Posted 2010-08-08 4:18 PM (#123298) Subject: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 68
Our living quarters trailer has a jackknife sofa that folds down into a bed,the water tank,water pump and hot water heater are under it. To get into these the sofa lifts up but it does not give much clearance to winterized or to check for things like leaks if need be .Has anyone got any ideas for an alternative to this problem has anybody ever converted their jackknife so it is easier to lift up and get at these things and still be able to lay the sofa out flat and set it upright again.Right now the way it is you can barely get an arm and your head under there at the same time!Mira.
Posted 2010-08-08 7:48 PM (#123304 - in reply to #123298) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 447 Location: cedar rapids iowa
If I had to do a major repair I would unbolt it and take it out. The false front panel comes off easily for better access. Mine lifts up and comes off.
Posted 2010-08-08 11:24 PM (#123310 - in reply to #123304) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 68
Laurie,our front panel does not come apart it is solid. I hate jackknife sofas,I can't figure out why they use them if they are going to put all the works under there!Mira
Posted 2010-08-09 5:21 AM (#123315 - in reply to #123298) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
Expert
Posts: 1283 Location: Home of Wild Turkey Whiskey
Most of them I have installed only have 4 Bolts/screws in them, shouldn't be that big of a deal to remove it if work is needed. One thing you have to keep in mind on these LQ's is, if that stuff wasn't under the couch what cabinets would you give up to have it somewhere else? Space is very limited so most all of it gets used.
Posted 2010-08-09 8:25 AM (#123320 - in reply to #123315) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 406 Location: Minneapolis, MN
Originally written by HWBar on 2010-08-09 5:21 AM
Most of them I have installed only have 4 Bolts/screws in them, shouldn't be that big of a deal to remove it if work is needed. One thing you have to keep in mind on these LQ's is, if that stuff wasn't under the couch what cabinets would you give up to have it somewhere else? Space is very limited so most all of it gets used.
HWBar,
I've built out a couple of trailers, and the biggest disappointment is lack of storage. As you know, there is only so much space in a LQ/DR and ALL of it has to be used effectively....even if that means some things are a tad inconvenient to access.
Maybe the OP should have a cabinet person look at the situation and re-vamp the jack-knife base so that there is an access panel on the front?
Posted 2010-08-09 5:47 PM (#123333 - in reply to #123310) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 447 Location: cedar rapids iowa
Originally written by Mira on 2010-08-08 11:24 PM
Laurie,our front panel does not come apart it is solid. I hate jackknife sofas,I can't figure out why they use them if they are going to put all the works under there!Mira
I used to think the same thing as mine was very solid. I took out the sofa to get it recovered and found that it did just lift off. It is tight as it is wedged in.
Posted 2010-08-10 4:11 PM (#123357 - in reply to #123298) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 68
This is a BunkHouse conversion and it does not have a front panel that lifts off. There are 4 bolts with screws we had to take the couch out last year as we had a leak and had to do repairs and it was darn hard to take out and harder to put back in! I would hate to have to do that every time we want to check it or do repairs or winterize I thought maybe some body would have some ideas probably the best idea is to have it changed but that runs into a bunch of moola.Does everyone have jackknife sofas or are there other kinds of sofas?Thanks for your ideas guys!Mira
Posted 2010-08-10 4:32 PM (#123361 - in reply to #123298) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 83 Location: Minnesota
I have my trailer at an RV repair shop right now, getting a new water heater installed. The couch is as you've described and the bolts are nearly impossible to get to. I am wondering if there's a way I can attach a hinge to the back of the couch frame so in the future I could just lift up on the front, fold it back and have access to all the components underneath. Has anyone tried to put hinges on their sofa?
Posted 2010-08-10 4:58 PM (#123364 - in reply to #123298) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 68
Brokenfoot, yay you understand me!!!! And that was what I was trying to express in my other notes,sometimes I have trouble explaining myself in forums. The sofa would still have to be able to be made into a bed though once the hinge was in place .Mira
Posted 2010-08-10 5:07 PM (#123365 - in reply to #123298) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 83 Location: Minnesota
On my sofa, the back just folds out towards the front and ends up lying flat on the front side of the seat cushion. So in the case of mine, the hinges would not interfere with the mechanism that allows the back rest to become part of the bed. I honestly could not get to the bolts because of the small entrance in the front panel, and I want to be able to get to whatever needs fixing when we're in the middle of nowhere and have a malfunction! But before I tear into the project, I'd be interested to know if anyone else has tried it and learn from their mistakes and successes.
Posted 2010-08-10 9:27 PM (#123373 - in reply to #123298) Subject: RE: Alternative for Jackknife sofa
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Posts: 68
On ours you pull up on the front and the back slides down then lies flat it resembles a Jack knife hence the name you are like us I don't want to take it apart and put a hinge on it without hearing others experiences I'm not even sure it can be done with a Jackknife sofa .Mira
Alternative for Jackknife sofa
