Theater seating problem

OTKISS · 10-13-2018, 03:53 PM

Just picked up our brand new 2019 Sunseeker 3010 DS!! So excited! We got ours with theater seats, and we are having problems opening them. Also when my husband rest his legs, the recliner slowly goes down and does not support his legs. We have a lazy boy recliner at home and it doesn't do this. Has anyone else run into this problem and how did you fix?

Duckogram · 10-14-2018, 05:35 PM

Why not let the dealer fix it under warranty?

OTKISS · 10-14-2018, 05:58 PM

Not sure if it's just how the seats work. Was wondering if anyone else has experienced and if so was it something that could be fixed or if it was related to how the seats are designed and then nothing could really been done to change it.

merrykalia · 10-15-2018, 10:56 AM

There is strapping that holds the seats in place and sometimes, they get tangled (?) and will not allow the seats to open. It has happened to ours a couple of times. You can access the strapping underneath, you just have to be able to pick one of the seats up and re-strap the strapping.

HappyTrav · 10-15-2018, 11:15 AM

We have/had the same problem.

Try squeezing the arms when you open/close them. The foot rest gets pinched at the bottom of the recliner. They will loosen up a bit with some use and become easier to operate.

Bob

HYDROG · 01-18-2020, 11:51 AM

This is an old thread but I am wondering if others have experienced the same problem and if anything can be done about it. We purchased a new 2020 3011DS Forester with the reclining theater seat option. The seats will not recline fully and they will not stay in place when they are partially reclined. They are very uncomfortable to use. I think they are installed too close to the wall but they cannot be moved further away since the front mounting bracket is already right at the front edge of the slide. There is no obvious way that the reclining mechanism can be tightened up to hold it in place when it is partially reclined. Perhaps I could fasten a length of 2x4 with a hinge under the footrest to hold it in place. That would be attractive.
I have discussed this problem with the dealer, the Forest River rep and with the seat manufacturer and nobody has provided a solution. I am guessing that they were installed at the factory because they fit in the width of the slide but nobody at the factory ever tried siting in them or using them.
I noticed recently that the new brochures for the Forester and Sunseeker no longer offers this seating option. They now offer 12V powered recliners which will presumably stay in place wherever you recline them to with the motor.
Any input from others with a similar problem and any practical solutions would be much appreciated.

1000 sportsman · 01-18-2020, 02:33 PM

We have a 2018 Forester 3011DS with the same seating and same problem. No luck getting fixed either. Even though this is very annoying it is one of the smaller problems we have had with our unit. Our unit is the biggest POS I have ever owned in over 45 years of owning vehicles, RV's etc. will never again purchase a FR product. Hope you have better luck with yours.

**dcheatwood** · 01-19-2020, 10:14 PM

Yes. Same thing here in our 2018 Forester 3011ds. Terrible piece of furniture. I have finally learned to keep foot rest up but not comfortable at all! Plan to swap out for 2 wall hugger recliners soon.

Robert Bolick · 05-08-2020, 09:53 PM

Same unit, Same problem....found putting a pillow on top of back and one at back of seat changes weight distribution and stay reclined.. It's stupid but works until we can replace them.. Problem is finding a set narrow enough and getting power to it in the slide. All power ones I have found are too wide, too deep to fit in slide and 120V.

Mr Brian · 05-09-2020, 11:02 AM

...also eager to see if anyone has replaced the manual recline theater seats (as in our early 2020 3011DS) with the power recline version featured in later models.

HYDROG · 05-09-2020, 11:20 AM

Thanks Brian,
As per my post above, that is what I am also trying to find out. I'm interested in costs for the 12V power seats and for the installation, difficulty of the installation and the availability of colors to match existing upholstery. I would also like to find out if Forest River will cover some or all of the costs under warranty, considering that the seats that they originally installed would not work properly. These faulty reclining theater seats seem to be a common problem in earlier Forester 3011DSs and Sunseeker 3010DSs. They appear to have switched to the 12V power recliners part way through the 2020 model year, presumably after they found out that the earlier recliners were such a common problem.

**dcheatwood** · 05-10-2020, 11:48 AM

We hate our theater love seat. Uncomfortable and does not stay up and too high from the floor.

Blank · 05-10-2020, 03:25 PM

My wife had the same issue with hers. It just didn't stay at the right height for her. I don't ever use them, so no issue for me. I fixed it for $25 with this. It fits right behind my drivers seat, and gets used for everything.

https://www.amazon.com/Acko-Inches-F.../dp/B06XCQVXPN

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