Drivers seat - extended? 2016 Grand Tour

[Tao]

Just picked up our 2016 Interstate Grand Tour. Beautiful fit and finish is my first impression.

Now, the seat area of the drivers seat (what your butt sits on) could be dramatically more comfortable for me IF it were longer to support my long legs (I'm a little over 6' 4").

Has anyone found a shop that can extend the seat portion? I'd like to be able to match the seat fabric as well, that's in a perfect world solution.

Any other solutions that you've found that worked?

[jerhofer]

BMW M3's and some other manufacturers have seats with a pullout extension. I would look at one of those and try to figure out how they work and see if they could be adapted to the Sprinter seat.

Another possibility would be to make a bracket to support a pad. You could probably attach the bracket to the seat bolts. Any local upholster company could then cover that pad in a matching material.

[k9jackie]

Ask the dealership if they can recommend a local upfitter

[joemikeb]

Check out the Recarro Orthoped seat that has an extendable seat cushion.

[Tao]

Originally Posted by joemikeb

Check out the Recarro Orthoped seat that has an extendable seat cushion.

Wow, that looks like exactly what I've been searching for. Will see if they can match the Airstream fabric.

Thanks for the link!
Jack

[Boxster1971]

Nice seat. Only problem I see is that it does not have the side air bag found on the stock MB seat. Airstream merely recovers the stock seat. Maybe a good auto upholstery shop could just make you a longer bottom cushion.


- - Mike
2013 Interstate Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

[Tao]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Nice seat. Only problem I see is that it does not have the side air bag found on the stock MB seat. Airstream merely recovers the stock seat. Maybe a good auto upholstery shop could just make you a longer bottom cushion.


- - Mike
2013 Interstate Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

Just found the price tag on the seat!!
I'll look for a local auto upholstery shop first!

Hasn't anyone else dealt with this as a problem?

[jtrichel]

Definitely agree with you on this one. It is one of several little things I don't like about the interstate. Not enough to prevent me from ordering one, ours comes off the line on July 7th. But I know that I am going to have to figure something out. I am 6 foot tall and it feels like I am going to fall forward out of the seat. Really, the front 4 captains chairs all lack seat length and general comfort. Its one of my only complaints. My airstream stickers at $160k and for that price the seats should be perfect. My plan is to have a local upholster see what he can do.

[Tao]

Originally Posted by jtrichel

Definitely agree with you on this one. It is one of several little things I don't like about the interstate. Not enough to prevent me from ordering one, ours comes off the line on July 7th. But I know that I am going to have to figure something out. I am 6 foot tall and it feels like I am going to fall forward out of the seat. Really, the front 4 captains chairs all lack seat length and general comfort. Its one of my only complaints. My airstream stickers at $160k and for that price the seats should be perfect. My plan is to have a local upholster see what he can do.

Agreed completely. At 6'4"+ I don't mind having to duck through most of the interior height of the Grand Tour BUT I expect to be able to have my body supported correctly during the long hours of driving.

Besides the seat issue, the only problem I've found so far is the lame set up for the privacy in the cockpit when parked for the night. Who ever came up with that idea figured they had to put something in a bag to look like it would do the job. Fortunately, my wife is making a curtain to mount on a track like what came standard in the Great West Van Legend EX we had before the Interstate.

Other than those two issues, I'm finding the Interstate to be extremely well built compared to the other Sprinter based rigs we've owned. They could have added two 12 volt outlets on the MB dash, top area for radar detector and the back up GPS we carry.

All I can figure is the engineers at Airstream must all be short and exhibitionists.

PS: Wife is annoyed that the oven is only a microwave and not a microwave/convection oven.

[jerhofer]

You have three 12V receptacles in the cab. One in the pull out drink holder, one below the drink holder, and one on the right side of the base of the driver's seat. You have to pull up the seat skirt to see the last one.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Tao

They could have added two 12 volt outlets on the MB dash, top area for radar detector and the back up GPS we carry.

Does any automaker do that?

No matter. You may not be aware, but in the 1DIN-sized panel dead center in the overhead above the rearview mirror, you have a 12vDC pre-wire for the addition of a CB radio or other 1DIN accessory. It would not be difficult to pop off the blank (I find a metal dental pick works great to pry it off), drill it for the installation of two or three 12vDC power outlets, and then wire said outlets into the 12vDC pre-wire, pop the modified blank back in (and make sure that circuit has the right fuse) and presto, more power outlets just as you want— and easier than drilling the top of the dashboard.

[joemikeb]

Originally Posted by jtrichel

I am 6 foot tall and it feels like I am going to fall forward out of the seat. Really, the front 4 captains chairs all lack seat length and general comfort. Its one of my only complaints.

I am 6 foot 2, but I have found that with some fiddling with the available seat tilt, height, seat back tilt, etc. I can adjust the standard seat to be very comfortable for 8 to 12 hours on end. My only complaint is there is no "memory" of the seat position so after my wife has been driving, it inevitably requires no small amount of "fiddling" to restore my comfortable seat adjustment.

I envy bus drivers at Walt Disney World with their power adjustable Recarro seats and numerical settings. They can get it right, the first time, every time. Of course Recarro seats all around would necessitate a noticeable increase in the cost of the AI.

[Tao]

Originally Posted by jerhofer

You have three 12V receptacles in the cab. One in the pull out drink holder, one below the drink holder, and one on the right side of the base of the driver's seat. You have to pull up the seat skirt to see the last one.

I'm familiar with the three outlets BUT none are situated where you can have a second GPS mounted on the dash insert above the instrument cluster plus have a Radar Detector on the windshield and NOT have all of the power cords dangling across the front panel of the dash down to the default 12 volt outlets.

I just finished the start of running my wires directly to the fuse box on the left drivers side panel under the dash. There is a small recessed circular pocket in the horizontal panel above the gauge cluster, on the left. After spending quite a bit of time defining if there was anything that would prevent my drilling out a hole in the bottom of the recess, I took a chance. Drilled a 3/4" hole in the bottom of that recess being ever so careful not to go beyond the thickness of the plastic. Worked perfectly as I was able to snake the GPS and Radar Detector power cords down to the fuse panel.

Now I'm defining the "cleanest" way to tie into the fuse panel. Hoping that the empty fuse "sockets" can be used.

Thus, all cables will be concealed and the dash will look as it should.

[jerhofer]

You may want to look at my post on installing a tire pressure monitor system as I also tapped into the fuse box for power to the monitor. You will see which fuse I used that was hot only with the ignition on.

I ran the wire behind the door rubber molding up to the dash area on the driver's side. No holes drilled. The same technique would work for other devices.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f240...te-131097.html

[Ron_CA]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Does any automaker do that?

No matter. You may not be aware, but in the 1DIN-sized panel dead center in the overhead above the rearview mirror, you have a 12vDC pre-wire for the addition of a CB radio or other 1DIN accessory. It would not be difficult to pop off the blank (I find a metal dental pick works great to pry it off), drill it for the installation of two or three 12vDC power outlets, and then wire said outlets into the 12vDC pre-wire, pop the modified blank back in (and make sure that circuit has the right fuse) and presto, more power outlets just as you want— and easier than drilling the top of the dashboard.

No blank after the 2014.5 models. Entire area covered with felt type material.

[Tao]

Jerry,

That link proved very helpful! I was not aware of the Bussmann device - I'm off to the auto parts store. I need to power the backup GPS, Radar Detector and the TPMS.
This add a device to the fuse block will greatly reduce the problems of installation - and it's cheap!
Thanks for sharing it.

[scarletbison]

Having just driven 2500 miles in 6 days of driving with at least 1 530mile day I can say at 6'2" I was pleasantly surprised at how I felt at the end of the day. With liberal use of cruise control to move my right leg around a bit. No discomfort for me anyway. Of course your mileage may vary.

[73shark]

Personally I (5'8") have found the front seats the most comfortable in any vehicle I've ever owned. I can drive for four hours, get out, and there's no stiffness that needs to be worked out. I drive for two hours in my 2010 Tahoe and it takes five minutes to work the kinks out.