Easy RV Mod -> Re-String Your Reclining Chair (with Kitty Approval)
While I’m in the middle of socializing and gathering more cactus shots for you, I figured I would give you a little light entertainment with this (ridiculously) easy RV Mod. The key to this mod is actually two-fold:
1/ Buy the right cord
2/ Involve a feline friend
Indeed whereas my other RV mods have merely required furry approval, this one is best done with actual kitty involvement. In fact, I might go so far as to say your results will be inadequate without the appropriate paw-of-involvement. But I digress…
The basis for this mod is re-stringing the elastic cord (often called “shock cord” or “bungee cord”) on a recliner chair. We have some very basic no-name recliners that we bought at Camping World over 3 years ago. We love the chairs and apart from some rust they’re actually in pretty good shape. But the shock cord which holds the fabric to the metal frame had deteriorated completely, a pretty normal occurrence for something that sits outdoors in the elements all the time.
Now you can buy “repair kits” for certain types of recliner chairs (e.g. LaFuma chairs have this one), but generally the cord is of mediocre quality and/or the kits are expensive for what you get. The other alternative is to buy bungee or shock cord by the foot. Many stores (such as bungeecords or campmore or REI) offer this, but costs are often ~$0.50-$0.75 per foot depending on thickness. I managed to find an OUTSTANDING deal on Amazon HERE which offered 100 ft of 1/4″ cord for only $27, by far the best I’ve seen anywhere. This was more cord than I needed, but it was solid quality and I figured it would give me enough to re-string both our recliners for the next 5 years. DONE!
Once you have the cord the steps are easy:
- Cut off existing cord, making a note of HOW it is wound onto your chair. The easiest way to do this is actually to tackle one side at a time, using the other side as reference before you cut it off.
- Start stringing the cord through the eyelets. Kitty will keep you alert and ensure you are hitting all the holes. If you lose the end of your cord, kitty will help you retrieve it.
- Once string is completely through, tie one end using a good non-slip knot (I personally like the Figure 8 knot, but you can use any you prefer).
- Progressively tighten the cord along the length of the chair, starting at the knotted end and pulling hard through each eyelet to remove slack until you get to the other end. Work this way along the chair several times to get a good, taut fit. Kitty will observe and approve. Once one side is taught, string the other side and tighten that too before tieing off both sides in a final non-slip knot.
- Finish string ends by burning (to seal fibers) and covering with tape. This will prevent fraying.
- Complete final kitty test (see header shot)
Good tip on the cord If I have to restring my recliner anytime soon, I will have to do without kitty supervision but perhaps one of the doxies will be able to fill the supervisor position. Now sit back and relax. I bet kitty will be glad to vibrate you to sleep.
Oh I’m sure the Doxies will act as terrific helpers. Quite the appropriate stand-in for Taggart 🙂
Nina
Love the idea, why buy a new one if you can have fun restringing it with kitty’s assistance. Shots 1 and 2 is just cute! I probably would be distracted and instead play with the cat.
I admit that the re-stringing got side-tracked quite a few times w/ kitty play. Likely most furr-free folks will finish this mod in half the time I did 🙂
Nina
Clearly the kitty is the “secret” to your success! 😉
Indeed…couldn’t have done it without the paws.
Nina
Gotta love help from a cat….just when you thought you didn’t need help, they remind you that you do.
Yup, our cats (especially Taggart) must be invovled in EVERYTHING. Usually she’s glued to us wherever we go.
Nina
I wish I would have read this BEFORE we restrung ours…. we don’t have a cat! lol
Oh so sorry I didn’t get this out in time LOL…don’t know HOW you managed without a cat 🙂
Nina
Nice! Wouldn’t be the same without kitty help!
Indeed. Good thing you have Rosie to keep you in line.
Nina
Nice work! I’ll keep you in mind in the future if we need restringing…Haha!
Just love kitty’s help. How cute:)
The kitties are available for technical consultations…at a price of course. They expect undying devotion & endless petting 🙂
Nina
You’re pretty handy to have around… with the help of kitty, of course.
Yeah, not sure how useful I would be without the paws…it’s a symbiotic relationship (or am I their slave….hmmm…not quite sure) 🙂
Nina
Such a beautiful feline.
She’s a queen…and she knows it too haha
Nina
This is super helpful. I just noticed mine are getting frayed so I’ll take your great advice and order from Amazon today. Thanks and have a great day!
Cool! The quality of the stuff I got from Amazon is excellent so I’m very happy with it.
Nina
Nina, Your kitty is so well behaved and doesn’t run off chasing a gheko. My cats would be gone. Just love all of your “how to’s”. Someday they just may come in handy when we are RVing like you and Paul. Can you tell me “how to” get a photo in the box next to my posting?
Both our kitties are pretty laid-back. They’re older now so they prefer to lie in the sun & stay close to the RV.
As for the picture I think you mean an “avatar”? Here’s an article that tells you how to do it:
http://www.authormedia.com/2009/04/27/how-to-get-your-avatar-to-show-up-everywhere/
Nina
Hi Nina, totally random comment, and forgive me if you have already addressed this in the blog, but do you have a clothes washer/dryer in the Beast? How do you handle laundry with all your fab boondocking? Thanks so much! Alison
Yes we do, but we don’t use it boondocking. Too much water goes into that thing. Usually we handle laundry at a laundromat while in the boonies…or wait until we have a few days of hookups and then do them in the rig.
Nina
Hi Nina. Been following your travels for lo these many years … however, I’ve not as yet seen any of your blogs with “food” as the subject.
I’m really interested in how you guys manage the purchasing, planning, etc., of groceries and menus. We’re not full time, but do spend a lot of time in our motorhome. Right now we’re in Yuma. (Lots of fresh lettuce.) So this subject is of interest to me – how do other people do this? And what do they eat? Would appreciate your thoughts in some later post perhaps?
Hi Vivian,
It’s a good question. I’ve written a few times about food but mostly regarding farmer’s markets and grass-fed meats (www.eatwild.com). We try to hit farmers markets everywhere we can and will sometimes drop into farms to buy our meat (we’ve even driven “the beast” into a few of them!). I try to plan my menus around whatever fresh/healthy food I can find and will shop/keep around a week’s worth in the fridge.I also LOVE meals that last mult-days…so roasts in the oven and stews in the pressure cooker. Plus I get no end of joy out of our wok (such a multi-purpose tool).
But it’s a good basis for a future post! If I get time I’ll write a more detailed post on it.
Nina
Looks like you are having a great time F/Ting. As for your taping the ends of the bungee, I’ve found electrical shrink tubing works great on different cords to keep stiff for threading and to keep from fraying. We’ve been F/T for 9 years and at the 2014 Escapee Escapade in Goshen IN at present.
What a fabulous tip! Thanks so much for sharing!
Nina
Hi Nina
This is just the advice I needed as we just noticed our cord is disintegrating.
Thanks so much for your website. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for because we also travel doggy style with Honey Bear and Tuka and are looking for good weather, natural beauty, space and dog friendly places. Great job !!
Thanks you made this so easy I was wondering how I was going to repair my chair. I have been using actual bungee cords. Having a red headed female is quite rare. They are my favorite kitty
Thanks Nina! We finally had one of our break and with your help fixed it right up!
Excellent. Kitty approves of your methods 🙂
Nina
thanks but my questions is more about the cats, we are planning on selling our house and trying out full time rving. we have a dog and two cats we are worried about the cats. they are more outside than inside cats. what problems have you had, how did you train your cats to not run off.
I have a big post on our cats (and how we manage them outside the RV) here:
5 Tips For RVing & Camping With Cats
That should answer all your questions.
Nina
thank you Nina, I found it great post, it will be a lot of help.