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05-04-2014, 03:41 PM
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#1
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2 Rivet Member
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 33
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2014.5 interstate ext rear bed not folding flat
Hello everyone,
Been reading this forum for the past two months before purchasing a brand new 2014.5 Interstate Ext Lounge model. So far I'm having so many problems with it and I thought the build quality of Airstream was superb, but it isn't. First problem was 2nd pilot chair seat belt holder is broken, then driver side rear cabinet door screw broke off so cabinet door is hanging loose. Third, it's the rear seat not folding down flat to make the bed. Brought it back to dealership and they said for 2014.5 the rear seat doesn't fold flat so I called Airstream to confirm it. Airstream said it doesn't fold flat due to the thicker foam material used in the seat. I told the Airstream rep, why bother having the two pieces in the rear fold down to make a bed for when the bed is like 10inches higher. Anyone with a 2014.5 having a bed that can't fold flat? I hope they are not lying to me about the foam being thicker.
Thanks
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05-04-2014, 05:17 PM
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#2
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Figment of My Imagination
2012 Interstate Coach
From All Over
, More Than Anywhere Else
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,868
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dungrace
Hello everyone,
Been reading this forum for the past two months before purchasing a brand new 2014.5 Interstate Ext Lounge model. So far I'm having so many problems with it and I thought the build quality of Airstream was superb, but it isn't. First problem was 2nd pilot chair seat belt holder is broken, then driver side rear cabinet door screw broke off so cabinet door is hanging loose. Third, it's the rear seat not folding down flat to make the bed. Brought it back to dealership and they said for 2014.5 the rear seat doesn't fold flat so I called Airstream to confirm it. Airstream said it doesn't fold flat due to the thicker foam material used in the seat. I told the Airstream rep, why bother having the two pieces in the rear fold down to make a bed for when the bed is like 10inches higher. Anyone with a 2014.5 having a bed that can't fold flat? I hope they are not lying to me about the foam being thicker.
Thanks
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Thicker foam will NOT affect how the rear cushion lays down. It will make the bed bumpier when it does lay down because the high points will be higher and the low points will be lower in comparison. But the BACK of the rear cushion is as flat as it ever was and should go all the way down against the seat frame unless you're doing something wrong. They may be misunderstanding your question.
Things to check:
1 - Fold down the seat before folding down the extensions. If the rear cushion bumps the extensions it could stop before it's all the way down.
2 - Make sure the seat belts aren't in the way by opening the rear doors and seeing where the seat belts are as the rear cushion goes down. If a seat belt gets caught up in the mechanism, it could cause the seat to stop before it's all the way down.
3 - Make sure you don't have anything stored behind the seat that sticks up farther than the bottom of the bottom cushion. It the rear cushion hits an obstruction it will stop before it goes all the way down.
__________________
I thought getting old would take longer!
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05-04-2014, 07:19 PM
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#3
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1 Rivet Member
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Clayton
, Missouri
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 7
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Bought a new 2014.5 in February. Had a similar issue with bed. Solution was to put weight on back. After several minutes slowly lowered to be flat. Since then we have used several time with little issue. Every now it will not lat flat but after the weight of your head hits it bad should drop.
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05-04-2014, 09:50 PM
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#4
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2 Rivet Member
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 33
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Done those already and still won't lay flat. I brought it back to the dealership and they too can't get it to lay flat. I'm about to unscrew all the bolts and nuts to figure why it won't lay flat since calling and complaining to Airstream and the dealership won't help.
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05-05-2014, 06:50 PM
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#5
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Lazy scouter
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Plano
, Texas
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 36
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I have 2014.5 ext and it lays flat every time.
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05-05-2014, 07:25 PM
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#6
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Rivet Master
2015 Interstate Ext. Coach
San Diego
, California
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 666
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Doesn't the rear sofa have a screw drive mechanism? Is there a way to adjust this. Was it bolted together incorrectly so the screw drive bottoms out prematurely?
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05-05-2014, 08:12 PM
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#7
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Rivet Master
2011 Interstate Coach
Overland Park
, Kansas
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,798
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Yes. I think someone needs to look underneath while someone else lowers the bed to see if there's an obstruction or a limit switch that needs adjusting.
I'd call Jim Parrett if neither.
__________________
Glass half full or half empty to an engineer is the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
2011 Interstate SOLD! Upfitted 2017 Transit 350. SOLD!
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05-06-2014, 08:59 AM
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#8
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2 Rivet Member
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 33
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Who is Jim? The dealership where I bought it from is giving me a headache. Been over 2 weeks and they still haven't figure how to fix the rear bed or parts for the cabinet door and captain chair seat belt hasn't come in yet
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05-06-2014, 09:05 AM
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#9
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Rivet Master
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Sedona
, Arizona
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,084
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dungrace
Who is Jim? The dealership where I bought it from is giving me a headache. Been over 2 weeks and they still haven't figure how to fix the rear bed or parts for the cabinet door and captain chair seat belt hasn't come in yet
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Jim Parrett, National Service Manager-Touring Coaches. Email: jparrett@airstream.com Tel: 937/596-6111 X7409
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05-21-2014, 11:44 AM
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#10
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2 Rivet Member
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 33
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Called and emailed Jim and he hasn't reply back. I called the service department today and left them a message again. What kind of service department that never pick up the phone? I'm regretting buying an Airstream right now with this kind of customer service I'm getting. Should had pull the trigger on Advanced Rv.
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05-21-2014, 01:22 PM
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#11
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Rivet Master
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Sedona
, Arizona
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,084
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dungrace
Called and emailed Jim and he hasn't reply back. I called the service department today and left them a message again. What kind of service department that never pick up the phone? I'm regretting buying an Airstream right now with this kind of customer service I'm getting. Should had pull the trigger on Advanced Rv.
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So sorry to hear you’re having a hard time trying to get this resolved. If the bed won’t go flat, then I would say it’s not fit for the purpose; it’s not much of an RV without a usable bed. Can you post a picture of what it looks like - as low as it will go?
I would give Jim Parrett the benefit of the doubt - he may be on vacation or something. Airstream support does have someone else called Dan who is on the front end of their support line. You should call him - Tel: 937-596-6111 Ext 7408. This call should log the issue with Airstream support.
If you then don’t get anywhere, I would email Jim again, and copy Bob Wheeler (Airstream President) (bwheeler@airstream.com).
Really, this is something that should be covered by the dealership, and they should be following it up with Airstream, not you. Is there another dealer you can contact within reasonable distance? Maybe just a phone call to another dealer might be another thing to try.
Peter
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05-21-2014, 04:01 PM
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#12
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Figment of My Imagination
2012 Interstate Coach
From All Over
, More Than Anywhere Else
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,868
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dungrace
Called and emailed Jim and he hasn't reply back. I called the service department today and left them a message again. What kind of service department that never pick up the phone? I'm regretting buying an Airstream right now with this kind of customer service I'm getting. Should had pull the trigger on Advanced Rv.
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I've never managed to speak directly to anyone in Jackson Center. However, I've gotten fantastic service from my "local" (80 miles away) dealer. Dealers can get an answer out of Jackson Center a lot faster than anybody else.
__________________
I thought getting old would take longer!
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05-21-2014, 04:16 PM
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#13
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Rivet Master
2018 23' International
Currently Looking...
SANTA BARBARA
, CA
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,214
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I've spoken to 2 or 3 people at Jackson Center, and they've all been very nice and helpful.
By the way, dungrace, one of our 2nd row seat belt holders also broke a couple weeks ago too. The plastic part pulled right out of the leather back. I just emailed photos of it to our local dealer today.
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05-21-2014, 04:41 PM
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#14
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Rivet Master
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Sedona
, Arizona
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,084
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weirdstuff
By the way, dungrace, one of our 2nd row seat belt holders also broke a couple weeks ago too. The plastic part pulled right out of the leather back. I just emailed photos of it to our local dealer today.
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I currently have the same problem. The dealer glued in a new holder but after driving home I noticed the surrounding leatherette had slipped out from behind it and won't stay in place. The whole thing now looks very tacky.
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05-21-2014, 04:59 PM
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#15
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Rivet Master
2018 23' International
Currently Looking...
SANTA BARBARA
, CA
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,214
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UKDUDE
I currently have the same problem. The dealer glued in a new holder but after driving home I noticed the surrounding leatherette had slipped out from behind it and won't stay in place. The whole thing now looks very tacky.
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On ours, you can see where the leather seat back is ripped where the attachments went. Not sure how they will even try to fix this. ugh!
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05-22-2014, 06:33 AM
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#16
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BikerBill
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Poconos of Pa
, Pennsylvania
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 239
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I never had too much problem talking with Jim at AI. But the Pres Wheeler, I sent him a snail mail the other month expecting a reply but none so far. So much for the Pres of the company even passing along to one of his staff to send a reply.
Wondering if the bottom portion of your seat is in the proper mounting holes. Could this be affecting the unit from laying flat?
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05-22-2014, 01:16 PM
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#17
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1 Rivet Member
2010 22' Interstate
Oak Lawn
, Illinois
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 15
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I thought I might chime in here although I do not have the EXT model.
A while back I took the back lounge seat out while working on my AS. When I put it back together, I found the the seat would not go back down all the way and lay flat. It looked normal when the seat is in the up position. Looking underneath, I realized the I used the wrong mounting holes only by seeing the indentation marks from the nut and washer. I took it back out and reinstalled it. Everything is good now.
BikerBill could very well be correct. It may have never been installed correctly from the factory.
Hope this helps.
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05-22-2014, 08:29 PM
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#18
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Rivet Master
2024 Interstate 19
Fulton
, Maryland
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 3,879
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I agree this could be the problem. I've had my lounge seat bottom off several times and it is tricky to get it back together correctly.
__________________
- - Mike
--------------------------
2024 Airstream Interstate 19e AWD
Previous: 2013 Airstream Interstate 3500 Ext Lounge
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05-24-2014, 09:19 AM
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#19
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2 Rivet Member
2014 Interstate Ext. Coach
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 33
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Got to talk to Jim yesterday and I told him about my issues with the dealership so he called them for me. Early this morning the dealership called me and said I could bring my Interstate in to fix. Funny thing is the dealership doesn't do service during the weekend unless you setup an appointment with them. I have to thank you ya guys for showing me how to get help when needed the most. Finally, months of frustration with the dealership is being solved and now let's see how well they will do with the repairing.
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05-24-2014, 10:11 AM
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#20
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Rivet Master
2011 Interstate Coach
Overland Park
, Kansas
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,798
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Let us know what they find out of you can.
__________________
Glass half full or half empty to an engineer is the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
2011 Interstate SOLD! Upfitted 2017 Transit 350. SOLD!
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