Tri- level sofa sleeper

[steveluannj]

I am amazed at how poorly some RV stuff is designed and made. It is not rocket science, but sometimes even basic geometry is ignored.
We have company coming to sleep a few nights next month, so we pulled out the sofa sleeper to see what bedding we would need. It did not take long to see we had another problem to address before we use the RV. The 3 sections of the sleeper, in addition to having gaps between them, are neither level, nor the same height. I searched this forum and others looking for a solution, and made the following changes to our unit:
The rear or the sofa, which I call the head of the bed, was the lowest. It was sloped 1 inch from the front edge to the rear. We made 3X3X1 inch blocks, and hot glued them to the bottom of the rear feet of the couch.

I have heard some that feel this makes the couch less comfortable to sit on, but we could not tell. We had to re-bend the angles that secure the sofa to the floor, but they were soft steel, so a hammer and a vice made that a short job.


There is also a way to move the hinge between section 1 and 2, but that is more work, so we are trying this first.
The front section, in addition to having a cushion about 1.5 inch thicker than the section next to it, had legs about 1 inch too long. Luckily there were holes to adjust this down, so we did.

We now have the first 2 sections close to level and in a line, and just the third section has a cushion that is 1.5 inches thicker than the others. We plan to get a piece of foam to make up the difference in these 2 sections, which will also bridge one of the 2 gaps. There is no way to adjust out the other mismatches that I can see.

[howson]

There is no way to adjust out the other mismatches that I can see.

I could never figure out that stupid setup, either. The couch eventually got removed. Haven't needed it, but our solution for a guest bed is an "army cot" with a foam topper and a sleeping bag. (This would be for a grandkid, not an adult.)

[Cate&Rob]

This has been the situation for years! Our 2015 had the same issues. It would seem that these couches are designed to sit in a slide where the floor is a couple of inches higher than the main floor and then open over the main floor. When the entire unit is sitting on a floor at the same level, what you describe is what happens.

Rob

[TucsonJim]

We had the exact same problem on our 2014 Reflection. We had to cut the legs down on the foot end to make it work. It's crazy that your model is eight years newer and still has the same problem. Our new Solitude has a different brand of furniture and it's level and comfortable! Hopefully, this brand will be making its way to all the lines.

Jim

[steveluannj]

I thought some more about the problem, and made some more changes:

The top numbers are the "as Shipped" and below, are after the 1 inch blocks under the rear and lowering the adjustable feet in the front 1 notch. As you can see, the front section is still 2-2-1/2 inches higher than the end closest the wall.

I stole an ideal from another user, and spaced the hinge for the first section up 1 inch, making that first dimension 16-1/2 inch:

This is just 2 1X1X 4 inch pieces of hardwood with 2 5/16 holes 3 inches apart, and (4) 2-1/2 inch 1/4 carriage bolts with nuts and washers below. The matching holes were in the sofa frame.

There was a step of about 1/2 inch from the front of section 1 to the back of section 2, so I screwed 1/2 inch thick blocks to the frame to lift that front edge up 1/2 inch:


I now have sections 1 and 2 level at 16-1/2 inches from the floor. I have ordered a 1 inch mattress topper, that I will cut to cover sections 1 and 2, which should make the entire bed level to within a half inch or so. Will post more when finished.

[steveluannj]

Got the foam today, I can't tell for sure if 1-1/2 inch foam would have been better, but I guess that means it is close enough! Cut off so it covers the first 2 sections, and it bridges the gap between section 1 and 2 perfectly. I think we are ready for company!

The foam folds in half and fits perfect under the sofa when folded.