[proeddie]

Thought about buying a swivel for the passenger seat. Kind of expensive for what it does.
In reality, I would only use it in the "facing back" position to provide a seat for conversation, laptopping, etc.

So, I tried it with a stool, then built a storage box (that I was going to build anyway) and sized it to be in the right spot to provide a non-swivel seat.

Then I added about 1" of foam to the back of the passenger seat, which, when cranked forward, becomes the front of the back-facing seat. (unzip seat cover in back, add foam, rezip)

On the back of the cabinet, there is an additional handle like the ones on the side. It latches onto a panel like the one visible on the base of the driver seat. Keeps the box from moving while travelling.

No swivel required... back-facing seat. Very comfortable! Though it might be a non-swivel solution for others!

(ps. my floor is 6" higher than most because I added a "basement". This would work as well for a typical PM floor, just add 6" to the height of the base cabinet.)

 

[MsNomer]

That is truly thinking outside the box. Very clever!!

 

[sidecarnutz]

Genius! I'll be borrowing that idea too! Thank you!

 

[stanw909]

Very interested in your basement. I've thought of doing the same. What can you put there ?

 

[proeddie]

Stan,

The idea for the basement came while I was staring at my empty van, before the start of construction. I decided that being 5' 5" (my wife 5' 3"), I didn't want to waste all the space of a hi roof on air above my head!

By using 6" for a basement, I still get 5' 10" and it will end up at about 5' 8" once the ceiling is done. The usable basement space is actually 4 1/2" high with a 3/4" top and 3/4" bottom plywood floor.

This thread will illustrate:

http://www.promasterforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36953&highlight=basement

There's a 98" x 50" storage space accessible from the back, and a 42" x 50" space accessible from the side door. This alos provided nice wiring troughs for AC and DC wires, plus coax, etc.

The back space is designed so I can go to the 'Depot and carry back 6 sheets of 4'x8' 3/4" plywood or a lot of 2x4s. Normally I have a center joist that keeps the floor from flexing when not carrying full sheets of plywood, but it slides out when I carry full sheets.

For a recent trip, I made 2 sliding drawers that are 24" x 48". We used them for additional clothes. They stored in the rear basement, along with a 24" x 48" folding table and a telescopic ladder.

The side basement carries 2 folding lawn chairs all the time. The rest of the space holds a 14" x 48" drawer for shoe (etc.) storage on a trip.

The original plan was to create a place to carry plywood sheets without messing up the inside of the van, but the drawers and space have provided lots of extra space on a long trip!

 

[proeddie]

That is truly thinking outside the box. Very clever!!

The original plan for INSIDE the box was to provide a place for snacks while travelling. It's easy to access behind the passenger seat and has lots of space... worked well on a recent trip.

I thought about putting the Engel 40 there but it was a bit too big so it landed in the back across from the porta-potti.... convenient, and out of the way.

Speaking of the Engel, the one feature I wish it had was a digital temperature display so I could set-and-forget. I set it at a "2" and it ranged from 33 to 40 on the trip, with inside van temps up to 105! (we weren't in there at the time, but hot FL sun in some parking lots)

I bought an Acurite ref/frz digital thermometer... worked well but killed the batteries in the display every 4 or 5 days. Not good - need to get a replacement, it should last for months.

Rumor has it you're headed our way!

Ed

 

[MsNomer]

Assuming I don't have a transmission problem (see rattle thread), we will be available to visit 24, 25, 26 May.

 

[mobileempire2016]

I much prefer this over a swivel seat , good thinking

 

[mobileempire2016]

Maybe add a nice cushion

 

[proeddie]

Maybe add a nice cushion

me2016,

I thought about a thicker foam cushion, but I also use the top of the box to put stuff on so I wanted a comfortable but firm cushion. I used a piece of 1/2" dense carpet padding and it works well for me.

The back if the seat has an empty space that needed to be filled. I put (2) 1/2" pieces of the same foam there to fill the space.

Ed

 

[farmike]

Thank you, I'm going to copy that.

 

[CParks]

This is brilliant! Definitely going in the idea file!