Rear Bench Seat: Belstaff vs Station Wagon Models

[G-Man]

So do we have a definitive comparison yet on what the legroom for rear passengers looks like between the cargo-biased SW and passenger biased Fieldmaster/Trailmaster models? I'm just wondering how much my kids are going to hate me for opting for the SW model.

Apologies if this is answered elsewhere, I did do a quick forum search before posting, honest

 

[DCPU]

 

[G-Man]

Thanks @DCPU, I've seen the 'virtual' information, I was hoping that the lucky folks who've seen the vehicle in the flesh have borne witness to both rear bench configurations and have real-world experience of available legroom. The SW configuration is going cause me grief if it's effectively a 2+2 and only vertically challenged people can sit comfortably in the rear

 

[DCPU]

If that's the case, then I'm not sure how any third party view is going to help.

It really is a seat of the pants question ~ rather like the RHD footrest.

 

[beanohallett]

8 .8 cm shorter in the commercial version than the Fieldmaster version.

The question is - how difficult is it to move the rear bench?? cant be that much of a job? obviously I'm not advocating cheating the tax...

 

[Ever Pragmatic]

8 .8 cm shorter in the commercial version than the Fieldmaster version.

The question is - how difficult is it to move the rear bench?? cant be that much of a job? obviously I'm not advocating cheating the tax...

View attachment 7795809

I’m in this “club” as well. I’m sure relocating the seat mounts will be possible but it’ll be interesting to see how the seat pitch / rake can be changes. The UW bench looks upright and perhaps a tad uncomfortable for a long trip. When we did the test drive, it didn’t really seem to be an issue but we’ll know for sure in 60 days or so…!

 

[Mountain guy]

Does any one know the distance between the back of the front seat and the rear door when the back seat is folded down?

 

[ECrider]

Floor Length behind 1st Row [mm] 1795mm according to UK brochure for the Belstaffs, not sure why blank for SW

 

[DCPU]

Maybe because it's not a flat surface?

And to get such a measurement, in a straight line, it would be at the height of the windows:

 

[Mountain guy]

Excellent! Thanks for the info.

 

[ECrider]

Maybe because it's not a flat surface?

And to get such a measurement, in a straight line, it would be at the height of the windows:

View attachment 7795823

Belstaff versions not flat either I would've assumed? Must be a reason that I'm not grasping? That photo above is Bstaff or SW?

 

[DCPU]

I'm not certain but it looks like a Belstaff with the position of the seat back brackets and the lack of gap on the lower seat rear trim.

 

[beanohallett]

The photo attached is from the P002 I drove in Firle Place a couple of weeks ago, its the station wagon version, rather than the belstaff version. The drive was fabulous and grinned ear to ear throughout, especially the drive through the pond and the dash up the gallop

On the Belstaff version the panel on the floor just to the rear of the seat mount is not there, ie the whole seat is moved 88mm towards the rear, this was born out by the floor fixings where the seat pad attaches to the floor in the 2nd set of doors, there are 2 fixing points .

The rear leg room in the SW is quite tight and as previously mentioned the seats upright, but ok for children and compact adults, I would guess anyone over 5' 92 would find it uncomfortable.

I would guess, that the whole bench can be moved back into the same position as the belstaff editions with a good mechanic, torex fixings throughout , all the fixing mounts seem to be there and the only thing [i think] which would need changing would be the trim cover where the upright seat engages the top bow fixing. giving more leg room, but in the UK this may mean its not a commercial any more but it would take a very astute person to pick that up!

The practicality of doing this should be discoverable when we get access tot he technical manual and drawings once received the Grenadier.

Kind regards Garry

 

[Deepblue]

The more I read about these two different positions of back seat think about the following: Most of the time comfortable seat and leg room is prio. And then there are these few moments when few cm / mm of additional space in cargo area make a difference.
Wouldn’t it be great if seat could be fixed in two different positions with just a few screws? Know this is nothing IA will do for the different taxation. Yet maybe the collective brain power of forum enthusiasts here come up with an easy diy way.

 

[rovie]

The photo attached is from the P002 I drove in Firle Place a couple of weeks ago, its the station wagon version, rather than the belstaff version. The drive was fabulous and grinned ear to ear throughout, especially the drive through the pond and the dash up the gallop

On the Belstaff version the panel on the floor just to the rear of the seat mount is not there, ie the whole seat is moved 88mm towards the rear, this was born out by the floor fixings where the seat pad attaches to the floor in the 2nd set of doors, there are 2 fixing points .

The rear leg room in the SW is quite tight and as previously mentioned the seats upright, but ok for children and compact adults, I would guess anyone over 5' 92 would find it uncomfortable.

I would guess, that the whole bench can be moved back into the same position as the belstaff editions with a good mechanic, torex fixings throughout , all the fixing mounts seem to be there and the only thing [i think] which would need changing would be the trim cover where the upright seat engages the top bow fixing. giving more leg room, but in the UK this may mean its not a commercial any more but it would take a very astute person to pick that up!

The practicality of doing this should be discoverable when we get access tot he technical manual and drawings once received the Grenadier.

Kind regards Garry

If everything goes according to plan, I should be able to send you a photo of my Belstaff with the cargo barrier at the end of January. As I posted before, I wanted the half-height barrier, but Ineos changed it to the full-height one. I have accepted and am looking into it. If it really is the full height, I will use an angle grinder and welder to adapt the barrier to my needs. I can then send photos and do-it-yourself instructions.

 

[DCPU]

Yet maybe the collective brain power of forum enthusiasts here come up with an easy diy way.

Answer could be relatively simple for the floor:

It is after all one of it's principle uses:

 

[bigleonski]

The more I read about these two different positions of back seat think about the following: Most of the time comfortable seat and leg room is prio. And then there are these few moments when few cm / mm of additional space in cargo area make a difference.
Wouldn’t it be great if seat could be fixed in two different positions with just a few screws? Know this is nothing IA will do for the different taxation. Yet maybe the collective brain power of forum enthusiasts here come up with an easy diy way.

Surely it would be as simple as putting the rear seat on a small slide like many other manufacturers do.

 

[DaveB]

Surely it would be as simple as putting the rear seat on a small slide like many other manufacturers do.

Unlike a normal rear seat this one does have a lot of stuff under it which has to be taken into account.

 

[bigleonski]

Yeah I’ll have to have a good look at that set up to see if it makes sense for me.
It’s a real shame the trialmaster doesn’t come with a lithium dual battery set up. If they’re aiming for best in class they missed that boat. I haven’t been able to find any specs on the accessory battery set up. Sorry for the topic hijack.

 

[DaveB]

Yeah I’ll have to have a good look at that set up to see if it makes sense for me.
It’s a real shame the trialmaster doesn’t come with a lithium dual battery set up. If they’re aiming for best in class they missed that boat. I haven’t been able to find any specs on the accessory battery set up. Sorry for the topic hijack.

They said the C-tek unit that comes with the battery unit is capable of taking lithium if you wanted to swap the spare battery out.
The spare battery is exactly the same as the main battery so you could always keep it as a spare.