Help can't flatten the seat to make a bed!

ardvark · May 23, 2022

Hi there,
Any advice much appreciated on this. We recently bought a 2011 Ocean, we previously had a 2008 Ocean (which was written off in a crash) and had no problems with turning the back seat into a bed. However with the new one we can't seem to get the base of the seat level with the back rest when in a flat bed position please see photos.

Is this normal or are we doing anything wrong? We have tried to pull the seat along the rails as much as it can go. We are taking our new van out to France on Saturday so really need to get this sorted so we can sleep whilst we are away. The kids will be in roof so really need to get this done so the adults can sleep. please any help appreciated Thanks in advance

ThomasHJ · May 23, 2022

I own a 2011 ocean and although I can't help much based on the info in your post, I can say that this is not normal. It should work the same as in your 2008 van. Have you checked wether something might be in the way e.g. blocking the mechanism from folding all the way? Seatbelt maybe?

The Tall Luthier · May 23, 2022

It looks like something is stopping the back going down. Are the headrests blocking the way?

ardvark · May 23, 2022

The Tall Luthier said:
It looks like something is stopping the back going down. Are the headrests blocking the way?

We've checked and can't seem to find anything blocking it. Unlike our 2008 one you can lift the seat up once its flattened it appears to be resting on the sloping bars which make a triangle on the black steel frame.

ardvark · May 23, 2022

ThomasHJ said:
I own a 2011 ocean and although I can't help much based on the info in your post, I can say that this is not normal. It should work the same as in your 2008 van. Have you checked wether something might be in the way e.g. blocking the mechanism from folding all the way? Seatbelt maybe?

We've checked and can't seem to find anything blocking it. Unlike our 2008 one you can lift the seat up once its flattened it appears to be resting on the sloping bars which make a triangle on the black steel frame.

Stu@rt · May 23, 2022

Can you upload some more pictures? I am sure someone can help. Maybe some pictures from the tailgate end/underneath etc?

The Tall Luthier · May 23, 2022

ardvark said:
We've checked and can't seem to find anything blocking it. Unlike our 2008 one you can lift the seat up once its flattened it appears to be resting on the sloping bars which make a triangle on the black steel frame.

From memory my seat can get to that point and then there is almost a secondary operation whereby the back and the front lock together and adjust against each other. Ive just looked and its very difficult to see this operation externally.

Silverace_Junior · May 23, 2022

In order to get all the ‘hard’ parts (seatbelt locks) out of the way, you can lift up the seat as you mention. Maybe on of these seatbelt locks is mispositioned and the seat base rests on that? Just a guess. Nothing in the drawer below the seat that pushes it up?

ardvark · May 23, 2022

The Tall Luthier said:
From memory my seat can get to that point and then there is almost a secondary operation whereby the back and the front lock together and adjust against each other. Ive just looked and its very difficult to see this operation externally.

ok very interesting maybe that's what we need to do, can I ask where the secondary operation is please? We can't see any visible levers... thanks very much

ardvark · May 23, 2022

Silverace_Junior said:
In order to get all the ‘hard’ parts (seatbelt locks) out of the way, you can lift up the seat as you mention. Maybe on of these seatbelt locks is mispositioned and the seat base rests on that? Just a guess. Nothing in the drawer below the seat that pushes it up?

We have checked the seat belts etc it seems to be resting on a black metal arm either side that creates the frame. but won't slide along a little

The Tall Luthier · May 23, 2022

ardvark said:
ok very interesting maybe that's what we need to do, can I ask where the secondary operation is please? We can't see any visible levers... thanks very much

Just had a play. We have an ocean two seat bench.

The base of the bench lifts up, only a short distance but long enough to retrieve the seatbelt fittings. The limit of this is controlled by a white strap attached with a screw. Tricky to remove but not impossible.

When the seat back reclines on its pívot there are two legs below the pívot that rotate upwards, these in turn lift the base up to make it all flat.
It could be that these shorter legs are being restricted in some way.

WelshGas · May 23, 2022

ardvark said:
Hi there,
Any advice much appreciated on this. We recently bought a 2011 Ocean, we previously had a 2008 Ocean (which was written off in a crash) and had no problems with turning the back seat into a bed. However with the new one we can't seem to get the base of the seat level with the back rest when in a flat bed position please see photos.

Is this normal or are we doing anything wrong? We have tried to pull the seat along the rails as much as it can go. We are taking our new van out to France on Saturday so really need to get this sorted so we can sleep whilst we are away. The kids will be in roof so really need to get this done so the adults can sleep. please any help appreciated Thanks in advance View attachment 93442

Are you sure the seat has been pulled far enough forward?
If the seat, as in you photo, is touching the parcel/bed shelf then it has not been pulled forward enough due probably to the rail stop being in the wrong position.
If that is the case either re-position or remove the rail stop. It is only a guide.
Use a flat head screw driver to locate the stop in the rail nearest the kitchen.
Undo the slot screw on top of the rail stop and slide it forward an inch or two and retighten or slide it to the end of the rail.

Stu@rt · May 23, 2022

We could really use some more pictures I think.

Lambeth Cali · May 23, 2022

ardvark said:
Hi there,
Any advice much appreciated on this. We recently bought a 2011 Ocean, we previously had a 2008 Ocean (which was written off in a crash) and had no problems with turning the back seat into a bed. However with the new one we can't seem to get the base of the seat level with the back rest when in a flat bed position please see photos.

Is this normal or are we doing anything wrong? We have tried to pull the seat along the rails as much as it can go. We are taking our new van out to France on Saturday so really need to get this sorted so we can sleep whilst we are away. The kids will be in roof so really need to get this done so the adults can sleep. please any help appreciated Thanks in advance View attachment 93442

The seat base looks correct, so its the backrest that isn't right. I agree with most of the above. Either the base isn't far enough forward (looking at the floor channels in your picture, I suspect that might be the cause) OR something near the headrests is stopping the backrest going down OR there is something odd in the drawer fouling the mechanism.

From memory, my bench needs to be at the very front of the channels to make the bed, so I really think you just need to put the seat back up and slide the bench forward to the very front of the floor channels. Then the back will go down.

ardvark · May 23, 2022

Stu@rt said:
We could really use some more pictures I think.

I'll take some more once the rain stops

ardvark · May 23, 2022

Lambeth Cali said:
The seat base looks correct, so its the backrest that isn't right. I agree with most of the above. Either the base isn't far enough forward (looking at the floor channels in your picture, I suspect that might be the cause) OR something near the headrests is stopping the backrest going down OR there is something odd in the drawer fouling the mechanism.

From memory, my bench needs to be at the very front of the channels to make the bed, so I really think you just need to put the seat back up and slide the bench forward to the very front of the floor channels. Then the back will go down.

Hi thanks we have tried that but will see if I can glide it forward some more thanks very much

WelshGas · May 23, 2022

ardvark said:
Hi thanks we have tried that but will see if I can glide it forward some more thanks very much

Is the backrest touching the parcel shelf/ bed shelf?

JaneJ · May 23, 2022

We had this type of problem in our similar age Cali when the seat was almost imperceptibly misaligned even though it was in both rails and appeared to roll forward as normal. Just a tweak out of true made the seat back catch underneath on the back shelf slightly at the wardrobe side and not go flat. I would try returning the seat to the upright position, rolling it back into the rear position, with the latch lever fully 'clicked' down, and ensuring the whole bench seat is truly square on the rails before trying again. With the lever fully pulled and held open again carefully re-roll the bench fully forward making sure it doesn't go out of alignment before putting the back down again. Sounds too obvious but it did the trick.
We hadn't used ours in the bed position for quite some time and I think the roller mechanism had stiffened a bit causing the slight misalignment when it was moved forward, even though it was in both rails. A bit of PFTE or similar along the rails/rollers might help if that's the issue. Do you sit in the middle of the bench to move/walk it forward?

ardvark · May 23, 2022

JaneJ said:
We had this type of problem in our similar age Cali when the seat was almost imperceptibly misaligned even though it was in both rails and appeared to roll forward as normal. Just a tweak out of true made the seat back catch underneath on the back shelf slightly at the wardrobe side and not go flat. I would try returning the seat to the upright position, rolling it back into the rear position, with the latch lever fully 'clicked' down, and ensuring the whole bench seat is truly square on the rails before trying again. With the lever fully pulled and held open again carefully re-roll the bench fully forward making sure it doesn't go out of alignment before putting the back down again. Sounds too obvious but it did the trick.
We hadn't used ours in the bed position for quite some time and I think the roller mechanism had stiffened a bit causing the slight misalignment when it was moved forward, even though it was in both rails. A bit of PFTE or similar along the rails/rollers might help if that's the issue. Do you sit in the middle of the bench to move/walk it forward?

HI there,
Thanks for this information I will do what you suggest. We do indeed sit in the middle of the bench and walk it forward. Does that indicate the issue?
Thanks again

freggel01_his_cali · May 24, 2022

Had a similar issue with our 2012 Cali Ocean.
Ended up being the head-rest getting blocked by a storage box placed in the back.
The head-rest was not folded propperly and prevented the seat to 'click' and with that go flat fully.
Hope this makes sense.

JaneJ · May 24, 2022

ardvark said:
HI there,
Thanks for this information I will do what you suggest. We do indeed sit in the middle of the bench and walk it forward. Does that indicate the issue?
Thanks again

On the contrary, I think that's what most people do. I thought perhaps if you had an alternative technique it might contribute to the bench seat not being quite square.

JaneJ · May 24, 2022

freggel01_his_cali said:
Had a similar issue with our 2012 Cali Ocean.
Ended up being the head-rest getting blocked by a storage box placed in the back.
The head-rest was not folded propperly and prevented the seat to 'click' and with that go flat fully.
Hope this makes sense.

We've had that too. A headrest slightly catching on a storage box pushed a little too far in.

ardvark · May 24, 2022

JaneJ said:
We've had that too. A headrest slightly catching on a storage box pushed a little too far in.

Ok thanks very much will double check to see if the headrest is getting in the way
Thanks again

ArunAlec · May 24, 2022

ardvark said:
Ok thanks very much will double check to see if the headrest is getting in the way
Thanks again

Also check that you are sliding the seat far enough forward…. I spent ages using too much force only to find that the plastic seat belt covers on the top of the seat were fouling on the parcel shelf.

WelshGas · May 27, 2022

ardvark said:
Ok thanks very much will double check to see if the headrest is getting in the way
Thanks again

So is the seat still stuck?

Help can't flatten the seat to make a bed!

ardvark

ThomasHJ

The Tall Luthier

ardvark

ardvark

Stu@rt

The Tall Luthier

Silverace_Junior

ardvark

ardvark

The Tall Luthier

WelshGas

Retired after 42 yrs and enjoying Life.

Stu@rt

Lambeth Cali

ardvark

ardvark

WelshGas

Retired after 42 yrs and enjoying Life.

JaneJ

ardvark

freggel01_his_cali

JaneJ

JaneJ

ardvark

ArunAlec

WelshGas

Retired after 42 yrs and enjoying Life.

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