being. So before you decide between our Suprima, Brisa, or Cloth options, keep reading to find out how they work and how they will work for you.

Suprima vs Cloth vs Brisa

All three of our fabric selections are high quality, durable fabrics that look and feel amazing. There are several differences, however, and understanding these differences can help you make the best choice for your RV.

Suprima

Our Suprima fabric is a terrific option, as it’s soft, durable, and easy to clean. With a polyurethane construction, it is classified as a faux leather material. This makes it water-resistant, lightweight, flexible, and more durable against daily RV life than all natural leather. It’s a soft and stitched fabric and because of the composition, it doesn’t need a plasticizer, which means it will stay soft without cracking or peeling for a longer amount of time than your typical faux leather fabric. It is highly durable for everyday use, making it perfect for RV living.

To maintain Suprima fabric, make sure you use a protectant before you use it and reapply the protectant every week or month, depending on the climate and amount of use. When you clean it, never use a corrosive cleaner, such as Windex. You can dust it with a dry or slightly damp cloth every 3-6 months or you can use a gentle cleaner. Oils and waxes should never be used, as it can damage the fabric. Similarly, classic leather care should never be used. Areas in contact with hair and skin should be cleaned and protected regularly to extend its life. For some extra protection, you can place pillows, blankets, and covers so that you cause less stress on the fabric. This can be used for pets or simply in areas that are often used. If there are any spills, they should be cleaned as soon as possible. Also, don’t store it in direct sunlight. Adding the protectant can help with sun damage, however, keeping it out of direct sunlight is the best way to prevent that kind of damage. If you see scratches, they can sometimes be removed with a hairdryer, however, it’s a touchy process and you need to make sure that the hair dryer doesn’t get too hot, as this can damage the fabric even more.

Cloth Linen

Our Cloth Linen line is the most durable fabric we have available. Made of sturdy linen thread with a polyurethane backing, it’s lightweight, flexible, and water resistant. The surface is soft and each piece is stitched together with high quality stitching. For normal use, it is highly durable, making it great for RV life. While it’s not “buttery soft” like our Suprima or Brisa fabric, it is better for warmer weather, and for several reasons. First, it’s heat-resistant. What this means is that it not only stands up to the heat better, but it also more comfortable to relax on during the warmer months. Have you ever sat in a car with leather seats in the dead of summer and felt like you were in an oven? Well, just like that, leather and faux leather fabrics can feel a little uncomfortable in high heat. With Cloth Linen, it doesn’t hold this heat as much, making a more comfortable surface for you to relax on. The breathable nature of the Cloth Linen fabric helps you to relax without feeling like you’re sticking to the seat. As a plus, it’s also feathering and tear-resistant. This doesn’t mean that it will never ever tear, simply that it is more resistant to it than other styles and will last longer than other kinds of fabric. Overall, it is more durable and more comfortable in the heat than leather or faux leather fabrics. Keep in mind, however, that the maintenance and care for this fabric style is different.

To keep your Cloth Linen sofa looking its best, there are several things to consider. First, use a furniture protector before using. This will help it look nicer for longer. Second, use the right materials to clean it. Never use a corrosive cleaner and only vacuum on a low setting. If you have a few crumbs on it that don’t necessarily need a vacuum to remove, you can dry brush the area to loosen up any pieces of fabric, durt, or debris. On more stubborn stains, you can use a gentle cleaner designed for furniture. There is also the option of using baking soda to treat the stains, however, it’s important to be careful and vacuum the remaining material up after it’s done. If you spill something on it, clean it up immediately. Due to the exposed fibers and threads, spills will stain the fabric more quickly than they will stain the Suprima or Brisa fabrics. Just like the Suprima or Brisa fabrics, try to keep the fabric out of direct sunlight, as it will eventually fade. Finally, clean and protect areas that are in constant contact with skin, hair, or other materials. For some extra protection, you can add pillows, covers, and blankets to areas in order to help extend their life and cause less stress to the fabric. If you do find a rip or tear, it is possible to mend it with thread or patches, depending on the size and extent of the damage.

Brisa

Our Brisa fabric is the softest fabric and has a luxurious “buttery soft” feel. It’s similar to our Suprima line, but with an added silky softness. It’s composed of polyurethane materials with a solid backer. These high-quality materials make it highly durable and perfect for busy environments. It’s designed with softness and durability in mind and has a cooling effect that helps you feel comfortable. There is also a notable sound absorption property in the fabric, which can help in busy environments. With an industry-leading 14+ weeks hydrolysis rating (the rating for water-resistance) and 300,000 double rubs (the rating for general wear and tear), it’s high-quality and super durable for the life of an RV sofa or recliner.

To keep it looking nice, there are a few recommendations for cleaning and maintenance. Through regular cleaning, you can prevent excessive dirt and debris from building up, which can both look not as great and contribute to faster wear and tear. To keep it looking nice, first make sure to wipe up any spills as soon as they occur. You can clean it with soapy water or with a similar gentle cleaner. For simple spills, you can use a damp cloth. If need be, you can sanitize with disinfectants such as a ratio of 1:5 bleach to water. If you do use a solution, make sure to wipe off any residue with clean water and air dry.

Maintenance and Care

Before we get into how to care for your fabric, there is an important item to mention. The following maintenance and care tips are not just for our furniture fabric. They extend to any other fabric of similar composition, to other faux leather or cloth options, and are not unique to our selection. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get into the various things that could affect your fabric and how you should care for it in each.

Animals

If you bring your beloved pet on vacation with you, you probably know the difficulty of finding pet hair or scratches everywhere. While pet hair can be cleaned up, scratches can not. For this reason, it’s a good idea to let your furry friend know that scratching at the furniture is not a good idea. No furniture material will hold up to claws being dragged across it, no matter how durable. As for the claws that might accidentally scratch up the seats of the couch, you can place extra blankets, covers, or pillows down to act as a barrier. As an added plus, your pet now has a super comfy bed right next to you! As for the pet hair dilemma, you can sweep it off or wipe it off of the Suprima or Brisa fabrics. For cloth, you can brush it off or vacuum it up.

Heat and Humidity

A common issue that comes up with RV furniture is that it cracks over time. And while it would be awesome if we had a magic wand to fix all of those problems, oftentimes, they can be permanent damage. To understand why this is, there is a simple metaphor. Your furniture (especially leather or faux leather) is like your skin. In climates where it is really hot or really dry, your skin cracks due to lack of moisture. To fix this, you need lotion. Just like your skin, your furniture needs some kind of moisturizer. While this sounds a little weird, there is a product for just that: a protectant. A protectant acts as a moisture barrier to keep the fabric soft and durable even through a tough summer. Because RVs are often used during the summer season, it’s doubly important that you keep it hydrated by spraying on the protectant once a week or month, depending on how often it’s used and how warm and dry the climate is.

If you have the Suprima or Brisa fabric, you need to be able to keep it at around room temperature. Basically, if you are uncomfortable sitting in it, then it’s also uncomfortable. For full-timers, this is likely easier, as you already have a temperature control system to keep you comfortable. Part-timers need to be careful, though, as they have to consider both the temperature during use and during storage. If you are able to, adding an air conditioner to keep it cool is a good idea. When in storage, make sure it’s in a cool place. It’s also not a bad idea to stop by and check it out a few times just to make sure it’s still in good condition.

General Wear and Tear

Throughout the life of a piece of RV furniture, it might come into contact with a whole number of things, from rowdy kids, to dirt and mud, to the constant rubbing of a favorite blanket. No matter what the life of your furniture includes, it doesn’t last forever. The sad fact of any furniture piece is that it will eventually become old and worn. This doesn’t mean you can’t do some things to keep it looking nicer, though. Just like any material, you can extend its life through some basic care instructions. First, use a protectant. Just like the climate issues discussed above, the sun and water can damage a piece of furniture. To protect it against these elements, use a protectant. If possible, it’s best to keep it out of direct sunlight, as this can fade the color. Clean it often to prevent stains as well. And finally, just like you would tell kids not to jump on the furniture, it’s best to not “plop” down on the furniture. While you can certainly recline and relax as usual, keep in mind that the harder you are on your furniture, the more care it will take to keep it looking nice.

Cleaning

There are slightly different cleaning options for the Suprima and Brisa vs the Cloth fabric. For both, it’s important to remove stains and spills as soon as possible. With the Suprima and Brisa fabrics, you have a little more time to clean it up, as the fabric tends to push away the liquid slightly more than the cloth. For the Cloth fabric, wipe up the spill immediately and use a cleaner if needed. For basic cleaning such as pet hair, crumbs, and other dry materials, you can use a cleaner or even a damp cloth to wipe it off of the Suprima or Brisa fabric and you can use a brush or vacuum cleaner to clean it off of the Cloth fabric.