EB50 Layout with Extra Captain's Chair

puahone · 03-03-2010, 02:26 AM

Hey Folks,

Looking forward to designing a SMB. I have 4 kids and need to be able to comforably seat them all for longish trips, (e.g. 4-5 hours). Anyone have any experience with the standard EB 50 Layout with an extra captain's seat? (To seat 2 Adults and 4 Kids?) Pictures?

Anyone else out there routinely seat 6-8 people (friends!) in their Van and have any thoughts on what you did right/might do differently next time?

Talked to Alan at SMB about doing two front facing rows of seats but he stated they had never installed seats like that before.

Thanks in advance for your advice, information.

Excited!

Puahone

bitburger · 03-03-2010, 09:15 AM

Puahone,

Check out my gallery.

I have the EB 52 which has 4 captains chairs and the forward facing bench (similar to the 50).

You gain the seating, you lose the open feel of the 50 and the generous counter tops.

I wouldn't choose this if we were just two people but for two parents and two (or more) kids, it's a good layout.

The EB52 used to be a standard layout but is no longer listed.

-Mark

my3kids · 03-04-2010, 08:17 AM

My wife and I have been round and round over the seating issue. We have 3 kids (7, 7, 3) and still haven't found a layout that works well enough for us. We're not crazy about the gaucho layouts even though they have plenty of seatbelts. The sideways seating while moving forward may seem weird for the kids. We also thought of adding an extra captains chair but it looked like it would take up too much space.

Our current line of thinking is staying with the factory 3 (or in your case 4) person bench and working the rest of the layout around that. Factory shoulder belts would be retained so no concerns there. For us we'd keep the 2nd row bench and remove the 3rd and 4th rows. For you maybe do the opposite, keep the last row (the 4 person bench) and removing the rest.

So once you have the seating arrangements ironed out may I ask how you're tackling the sleeping arrangements? Maybe setup a tent for the kids? We've also been round and round over this and our current plan is to have SM build the PH bed to be longer than usual. Put the 3 kids up in the PH while Mom+Dad sleep on the van floor vacated by the removal of the 3rd and 4th row benches. (I measured and there's plenty of length.) There's even more room if we have an extended length van.

As the kids older and presumably larger this idea won't work forever. I think that'll be okay because at some point the kids won't want to tag along with Mom+Dad because it'll be uncool.

Hope this helps™,
Ray

sluggo · 03-17-2010, 05:32 AM

Hi,

My girlfriend and I were looking for the very same vehicle and we found it at Sportsmobile TX. As typical parents, we truck around 4 kids (sometimes 8) and a dog, bicycles, sports equipment, etc... In addition we spend long days at the kid’s sports activities. Instead of a mini-van, we now have a "Maxi-Van” that can hold 12 in seat belts, and we are completely satisfied. You can see our rig on thier site:

http://www.sportsmobile.com/z-IS_texas.html scroll down to unit 2713

http://www.sportsmobile.com/3_tourvans.html we are the red interior van halfway down the page.

What we have is a 2007 Sprinter LB, front to back it is set up like this: Driver/passenger seat, 22’ fold-down TV screen, 4 captain chairs, then two couches facing each other (that convert into a bed) a refrigerator/microwave/convection oven stack on one side, with the other side a stack of storage cabinets and a marine toilet. Finally, the back of the van is open for storage of equipment, as well as a compartment for a Honda 2000 generator. We have a 12’ awning and a roof A/C unit. We have towed motorcycles, Jet-Ski’s and bicycles without an issue.

The marine toilet is a lifesaver! If you have kids, you know that every 13 minutes and 45 seconds someone has to pee. And apparently some law of nature prohibits them from going at the same time. We have saved countless hours of driving time with the marine toilet. The same goes for the refrigerator and microwave. Kids are always hungry, and the convenience of popping in a hot dog or getting them a cold water has saved us a ton of time (and money) since we don’t have to pull off the road and go to a fast food joint.

For parents, this unit rocks! We can go to the kids sporting events (or tailgate), crank out the awning, and enjoy a beverage while the kids do their cheerleading or sports. We usually become the focal point of an adult gathering by the end of the day. Our mileage usually ranges between 16-22 mpg, depending on what we are towing or how fast we are going. The rig is a little long, but I would never give up all of the space.

The crew at Sportsmobile, TX was awesome during our build, and we are actually heading out there to have a few modifications made this summer. The fit and finish, and quality of materials are great. If you are interested in more details, e-mail me at gijoe9959@gmail.com. I’ll try to add a few pics to this post.

jage · 03-17-2010, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sluggo

http://www.sportsmobile.com/z-IS_texas.html scroll down to unit 2713

Love the "time out!" closet in back.

sluggo · 03-17-2010, 03:13 PM

HA!

The first link is what the van originally looked like. The people who originally designed it never could secure financing. We saw it and made a bunch of modifications. The final product is on the second link, about halfway down the page (yep... That us in the picture). You can see that it has walk-through access from the front to back.

I'm telling you... This was the best thing we have ever purchased. We are taking out to the Grand Canyon and Colorado this summer tent-camping. Cant wait! Here are some Pics...