New Theater Seating Unit, w/pics

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SargeW

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Our "couples trailer" works out well for us in most ways, but the seating area is critical as it is the ONLY place to sit in the rig, other than the bed. So what you sit on must be comfortable, durable, and sturdy. The theater seating that the unit came with didn't hit any of those marks.

In the 10 months that we have owned the rig we have traveled about 8000 miles, most of that on a 5 week trip back to Georgia and back. In the beginning the seating was "OK", not great, but served the purpose. Towards the end of the trip, I was looking for ways to get comfortable after an hour or so. The seats themselves seemed too short, and the foot rest hit me at about the calf.
Seats 1.jpg

So we went hunting for replacement seating, which we had done several times before in other RV's. RV furniture just never seems to be built with "full size" people in mind.

I found a store aptly named "Theater Seat Store" that had a wide variety of seating units with various styles and features. I shopped a variety of stores looking for quality, features, reasonable prices, and good reviews. Also I needed the new seating unit to fit in the space available, which was 63" between the end tables in the slide out. The set I purchased is called "Diesel XS950 by Octane Seating".

I purchased a set that had 2 seats with power recline, cup holders, a place built in for added tray tables or other items that could be added, and the set came with built in LED lighting at the bottom, and a USB charging port at each chair. The set is Italian Leather in black, and I added 2 black swivel tray tables.
New Seats 3.jpg
New Seats 2.jpg
New Seats 1.jpg

The set was shipped from Georgia in two boxes and strapped to a pallet. The unassembled chair bases just slipped through the 24" wide door of the rig, and the backs slide on and lock in. They were fairly easy to assemble, and only required a screwdriver. Each chair has it's own motor and control panel. To fully recline the chairs require 4" from the wall, but still fit fully on the slide out floor and move in and out easily with the slide. I have not screwed them to the slide floor, but after a few trips out with them so far, they have not moved. When I pulled out the original chairs, they did have bolts into the slide floor, but I was able to remove all of the 4 bolts by hand, so screwing them down didn't make a whole lot of difference.

So besides looking a whole lot better, the seating comfort is night and day from the originals. I can recline easily and sit up at the press of a button. The tray table easily holds my 17" laptop, and the tray tables lift off easily if needed.

I paid less than $2000 for the two chairs delivered, with the extra tables, and a 5 year warranty. I won't say the new seats were cheap, but for the amount of time spent sitting, eating, napping, or surfing the net, these make being in the trailer a whole lot more comfortable.
 
Looks good. I like the added tray tables. We saw them in a different brand back when we were shopping. I half-heartedly looked for them last year but need to step up my searching for this year.

"...the foot rest hit me at about the calf" - is the biggest complaint I have about the theater seating in our 5th wheel. Gets the job done but not overly comfortable.
 
Very nice. We did something similar a year ago and we really like it. Doesn't have the center divider and is not electric but a whole lot more comfortable than the old RV sofa. The end tables on either side of your seating areas is a nice feature.

I tried to secure ours by wrapping the seat belts around the frame. That kinda worked but prevented us from moving the unit away from the wall so we could watch the tv. Removing the seat belts was a PITA so now it's just sitting on the slide out floor. We've probably traveled more than 5,000 miles and so far no incidents. Still I'm concerned about the unit whacking us in the back of our heads if we have a collision. :(
 
Nice report. We’re having furniture issues and have begun searching for solutions… your post is timely.
I’ll start a new thread, but do you have recommendations for class A captains chairs? Ours are FlexSteel (no longer in business) and need replaced due to pedestal issues. My initial searching turns up no other captains chair manufacturers that have the same bolt pattern.
On another note, we have a most-uncomfortable loveseat that we’d love to swap out for a pair of theatre seats like yours. Unfortunately, the current TV location wouldn’t work and we’d almost have to have a televator installed OR go with two swiveling recliners instead if the theatre seats.
But the captains chairs are definitely the priority.
 
Nice report. We’re having furniture issues and have begun searching for solutions… your post is timely.
I’ll start a new thread, but do you have recommendations for class A captains chairs? Ours are FlexSteel (no longer in business) and need replaced due to pedestal issues. My initial searching turns up no other captains chair manufacturers that have the same bolt pattern.
On another note, we have a most-uncomfortable loveseat that we’d love to swap out for a pair of theatre seats like yours. Unfortunately, the current TV location wouldn’t work and we’d almost have to have a televator installed OR go with two swiveling recliners instead if the theatre seats.
But the captains chairs are definitely the priority.

New captains chairs is a tall order, but there may be a way around a new bolt pattern. Have a metal plate made up that will bolt to the floor with the existing bolts, then add new bolts (or holes for bolts) to the new plate in the desired locations. It would only raise the seats about an inch, and you could probably adjust the height difference the the adjustments of the new chairs.
 
BTW, there is a variety of different attachments you can use instead of the black tables. The tables come in glass, aluminum, and wood grain, and other attachments are cell phone holders, wine glass holders, and even a pop corn bowl among others.
 
Those really look nice and comfortable. We replaced the sleep sofa with 2 power recliners but they are getting worn. So we are interested. Can you tell me the width of the seat cushion?

Thanks
 
Here are the seat dimensions that I purchased. The web site has a variety of seats, some vary with style. I did see some that were extra wide, or long. Here is a graphic of the ones I bought.
 

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