Melbourne Sprinter seats

[RVJayhawk]

Our 2017 Melbourne has the pivoting Sprinter driver and passenger seats. Since the rig is stationary for a few weeks and I have time on my hands, I have attacked some of our comfort complaints. The mattress problem was solved by purchasing a new one from Tochta, and today I worked on the pivoting seats. I was a little surprised to find they actually "pump" up to a higher position than we had realized. But they were still a little low when they are pivoted to the living area so I cut a couple of 2x2"s and raised the height by 1 1/2 inch. Had to buy some longer M10-150 bolts. And the seats still seem quite okay for their forward position.

[RVJayhawk]

Here is a picture of the seats raised 1 1/2 inch.

[Pfflyer]

Nice. As the only comfortable seat I just recline a little and put up my feet.

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by RVJayhawk

Our 2017 Melbourne has the pivoting Sprinter driver and passenger seats. Since the rig is stationary for a few weeks and I have time on my hands, I have attacked some of our comfort complaints. The mattress problem was solved by purchasing a new one from Tochta, and today I worked on the pivoting seats. I was a little surprised to find they actually "pump" up to a higher position than we had realized. But they were still a little low when they are pivoted to the living area so I cut a couple of 2x2"s and raised the height by 1 1/2 inch. Had to buy some longer M10-150 bolts. And the seats still seem quite okay for their forward position.

Any chance you can show a picture of how / where you installed the “shims”?

[Pfflyer]

I am sure you know all bolts aren't created equal. Make sure you replace them with the proper grade.

[RVJayhawk]

Here is a picture taken from the passenger door opening. The "shims" are 18 1/2 inches long. I bought the longer bolts at Tractor Supply. M10-1.50 x 75. They were a bit long but there were enough threads to tighten. They are grade 8.8 and I am totally confident they would hold up in case of an accident. Mercedes would probably discourage the modification since it has not been engineered and tested. So use at your own risk.

[RVJayhawk]

sorry about the image. For some reason when I load a file it is rotated.

[livewire]

Did you not get seat cushions for the front seats with your unit, ours are about 6 inches high.

[RVJayhawk]

Now we did not get any cushions. Would love to see a picture of them. Do they appear to be a Mercedes item or Jayco?

[livewire]

Jayco as they match our dinette cushions. Our Melbourne 24l is listed as a 2018 on 17 chassis. Will try and get a picture tomorrow.

[livewire]

These were the seat cushions which came with our 2018 Melbourne 24l.

[Pfflyer]

I didnt get one on a 2016.

[livewire]

Two seats came with ours and a somewhat Mickey Mouse curtain for the cab area that we reconfigured with velcro strips to make work. Not sure if dealer ordered them with the units they had for sale but definitely from Jayco as they were same colour and material as dinette cushions. We are in Ontario Canada but shouldn't make any difference.

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by livewire

These were the seat cushions which came with our 2018 Melbourne 24l.

Well that stinks...I didn't get any of those either. Those would help a lot

[Pfflyer]

I got the curtain, which is not long enough to hit all the Velcro tabs or I am too stupid to figure it out. I'm not ruling out either.


Edit: We got the entertainment cab over and I think the curtain we got is for the bunk version.

[campaholix]

Originally Posted by Pfflyer

I got the curtain, which is not long enough to hit all the Velcro tabs or I am too stupid to figure it out. I'm not ruling out either.


Edit: We got the entertainment cab over and I think the curtain we got is for the bunk version.

We have the entertainment version, but no curtain. We monkeyed around with hanging a light weight blanket across the curve of the overhead with clips for the first year, then this past spring I bought a windshield cover that also covers the door windows.
I can “open” a couple sections on each window if we want to see out (they openings have screen materials so it still blocks most of the view looking in). Very happy with it and no more goofing around with an internal curtain that gets in the way of using the seats.

[Pfflyer]

Originally Posted by Dnbgould

We have the entertainment version, but no curtain. We monkeyed around with hanging a light weight blanket across the curve of the overhead with clips for the first year, then this past spring I bought a windshield cover that also covers the door windows.
I can “open” a couple sections on each window if we want to see out (they openings have screen materials so it still blocks most of the view looking in). Very happy with it and no more goofing around with an internal curtain that gets in the way of using the seats.

We are using a homemade 3 piece window cover. We use reflectix covered in fabric and held in place with suction cups. This is what we used in the van as well. It makes it feel like there is more room verses the curtain route. We were never going to use the curtain for that purpose because we discovered in the van that the space seemed larger covering the windows verses a curtain. That is why I never made a big deal about the curtain while we were covered by the warranty. The curtain would come in handy while we are driving so that the chassis AC wouldn't have to work as hard. We are taking shorter trips this year and I have been exercising the generator while moving and running the house AC. My best guestimate is we get about 1/2-1 more MPG's doing this and turning off the chassis AC so the curtain as it turns out hasn't been an issue. I don't know if the seat cushion is a big issue either. Would have liked to have tried that option but I use the front seat reclined when facing the rear so it is almost like a recliner.

[campaholix]

I know this post is sorta old, but for what it's worth, I found out from another Melbourne owner who makes the seat 'cushions'. They're made by MasterCraft for Jayco, specifically for the 2018 and later models that have MasterCraft captains chairs installed...HOWEVER, when I called the factory and asked if I could get some they said "SURE!". I've got material swatches on the way so the boss can pick what color she wants. I can't remember exactly (called 4 places to get prices) but I'm pretty sure they told me about $80 (first Jayco dealer wanted $165, second wanted $148, third wanted $130). Anywho...if you're interested, let me know and I'll dig up the info and forward.

Happy Camping.

[Lathrop Bob]

My 2018 has the most uncomfortable drivers seat of any vehicle I have owned. After 3 1/2 hours of driving I am in agony. I am looking for a replacement seat now. I’ve tried seat cushions and they don’t help.

[Pfflyer]

Originally Posted by Lathrop Bob

My 2018 has the most uncomfortable drivers seat of any vehicle I have owned. After 3 1/2 hours of driving I am in agony. I am looking for a replacement seat now. I’ve tried seat cushions and they don’t help.

I have heard others say the same thing but it is the opposite for me. Both the Sprinter Van I use for work and the Melbourne I have driven 10-12 hours in a day. It is the only vehicle that I have owned that I was able to do that and that includes a couple Cadillac's. I assume you played around with all the adjustments but you may find that your comfortable driving position/seat adjustments in the sprinter will be different than other vehicles you drive. One plus the Sprinter has over the others which helps me is being able to stretch my legs while driving.