Ducato Driving Position

Surely most issues could be sorted with a lowered seat base, how hard could that be to do?
 
Surely most issues could be sorted with a lowered seat base, how hard could that be to do?
That’s my point in post #6 but I’d either lose the swivel component or it would entail major reworking, other MHs like mine may also house electrical equipment beneath the swivel mechanism. I’d like to hear of any suitable options
 
Not sure about yours Simon, I had a few cables under mine at first but I move them to put the two LBs under there, I Think a simple cut and shut might work, maybe buy a used base to play with, 50mm would be about right I think 75mm if you're a real beanpole, doesn't have to be exact just equal as they have rise n fall levers on the seat.
 
PHEW!!

Pricey

£120 seems quite reasonable, Kev, given that Dometic want £36.11 for the plastic clip that holds the fridge door open when powered down; or £67+ if you need the metal latch plus plastic clip ...

Steve
 
get a coach built, no problems with mine except they put the battery under the seat and the seat is very heavy. Both my son and son in law (both builders) have a job lifting it in the restricted location and for me at 80 it is nearly impossible.
 
get a coach built, no problems with mine except they put the battery under the seat and the seat is very heavy. Both my son and son in law (both builders) have a job lifting it in the restricted location and for me at 80 it is nearly impossible.
Might be a bit OTT for most people
 
Surely most issues could be sorted with a lowered seat base, how hard could that be to do?
On the VW Transporters, it is fairly common to cut off a part of the seat base to lower it in order to counteract for the increased height of the swivel plates. If you have (or know) a welder, it is very easy to do as just a matter of slicing off the bottom couple of inches and then welding some plates to replace the mounting bolt plates that you ended up cutting off. You cut the bottom off, not the top and so the seat mounts just as before.
I don't think there is anything as standard in a Ducato which would be a problem if the base was chopped, but for EBL equipped Motorhomes where the EBL has been fitted under the passenger seat, the top of the EBL is quite close the the base top. Also there is a LIthium Battery (ecotree?) that has an "SB" (for Seat Base) housing designed for mounting in a Ducato and I would expect that must have the standard height base for it to fit.

£120 for a lowered single seat base is an ok price as the single bases themselves can be pretty expensive. For my VW LT (Sprinter), I ended up getting a drivers Seat base to fit on the passenger sides and 'tweaking' the mountings as the passenger side base was more than double the cost.

I have swivels on my seats so they are a couple of inches at least higher than standard and I don't have any issues with the seats being too high or restricting views out the front/side.
 
Cutting and welding the 06> Ducato bases will be awkward as it's tubes not plate, and lots of them, also the seat belt retractor point needs to be maintained.
 
Not a good idea to standardise a large fleet , if parts drie up a larger portion of the fleet could be grounded in proportion to a mixed vehicle fleet .
 
Not a good idea to standardise a large fleet , if parts drie up a larger portion of the fleet could be grounded in proportion to a mixed vehicle fleet .
... but by standardising you reduce the number of different parts that are needed and so can more effectively stockpile to ensure availability no matter what the subsequent availability from retailers. This is how the military work -- and that's one organisation that cannot risk a dearth of spares.
 
... but by standardising you reduce the number of different parts that are needed and so can more effectively stockpile to ensure availability no matter what the subsequent availability from retailers. This is how the military work -- and that's one organisation that cannot risk a dearth of spares.
And explains the mountains of 'obselete' stuff that is ridded off by the MOD on a regular basis as obselete for utter peanuts.
 
And explains the mountains of 'obselete' stuff that is ridded off by the MOD on a regular basis as obselete for utter peanuts.
Not really. Spares only become obsolete when the supported equipment does. The stuff you see in 'Army Surplus' stores is equipment that has been withdrawn from service (i.e. replaced by more up-to-date equipment) or has become surplus due to slimming down of the units that used it. In order to ensure serviceability, the spare parts supply chain logistics are built into the acquisition and adoption of equipment. By reducing the number of items in their inventory, the military reduce the number of items for which spares must be held, and hence the overall spares holding. This also reduces the "mountains of 'obsolete' stuff" that is disposed of when an item is replaced.
 
... but by standardising you reduce the number of different parts that are needed and so can more effectively stockpile to ensure availability no matter what the subsequent availability from retailers. This is how the military work -- and that's one organisation that cannot risk a dearth of spares.
Many Emergency service vehicles are maintained by private companies as many in house repair stations were privatised in the mid 2000 to cut costs , I would have thought MOD is run by goverment , ambulance services etc run by many local government councils .mutch smaller fleets compared to MOD
 
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