steveandlisa Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Hello Folks, Due too my short stature, I find it difficult to select a comfortable seat arrangement, to reach the foot pedals I have to set the captains chair as low as will go and slightly tilted forward. Not at all comfortable especially on longer journeys. I have seen advertised a lower seat box suitable for the Ducato 2007 onwards, which it says lowers the seat by around 40mm. I was wondering if anyone has used/fitted one and if it made any significant difference and how easy it was to fit. Also does the seat still retain its tilt, rake, height and swivel functions with the lower seat box fitted? Any advice really appreciated. ;-) Kind regards Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 steveandlisa - 2016-11-12 8:47 AM Hello Folks, Due too my short stature, I find it difficult to select a comfortable seat arrangement, to reach the foot pedals I have to set the captains chair as low as will go and slightly tilted forward. Not at all comfortable especially on longer journeys. I have seen advertised a lower seat box suitable for the Ducato 2007 onwards, which it says lowers the seat by around 40mm. I was wondering if anyone has used/fitted one and if it made any significant difference and how easy it was to fit. Also does the seat still retain its tilt, rake, height and swivel functions with the lower seat box fitted? Any advice really appreciated. ;-) Kind regards Steve. When we bought our van, we enquired about swivel seat for passenger, and it was pointed out, that this would make the seat higher, and ladies often found there feet would not reach the floor! You could have the drivers one taken out, No it would not swivel, but at least you would get a lower driving position PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 PJay - 2016-11-12 8:59 AM When we bought our van, we enquired about swivel seat for passenger, and it was pointed out, that this would make the seat higher, and ladies often found there feet would not reach the floor! You could have the drivers one taken out, No it would not swivel, but at least you would get a lower driving position PJay Assuming that Steve has a swivel fitted to his drivers seat. He may not, hence asking about lower boxes. We only have a swivel on our passenger seat! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QFour Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 We had a Swift and the seats in that were to high and I could not see under the sun blind. I bought two lower bases and fitted them. Fitting them is easy enough it's just the weight of the seat and trying to move it around. You really need two people. Take the seat off the lower frame and then remove the lower frame. Only problem I had was the plastic surround don't fit the new lower frame. So left the front hatches off and cut down the plastic side bits from the bottom. It does make a lot of difference. New A Class Laika MH is totally different and much more comfortable. If you have swivel base seats you can get the same effect by removing the swivel part from the seat and trying it. If it's ok and you need a swivel seat then fit the base. They are not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordy paul Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 steveandlisa - 2016-11-12 8:47 AM Hello Folks, Due too my short stature, I find it difficult to select a comfortable seat arrangement, to reach the foot pedals I have to set the captains chair as low as will go and slightly tilted forward. Not at all comfortable especially on longer journeys. I have seen advertised a lower seat box suitable for the Ducato 2007 onwards, which it says lowers the seat by around 40mm. I was wondering if anyone has used/fitted one and if it made any significant difference and how easy it was to fit. Also does the seat still retain its tilt, rake, height and swivel functions with the lower seat box fitted? Any advice really appreciated. ;-) Kind regards Steve. Due to my tall stature I have trouble seeing under the cab blinds, to compound the problem my wife is shorte and can have the same issue as you, please could you let me know where you have seen the lower seat bases. Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandlisa Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 Hi Paul, Found it on here, look to motorhome seats and scroll down to seat base frame ;-) http://www.jennings-seats.co.uk/shop/20/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandlisa Posted November 12, 2016 Author Share Posted November 12, 2016 Hi Keith, Yes my MH is a Swift Bolero 2007 and is currently fitted with a seat swivel thus making the seat higher. I think the idea of fitting this lower seat box is to get back to a lower seat position that is initially taken away by the seat swivel when fitted, I hope I'm making sense :-S regards Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QFour Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 It's the seat that does all the reclining etc. Have a look at yours. You are only changing the bit from the floor up to the bottom of the seat swivel. All the top bit stay the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagHal Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Wyvern Seating - Proprietor Tony Sugg. He supplies seat boxes that can also take a locking door. Fitted one on my Peugeot Boxer for my wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 How do you get the wife in the box? AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Archiesgrandad - 2016-11-12 7:12 PMHow do you get the wife in the box?AGD Chocolates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Mag&Hal - 2016-11-12 5:22 PM Wyvern Seating - Proprietor Tony Sugg. He supplies seat boxes that can also take a locking door. Fitted one on my Peugeot Boxer for my wife. I was under the impression that Wyvern Seating only offers lower-height seat-boxes for pre-X250 Boxer/Ducato/Relay models, but that impression may be wrong. (Might be helpful if you provided your motorhome’s date of manufacture.) This 2007 MHFacts thread mentions Wyvern Seating http://forums.motorhomefacts.com/30-parts-accessories/20774-fiat-ducato-cab-seats-2006-a.html and advises that a check should be made of what’s under the seat (leisure-battery, battery-charger, etc.) My 2005 Ford Transit-based Hobby motorhome’s driver’s-seat was too high for me (5’ 6” tall and shrinking) to drive safely, never mind comfortably. No lowered seat-box was available, so I removed the seat-swivel and that made safe/comfortable driving (just) OK. I’d prefer my 2015 Fiat Ducato-based Rapido’s driver’s-seat to be lower, as I could then adjust it upwards to exactly the height I’d like. However, I can drive the Ducato safely and comfortably with the seat as low as it will go and without removing the seat-swivel. The Rapido has nothing ‘fixed’ beneath the cab seats, so fitting a lower seat-box should present no major problems, though I’d expect to have to dispense with the plastic trim pieces used with the standard-height boxes. As QFour says, all of the seat adjustment mechanism is above the seat-swivel, so fitting a lower seat-box should not affect the seat adjustment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagHal Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 My Peugeot Boxer is registered 2005. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Just an observation but mine has swivel seats and the leisure batteries are located inside the lower box-would the lower seat boxes discussed clear the battery terminals ok as mine don't seem to have a massive amount of clearance? Just asking! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Mike The advisability of checking for ‘stuff' beneath a cab-seat before opting for a lower-height seat-base was mentioned earlier in this thread. Your Elnagh motorhome is a 2005 model (hence based on a pre-X250 Ducato), whereas Steve says that his Swift Bolero is 2007 vintage. The Ducato X250 range began to be marketed in mid-2006 and, as there are on-line images of 2006 Boleros and the lowered seat-base Steve refers to on the Jennings Seats website is for a Ducato X250, it’s reasonable to assume that his Bolero is based on a Ducato X250 chassis. Ducato X250 vehicles carry their starter-battery in a compartment built into the cab floor. ‘Commercial’ X250 Ducatos will normally have their seat-bases empty of fixed equipment and, in motorhome versions, its usually the case that (if the motorhome converter decides to put a leisure-battery, electrical equipment, etc. in a cab-seat base) it will be the base of the passenger-seat that will be chosen. Of course, although a converter might leave the driver’s-seat base empty when the motorhome is built (and it’s the driver’s-seat that Steve would like to lower) that won’t prevent motorhome owners from subsequently shoehorning batteries/equipment into that seat-base if they feel in the mood! Hopefully Steve will have already confirmed that there is nothing in his Bolero’s driver’s-seat base to inhibit a lowered seat-base being fitted as, if there were a tall battery there, there might well be insufficient clearance above that battery if a lowered base were installed. In fact, it will be seen from the Jennings Seats website that a lowered seat-base for 2000-onwards Ford Transits is only offered for the passenger side. This is because Transits of that era always carry their starter-battery in the driver’s-seat base with not much clearance between the top of the battery and the seat above it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Derek Uzzell - 2016-11-15 7:58 AM Mike The advisability of checking for ‘stuff' beneath a cab-seat before opting for a lower-height seat-base was mentioned earlier in this thread. Your Elnagh motorhome is a 2005 model (hence based on a pre-X250 Ducato), whereas Steve says that his Swift Bolero is 2007 vintage. The Ducato X250 range began to be marketed in mid-2006 and, as there are on-line images of 2006 Boleros and the lowered seat-base Steve refers to on the Jennings Seats website is for a Ducato X250, it’s reasonable to assume that his Bolero is based on a Ducato X250 chassis. Ducato X250 vehicles carry their starter-battery in a compartment built into the cab floor. ‘Commercial’ X250 Ducatos will normally have their seat-bases empty of fixed equipment and, in motorhome versions, its usually the case that (if the motorhome converter decides to put a leisure-battery, electrical equipment, etc. in a cab-seat base) it will be the base of the passenger-seat that will be chosen. Of course, although a converter might leave the driver’s-seat base empty when the motorhome is built (and it’s the driver’s-seat that Steve would like to lower) that won’t prevent motorhome owners from subsequently shoehorning batteries/equipment into that seat-base if they feel in the mood! Hopefully Steve will have already confirmed that there is nothing in his Bolero’s driver’s-seat base to inhibit a lowered seat-base being fitted as, if there were a tall battery there, there might well be insufficient clearance above that battery if a lowered base were installed. In fact, it will be seen from the Jennings Seats website that a lowered seat-base for 2000-onwards Ford Transits is only offered for the passenger side. This is because Transits of that era always carry their starter-battery in the driver’s-seat base with not much clearance between the top of the battery and the seat above it. Derek-oops didn't notice that it had already been covered! However on mine as you say it is 2005 model (and maybe it is because it is Italian) the starter battery is in the engine compartment but the Leisure battery is under the drivers seat (maybe as a continental it was Left Hand Drive template) and the optional 2nd Leisure Battery is under the Passenger seat. Both seats swivel but Jackie also did unfortunately as she couldn't reach the floor in the cab when travelling! My remedy for this was a compressed foam 'step' which I covered with matching carpet and fitted in the footwell area for her. I am 5'10" and the driving position isn't a problem for me on the 'raised' box but don't know if it would be on an X-250 Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Mike Like your pre-2006 Ducato, subsequent Ducato models do not have their starter-battery beneath either of the cab seats. This doesn't necessarily mean, though, that the seat-boxes are completely empty - my LHD 2015 Ducato X290-based Rapido has a Fiat-installed sliding tray beneath the driver’s-seat and the jack + tools are in a purpose-designed plastic case that slides into the passenger-side seat-box. However, it does mean that a motorhome converter can exploit the cab seat-boxes straightforwardly if they wish to site leisure-batteries or electrical equipment there. For example, Chausson’s 2015 User’s Manual states that the leisure-battery will generally be housed in a special compartment towards the rear of the motorhome or under the front passenger seat. In the latter case, Chausson’s instructions/diagrams advising how to access the leisure-battery of a Ducato-based motorhome have a certain entertainment value! An under-seat leisure-battery is not much of a problem if the battery is a sealed-for-life type, but not the greatest of ideas if the battery can (and should) have its electrolyte-level periodically checked. I don’t think there are any significant dimensional differences between Ducato seat-boxes, so a leisure-battery could be housed in either. You may well be correct that Elnagh had an LHD template (with the leisure-battery under the right-hand-side cab seat) that they chose not to alter for RHD models. It shouldn’t matter much which cab seat the battery goes under, though as accessing the battery will probably require seat removal it should, in principle, be easier to remove the passenger-side seat as the steering-wheel won’t be getting in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandlisa Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 Derek Uzzell - 2016-11-15 7:58 AM Mike The advisability of checking for ‘stuff' beneath a cab-seat before opting for a lower-height seat-base was mentioned earlier in this thread. Your Elnagh motorhome is a 2005 model (hence based on a pre-X250 Ducato), whereas Steve says that his Swift Bolero is 2007 vintage. The Ducato X250 range began to be marketed in mid-2006 and, as there are on-line images of 2006 Boleros and the lowered seat-base Steve refers to on the Jennings Seats website is for a Ducato X250, it’s reasonable to assume that his Bolero is based on a Ducato X250 chassis. Ducato X250 vehicles carry their starter-battery in a compartment built into the cab floor. ‘Commercial’ X250 Ducatos will normally have their seat-bases empty of fixed equipment and, in motorhome versions, its usually the case that (if the motorhome converter decides to put a leisure-battery, electrical equipment, etc. in a cab-seat base) it will be the base of the passenger-seat that will be chosen. Of course, although a converter might leave the driver’s-seat base empty when the motorhome is built (and it’s the driver’s-seat that Steve would like to lower) that won’t prevent motorhome owners from subsequently shoehorning batteries/equipment into that seat-base if they feel in the mood! Hopefully Steve will have already confirmed that there is nothing in his Bolero’s driver’s-seat base to inhibit a lowered seat-base being fitted as, if there were a tall battery there, there might well be insufficient clearance above that battery if a lowered base were installed. In fact, it will be seen from the Jennings Seats website that a lowered seat-base for 2000-onwards Ford Transits is only offered for the passenger side. This is because Transits of that era always carry their starter-battery in the driver’s-seat base with not much clearance between the top of the battery and the seat above it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandlisa Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 Yes, as you say Derek this exactly my Bolero`s seat arrangement. All that is under the drivers seat is the plastic storage tray which I would not miss if I had to loose it. Oopps sorry meant to have attached this to the above. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Many years ago I had a lowered seat box fitted to a Rapido. Total transformation much more comfortable to drive. Untill we had it fitted I used to dread hill starts where I had great difficulty reaching the handbrake lever. Just for the record I'm a shorty with short arms and legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap44 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 My old Rapido that has just been sold had a lower drivers seat than the passengers. It still swivel ed but hit the seat belt point so did not go all the way round to face the rear. So no help sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandlisa Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 Colin Leake - 2016-11-16 7:18 PM Many years ago I had a lowered seat box fitted to a Rapido. Total transformation much more comfortable to drive. Untill we had it fitted I used to dread hill starts where I had great difficulty reaching the handbrake lever. Just for the record I'm a shorty with short arms and legs. My problem exactly Colin, but I overcame the handbrake problem by fitting the "Cobra handbrake extension" a real worthwhile product if a tad overpriced :-( Maybe when the lower seat box is fitted I might be able to do away with it altogether, not that its a problem though :-) Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 You might find with a lower seat-box that you will not be able to swivel the seat without releasing the hand-brake, but as you currently have a hand-brake extension that might already be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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