RV Upholstery: What to Look for in RV Furniture Fabric
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Your RV or camper van is your home away from home. From summer trips to cross-country travel, your RV furniture gets a lot of use and abuse. If you’re seeing cracks in the vinyl captain chairs or tears and stains on your sofa and dinette seating, it’s time to reupholster your camper furniture. In today’s blog, we’re going to help you find the right upholstery fabric for your RV. We’ll discuss the qualities to look for in durable, stain-resistant upholstery fabric and whether vinyl or woven fabric is right for you.
Before we get into our brand recommendations, let’s take a quick look at the fabric qualities you should look for when shopping for RV upholstery fabric.
RV Fabric Buying Guide:
- High durability and wear rating (Wyzenbeek double rubs test).
- High resistance to dirt and spills; easy to keep clean.
- UV and fade resistance.
- A soft hand and pleasing appearance.
We recommend solid fabrics for larger pieces like camper sofa cushions and kitchen dinette seating. Add pops of color and pattern with coordinating pillows, curtains and other decorative accents.
Woven RV Upholstery Fabric
Choosing woven fabrics for your camper upholstery opens up a world of color and pattern possibilities. Woven upholstery fabrics with high UV, stain and odor resistance will keep up with your rugged adventures and will look great for years. We recommend the three brands below as top-quality upholstery fabrics. You'll find a wide selection of colors and pattern styles to fit every décor and personal style.
Sunbrella® Upholstery
These solution-dyed fabrics boast incredible fade resistance and durability. Sunbrella Upholstery fabrics are indoor/outdoor performance fabrics. They're a great choice for RV cushions, pillows, upholstery, curtains and more. With hundreds of colors to choose from in geometrics, solids, stripes, florals and more, there’s a Sunbrella Upholstery fabric waiting for you.
Features:
- Solution dyed — fade resistant.
- Highly abrasion and UV resistant.
- Easy to clean — bleach cleanable.
- Stain and water resistant.
Crypton® Home Fabric
Crypton is an indoor performance fabric that resists stains, repels water, prevents odors and inhibits the growth of bacteria. Featuring a wide selection of chenilles and velvets in timeless colors and patterns, these elegant fabrics will add a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere to your RV interior. Look for fabrics with a tight weave to help keep the fabrics free of dust and dirt tracked in from the outdoors.
Features:
- Highly abrasion resistant.
- Proprietary stain- and odor-resistant technology.
- Easy to clean — most spills roll off the fabric.
Outdura® Upholstery
Outdura is another great choice of indoor/outdoor performance upholstery fabric. This stain-, UV- and abrasion-resistant upholstery fabric is tough enough to endure your wildest camper adventures while remaining soft and comfortable to the touch. With subtle solids and fun patterns, you can create a coordinated look throughout your motorhome.
Features:
- Solution dyed — fade resistant.
- Highly abrasion and UV resistant.
- Easy to clean — bleach cleanable.
- Stain resistant.
Vinyl & Faux Leather RV Upholstery Fabric
Vinyl and faux leather upholstery fabrics add a high-end, luxurious look to your RV furniture. They are a popular choice for captain chairs, dinette cushions and RV sofas. Vinyl fabrics are durable, with incredibly high abrasion and wear ratings. They are highly water resistant and extremely easy to keep clean. Most spills simply wipe off — this is a huge selling point if you travel with children or pets.
Vinyl and faux leather fabrics are only available in solid colors. So if you like patterns, woven upholstery is your best bet. Or, mix it up with vinyl sofa and dinette cushions and add pops of pattern with pillows, curtains and other decorative accents.
You should also think about temperature fluctuations when deciding between woven upholstery and vinyl fabric. The inside of a camper can get very hot during the summer when parked in the sun. If you prefer the look of faux leather and vinyl, we highly recommend outfitting your camper with curtains or roller shades to help keep your interior cool.
EverSoft™ Vinyl Upholstery
EverSoft is the perfect combination of quality and beauty. It’s a four-way stretch vinyl, meaning it’s very easy to contour and shape during upholstery work. It’s highly abrasion and UV resistant, easy to clean, and waterproof. Choose from two texture patterns: a smooth finish or a unique pebbled appearance that resembles real leather.
Features:
- Four-way stretch — easy to pull and staple in place.
- Highly abrasion and UV resistant.
- Easy to clean — bleach cleanable.
- Available exclusively at Sailrite®.
Morbern® Vinyl Upholstery
Morbern is a trusted brand in the textile industry. Known for durable, quality vinyl fabrics, Morbern features excellent abrasion and UV resistance — key features when shopping for camper upholstery fabric. Sailrite stocks several Morbern collections in a range of price points, so you have a wide offering of fabrics that fit your budget.
Features:
- Four-way stretch — easy to pull and staple in place.
- Highly abrasion and UV resistant.
- Easy to clean — soap and water solution; some fabrics are bleach cleanable.
- Wide assortment of colors and grain textures to choose from.
Ultraleather® Faux Leather Upholstery
This high-end faux leather upholstery fabric will add luxury and elegance to your cushions and upholstered furniture. Ultraleather is a PVC-free (nonvinyl), animal-friendly leather alternative. With climate-control technology, your upholstery stays cool in warm weather and resists cold weather stiffening and cracking. This makes Ultraleather a great choice for vehicles that experience seasonal weather and temperature fluctuations.
Features:
- Highly abrasion, UV and water resistant.
- Easy to clean — bleach cleanable.
- 400,000 double rubs wear rating.
- Higher resistance to temperature changes than vinyl upholstery.
RV Awning Fabric
Now that you’ve got your RV interior upholstery taken care of, it’s time to head outside! Looking to replace your RV awning? We have hundreds of solid and striped awning fabrics in stock and ready to ship. Browse our wide selection of high-quality, UV-resistant awning fabrics and stay cool at the campground.
RV Makeover Project Series
Need help with your RV upholstery projects? At Sailrite, we’re more than just a fabric and sewing notions store. We are your go-to source for free DIY project tutorials and video content. We spent a year renovating an Airstream Argosy trailer, inside and out. From dinette seating cushions and sofa upholstery to roller shades and curtains — no surface was left untouched.
Check out our RV Project Series and get started on your next DIY today!
