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Old 09-28-2019, 10:16 AM   #1
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Leg Room in the New Classic 4x4

I have a 1998 E250 SMB. I love it and I love driving in it - well, from the buttocks and up. At 6'-2", I find the leg room to very cramped requiring a stop to stretch my legs about every 2 hours or so.

I'm seriously considering the new Classic and wonder if anyone has compared the driver's side leg room between it and the older E250. How's the leg room on the passenger side?

Thanks!

Terry

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Old 09-28-2019, 11:28 AM   #2
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Leg Room

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Originally Posted by wander View Post
I have a 1998 E250 SMB. I love it and I love driving in it - well, from the buttocks and up. At 6'-2", I find the leg room to very cramped requiring a stop to stretch my legs about every 2 hours or so.

I'm seriously considering the new Classic and wonder if anyone has compared the driver's side leg room between it and the older E250. How's the leg room on the passenger side?

Thanks!

Terry
It's a van with the doghouse in your face How's it gonna change
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Old 09-28-2019, 11:41 AM   #3
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It's a van with the doghouse in your face How's it gonna change
The published leg room for the 1998 E250 is 40.0" while the published leg room for the 2019 E350 Cutaway is 42.1", so there's that.
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Old 09-28-2019, 11:55 AM   #4
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As far as I know, the floor pans in the cab area of E-series from 1992-2014 (through current E-series cab & chassis' like the SMB Classic) have not had any significant changes in shape, though the newest ones have different available powertrains, so... maybe?

Another thing to consider is there is no lack of headroom, so you can use that to your advantage to gain legroom. What I mean by that is that you can raise your seat, and move it backwards with little risk of running out of headroom. I'd wager you could go up & back 2-3" which should be plenty. I'm 6'5" and only raised my seat 5/8" (just plate washers between the seat base and swivel) and could already appreciate the difference.
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Old 09-28-2019, 11:57 AM   #5
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As far as I know, the floor pans in the cab area of E-series from 1992-2014 (through current E-series cab & chassis' like the SMB Classic) have not had any significant changes in shape, though the newest ones have different available powertrains, so... maybe?

Another thing to consider is there is no lack of headroom, so you can use that to your advantage to gain legroom. What I mean by that is that you can raise your seat, and move it backwards with little risk of running out of headroom. I'd wager you could go up & back 2-3" which should be plenty. I'm 6'5" and only raised my seat 5/8" (just plate washers between the seat base and swivel) and could already appreciate the difference.
Thanks, TheLetterJ, good input.
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Old 09-28-2019, 02:03 PM   #6
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Biggest problem with motorhomes and campervans is how tight the build the cabinets behind the seat. And then that's often made worse with rv-spec lazy boy grade seats. The class is likely isn't built as tight behind the driver seat, and they should be able to add extra space as needed if you buy new
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Old 09-28-2019, 07:47 PM   #7
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Biggest problem with motorhomes and campervans is how tight the build the cabinets behind the seat. And then that's often made worse with rv-spec lazy boy grade seats. The class is likely isn't built as tight behind the driver seat, and they should be able to add extra space as needed if you buy new
Bring this up during your build and SMB will accommodate for the extra needed room. It's what I did and have plenty of room behind the back seat to recline comfortably when I need to or even modify the seat to get some more leg room which I've considered. The only thing that's stopped me is how those couple/few inches could affect the relationship between the driver and the seat belt and air bag in a collision. That being said I'd love to be able to slide back just 2-3 more inches for more leg room.
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Old 09-30-2019, 11:26 AM   #8
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Thanks, Oogs. I'll definitely do that.
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Old 09-30-2019, 04:53 PM   #9
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Oogs, that's one thing I would change on mine to have a little more room to recline the driver's seat. Also, I sat in a couple new Class C RVs on E350s and it seemed like they had modified the motor box slightly to make it easier to go from the driver's seat to the back of the van. Not much, but anything helps.
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Old 09-30-2019, 06:30 PM   #10
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Also, I sat in a couple new Class C RVs on E350s and it seemed like they had modified the motor box slightly to make it easier to go from the driver's seat to the back of the van. Not much, but anything helps.
The engine cover hasn't changed from '97 to current. However, in 2009 Ford introduced a much better console cover. It's an easy 1-minute retrofit on the older vans



Ford also sold this low-rent "slim-line" cover:


And one of the RV makers (Winnebago maybe?) made this nicer version of the slim-line cover:


But I think the 09+ OEM version is the best balance of function and accessibility.
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