tonyg3nwl Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Hi, Somewhere I have seen a device that can be attached to the handbrake to raise the access to the handbrake where swivel seats are fitted as on my boxer based stargazer can anyone point me in the right direction. tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Opinion appears to be divided on these handbrake extenders, with some people not liking them, or considering them somewhat unsafe. Having got that out of the way, I had one of these fitted to my previous 'van (on the older Ducato) and would not have been without it. It has been passed on to a friend, who is also impressed: http://www.prime-function.co.uk/rare-spares/frameset.htm ....and note, they do a version specifically for the current Ducato. The alternative (which I've also seen, and liked less than the one above, even though it is somewhat cheaper) is: http://www.outdoorbits.com/kobran-motorhome-handbrake-extender-p-173.html ...but this has not (AFAICS) been adapted to the newer 'van. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ham Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/Handbrake%20Extender.php I bought mine from through this web site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 tonyg3nwl - 2011-11-21 4:06 PM Hi, Somewhere I have seen a device that can be attached to the handbrake to raise the access to the handbrake where swivel seats are fitted as on my boxer based stargazer can anyone point me in the right direction. tonyg3nwl Searching the forum by putting "rare-spares" (omitting the quotation marks) in the Keywords box and choosing "All posts" as the Date limit wiil retrieve previous handbrake-related comments. (I note that there are comments about the extender interfering with the rotation of a swivelling driver's seat.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 As I've got a bad back pain at moment I have been 'forced' into buying an extender for my X250. After enquiring of outdoorbits I decided to buy the Kobran extender. Well I can say it fits after a fashion, it is by no means perfect but does the job. Getting it to slide over the handbrake grip was very difficult (but note my bad back) I had to resort to using a claw hammer as a lever to 'spread' the flanges apart, it must have took an hour to work out how to do it and get it in position! The next problem was fitting the 'fixings', longer screws where supplied but due to nature of fixings and the flanges being angled apart these wouldn't align, some more head scratching and decided to use molegrips to squeeze flanges together, this did the job, all told it must have been a least two hours to fit. The next problem was on swiveling seat the extended handle caught the seat back adjusting nob and 'indexed' the nob so adjusting seat back WTF, well as luck would have it I cannot get seat 100% as I like it, one position is ,just, to far back, next is ,just, to far forward, by adjusting seat to the other 'wrong' position it just clears. When getting in and out now it just catchs back of leg, odd but not a big problem. So, I'll keep Kobran as it does make handbrake easier to use, if I get fed up with it I'll design and make my own. If it had cost £10 off ebay I would have been content with bodging it to fit, but the fact it cost considerably more leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I fitted a Prime-function, Rare-Spares item to our previous X250 pug(...just why are the standard handbrake levers, so low down?)... I thought it was a very well made item and it worked okay(ish).. I did find it a problem when exiting the cab,where I found that it could snag on clothing..and on the odd occasion, even releasing the handbrake.. :-S ...to help solve this,I did purchase a second "swan-neck" section from them(just the stainless steel bit) and by cutting that down and fitting a smaller "hand grip",managed to keep the overall height a couple of inches below the seat level... On the subject of rotating the seat,I thought that there was a pin that could be released,which allowed the lever to pivot down out of the way..? We've still got it somewhere..and if our next vehicle turns out to to X250 based, I would certainly look at refitting it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loftypeak Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I bought and fitted a Kobran extender for my Ducato and would not be without it; however my driving seat does not swivel. I hold an Honours degree in bodging, and the use of a Surform file on the existing handbrake grip produced a suitable shape for good and relatively easy fitting of the extender. The Kobran site does mention that for the 2006 on Ducato, it is a very tight fit, after the bodge of the original grip, I would describe the fit of mine as between interference and tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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