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Old 04-05-2015, 09:30 AM   #1
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Family of 4 and a E350 V10 RB on the way: Safe Seats?

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking on and off for a year and we finally have an E350 V10 RB Cargo on the way. We will most likely add a CCV, 4x4 conversion, but to want to keep the interior simple.

Attached is the layout I imagine. Basically my wife wants a large comfy bed in the van itself - think queen size bed. I want it removable though for trips I might do on my own and we can make that happen.



If I go bench seat it has to go across the whole van, have 2 headrests, and 2 shoulder belts and 1 lap belt - this one folds down into a bed that would be flush with an additional sleeping platform and a thin mattress would cover both the platform and flat seat to make the bed. It can be ordered with a lap belt in the middle and three point belts for the sides but I'd have to figure out how to attach them to the wall of the van. It can also have quick release attachment points on the floor. I found this at:
http://www.imageseating.com/



It's looks leave a lot to be desired so if you know of more attractive options that would be nice. If attaching those three point belts to the wall of the van is impossible then I need to source a bench seat that folds to a bed with integrated shoulder belts and that has proved problematic.

If that is impossible then I'd probably have to go with two captains chairs, and a sleeping platform behind them and loose the living room feel:



We would get a Kitchen Galley to attach to the door and likely add storage as we go but start out with a bunch of removable bins under the sleeping platform including a porta-potty. Solar shower would hang off the back doors. Gotta figure out water storage too - could possibly add that to the undercarriage.

What do you think?
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Cord sofa summit .jpg  
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File Type: pdf B_FORD_RB.pdf (129.7 KB, 10 views)

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Old 04-05-2015, 04:08 PM   #2
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Re: Family of 4 and a E350 V10 RB on the way: Safe Seats?

If I can get a safer and more modern feel that would be excellent. A third option is that the bench seat or captains chairs could fold forward and be flat and then bed could go over the backs as long as I build the platform flush with the folded chair.
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Old 04-13-2015, 03:24 PM   #3
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Re: Family of 4 and a E350 V10 RB on the way: Safe Seats?

We have an EB50 setup and i can get all three kids in the bench seat. I purchased three point harnesses from summit racing and installed them to the same bar that the lap belts attach to. All my kids are young so we got around the head rest by using booster seats that work fine with the three point belts.

We just spent seven days camping with all five of us in the van. We got an extended bed in the penthouse so all three kids are up top.
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Old 04-17-2015, 10:42 PM   #4
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Re: Family of 4 and a E350 V10 RB on the way: Safe Seats?

We ended up getting some Toyota Sienna bucket recliners and will put the bed behind them for now. Hoping the AC blows cold on this thing because I'm paranoid we should have gotten a passenger van to keep the back end cool.
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Old 04-18-2015, 07:39 AM   #5
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Re: Family of 4 and a E350 V10 RB on the way: Safe Seats?

We do not have rear air but in Florida with 85 degree heat we had no problem keeping the rear of the van cool. This was with 80-90% humidity also.

There is also a pretty cool build on here about how to install a home window a/c into a penthouse top. I copied this with a few changed and we had a cool a/c all night long that only cost $150. The a/c only works when you are plugged in to 120v power but this is when you need it most.
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Old 04-18-2015, 07:52 AM   #6
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Re: Family of 4 and a E350 V10 RB on the way: Safe Seats?

Does anyone know of any aftermarket headrests that could be retro fitted onto the stock RB50/EB50 bench seat?

Our 4 yr old is in a full height booster seat but the 7yr has no real head rest and on longer trips she is always trying to get comfy (and the added safety feature would keep mama happy as well...)

Curious if you could somehow rig up std adjustable headrests into the frame work of the SMB bench seat. I know it would never meet any sort of fed/DOT standards but if it improved the no headrest safety even a little bit I'd be all for it.
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Old 04-18-2015, 07:57 AM   #7
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Re: Family of 4 and a E350 V10 RB on the way: Safe Seats?

Quote:
Originally Posted by alta825
Does anyone know of any aftermarket headrests that could be retro fitted onto the stock RB50/EB50 bench seat?
Easiest way is probably to just get a booster that your kid will fit in to. Safer way to travel even for older kids, and I find our son likes to sit higher so he can see out the windows better, even though he doesn't need to be in a booster anymore.

Other than that, if you really want bench with a headrest, you may need to look into swapping a different bench seat in place of the current one.


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