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There will of course be a couple of headphone jacks nearby ! Wink Cool
While I usually visualize myself and Dart alone in Putt, my best friend and motorcycle riding buddy Paul has plans to buy a rig, and we have long term plans of traveling together. Well, no doubt there will be situations where the weather is crappy outside and we'll have to hunker down inside the rigs. Which means I have to put another seat in the dinette so we can play dominos in comfort.

Ta-daa!

[Image: IMG_2113-L.jpg]

Like I said before, the battery box is a little tall, so my feet touch the floor but don't have much weight on them...but Paul is taller than I...c'est la vie. Other than that, the position of both seats is great. 

[Image: IMG_2116-L.jpg]

The mock-up table is a bit to short, it'll be a couple of inches higher when I put the permanent one in. I'll also mount the table to the wall with one of these extrusions so that it can slide along the wall.

[Image: TableSupport2.png]

I sat at the table last night with my roommate Tyler and the spacing was dandy. When I slide both seats fully forward on their tracks and recline the rear seat, I can put my feet up on the forward seat and it's nice and comfy. Really happy with the spacing.

But there's another problem. While it doesn't happen much, there will be times when someone travels with me. Well, the stock jump seat in front might as well be a bed of nails. It's super uncomfortable, and there's nowhere to put your feet. A person could do a half hour, maybe, but longer than that is torture. They could, of course, sit at one of the dinette seats, but the taco window will have to be closed when moving so the view would suck.

What to do?

Ah-ha! I've had lots of time to think about that one. The battery box has a top, but the seat is mounted to another matching piece of plywood that clamps into place. The mechanics aren't built yet, but there will be a long block of wood against the wall making a groove the seat plywood slides into. On the walkway side of the seat I cut a long slot in the bottom piece and put block under the top plywood that fits in the groove.

[Image: IMG_2114-L.jpg]

Eventually there will be a couple of holes in the block into which I can insert "R" clips to hold the seat down.


[Image: IMG_2117-L.jpg]

In this pic you can see the two pieces of plywood under the forward dinette seat and how they stick out a bit. On the other side of the walkway you can just make out a block of wood I screwed into the cabinet. Eventually there will be a long cover over the water tank there making a lip that runs the length of the cabinet. 

Sooooooooooo, I can lift the seat lift the seat out of the groove and flip it around 180 degrees.

[Image: IMG_2112-L.jpg]

When the cabinet doors and drawers are built, they'll be flush against the top of the seat platform keeping it locked in place.

Voila! A comfy passenger seat. If you slide it all the way forward on its runners you can get a pretty decent view outside. Got to work on the seat belt situation, but that will come along eventually.
Mighty nice pre planning !
That seat will be copied by everyone that sees it for sure ......
(11-14-2017, 02:26 PM)rvpopeye Wrote: [ -> ]Mighty nice pre planning !
That seat will be copied by everyone that sees it for sure ......


I was going to say they'd need to be doing a step van build similar to mine...but in some cases some folks would benefit from having a driver's seat that could flip around. It could easily be done with a passenger seat in a van as long as the sliders are mounted horizontally. Also, you gain an inch and a half of height with the two 3/4" ply, so that changes seat height some. Still, it's doable.

Oh....and yeah, I've thought a LOT about Putt.

Here I am thinking about that seat two years ago.

[Image: PuttTyllSitting-L.jpg]
You'll be coming up with modifications as long as you own it !
(11-14-2017, 03:16 PM)rvpopeye Wrote: [ -> ]You'll be coming up with modifications as long as you own it !

I've come to that realization. At first I said to myself I'll never be done...then my attitude slowly changed and I look at all the future stuff as part of a lifestyle. Building a home will be an ongoing process.

However, I do have a goal in mind of doing all the stuff that has to be done before I move into it...which is one year in my head. And then I have another goal of being ready for international travel, which is somewhere in the 3-4 year timeframe. After that it'll be mostly decorations and piddly stuff.
Holy crap, that's brilliant!!!
If you are worried or concerned about ground clearance you can always go up...

[Image: liftedstepvan.jpg]
Actually, I am thinking about those "big single" dually replacements. I could probably get a an inch more clearance with a two inch larger diameter tire; no rocks stuck between the duallies; front and rear tire tracking; and more floatation in sand with air down. Cost a pretty penny, but I've heard good things.

Blacktank

just imagined

a cap a little wider than both the dually tires with aggressive tread,mounted like chains with straps or clasps for use off road
take something like those swampers and leave the sidewalls and incase the duallies
i get a cut of the net$$$
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