What do you have in your cab?

[biggoolies]

It would be interesting to find out how others have equipped their cabs with electronics and other items. I have a blank canvas to start with. And where the heck do you put better speakers as there does not seem to be much room in the dash for them!
Darcy

 

[whatcharterboat]

It would be interesting to find out how others have equipped their cabs with electronics and other items. I have a blank canvas to start with. And where the heck do you put better speakers as there does not seem to be much room in the dash for them!
Darcy

Darcy,

What model do you have? No matter what, you should just be able to cut in some decent 6" into the bottom of the doors, some tweeters into the top of the pillars ......sorry no room for a sub unless you've got a crewcab, then that will fit under the seat. Ditch the dash speaker all together.

We are lucky at work. One of our electricians spent 10 years in car audio , won trophys at Auto Salon, etc.....so we've played around a fair bit with this. What ever you can do to sound deaden the cab will be a plus too.

Best of luck. John.

 

[biggoolies]

model Fg

My truck is a 2006. I didn't think about the doors. Thanks.

 

[blackduck]

my FG cab



I to started with an empty cab
i decided to keep the stock drivers seat and got a passenger bucket from a truck wreckers
first up i carpeted the floor using underlay and water resistant carpet (this keeps the road noise down)
the consoles were all custom built to siut and fit snugly between the seats
sheepskin seat covers make all the diffrence but if i was to do it again id put stratos seats in
best place for speakers is in the roof console and an upgrade of the door speakers with good 6" cones completes the job
the roof console is easy built secured between the mirror and fluro light mounts
ive also got the standard windshield mount GPS and rear view camera and a suction cup video camera mount for the home movies
i have control of all my toys from inside the cab including my onboard air compressor
and finaly we even have a platform for the wifes parrot who travels with us

 

[SkiFreak]

...but if i was to do it again id put stratos seats in

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the Stratos seats are not worth the money?
When referring to Stratos seats I call them my "Kmart seats", 'cause that's what their build quality reminds me of. At two grand a seat I certainly expected something better. Unfortunately, these are the only ADR approved suspension seats for a Canter in Australia so there are not really any other options here.
In my opinion they are not a great suspension seat at all. Changing the angle of the back affects how the suspension mechanism works too; the straighter up the worse it works.
Definitely would not be a seat that I would recommend to anyone.

 

[DontPanic42]

What would you recommend over the Stratos? The Stratos looks to be an easy replacement with minimum modifications. Others I have seen appear to require more modifications than I am prepared to do. I am not hung up on the Stratos just a good seat that will be a quick an easy fit. Will appreciate any help.

 

[gait]

don't forget the grab bag with PLB and a few survival essentials. Move the cigarette lighter socket so the GPS plug doesn't get tangled in the 4wd gearstick and blow the lighter fuse. A radio which accepts a USB stick (though after listening to our entire music collection several times we usually leave it off). Some tape to stop books falling out of the overhead space. Somewhere for biscuits and nibbles and stopping warm jackets falling on the floor. Something to limit the sunshine through the top of the windscreen. Something to balance the netbook on as it slides off the steering wheel. Stratos seats (as I lacked time to do anything else) for both drivers and retained middle seat (for mandatory Chinese guide). I'll wait until wireless tyre pressure sensors come down in price before adding.

My limited understanding of changing/adding seats in Qld is that as long as the chain of mounts (so many sq mm with appropriate bolt sizes etc) for seats and seat belts is compliant any engineer will sign off the mod. Check first, do the mod, get the sign off, change the rego. Engineer even provided the mouts when I put Lexus seats in a Toyota Coaster.

 

[whatcharterboat]

My limited understanding of changing/adding seats in Qld is that as long as the chain of mounts (so many sq mm with appropriate bolt sizes etc) for seats and seat belts is compliant any engineer will sign off the mod.

Hi Julian,

Nah. The reason the Stratos seat is the only compliant aftermarket suspenion seat is because the squab to the roof measurement is greater than the minimum given in the ADRs ( 900mm I think, would have to check). ISRIs are a much better suspension seat but the base is too high. The Stratos still hold up well in commercial situations. I have seen springs break but it's an easy fix.

So it's not just a matter of the right size bolts and mounting.

Regards
John.

 

[bptp7270]

Hi John,

I wonder if the factory suspension seat that is in the new model will retro fit? I do agree that the finish on the stratos could be better.

 

[blackduck]

I had set of basic stratos seats in my cruiser and with a set of sheepskins on them thought they were ok (but im easily pleased)
if your happy with the stock drivers seat picking up a passenger seat from a higher model japanese truck will give you somthing thats comfortable and fits at a low low price
you then have a heap of space to play with for consoles etc

 

[SkiFreak]

I do agree that the finish on the stratos could be better.

Hmmmmm... now there's an understatement. In my opinion it's crap, made worse by how much they cost.

Without elaborating too much on my "rubbish Stratos seats" theme, I will say that the Stratos seats are reasonably comfortable and that having some form of suspension is definitely better than having none at all.
The current model does come with nicer fabric than is on mine but the seat trim is still well below par when compared to something like a Recaro. It is definitely true that these seats can be supplied with mounting brackets making installation very simple, but that is a small plus in my opinion.

I totally agree with John that the Isri seat is a far superior suspension seat. It is really unfortunate that these will not fit in the Canter. If they did fit I would have absolutely no hesitation in fitting these.
As to an alternative to the Stratos... really, there isn't one when it comes to suspension seats for the Canter; not if you want to stay legal that is.
I have not seen the new Canter's OEM suspension seat, but that may be a viable alternative, the caveat being that I do not think this would be a cheap solution. Sourcing one of these from a wrecker would probably be a major challenge and buying a new one... can't imagine how much that would cost.

Bottom line: If I had my time over again I doubt that I would choose to buy the Stratos suspension seats. Personally, I don't think that they are worth the cost.

 

[mab]

Hi John,
While the topic of the stratos seats is current, I recall you mentioning that you had the oportunity to test them while inverted, and were pleased with their ability to hold you in place! I am having them fited to my FG and feel that any improvment over the standard seats has got to be good. options are limited, but one option is better than none?

 

[SkiFreak]

...but one option is better than none

Well, that is true I guess. It's just a pity that the quality does not reflect the price.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Anthony, How are you?

I wonder if the factory suspension seat that is in the new model will retro fit? I do agree that the finish on the stratos could be better.

Probably. The B71 cab is almost the same but the new OEM suspension seat mechanism is very basic by comparison to the Stratos....and only available for the driver. I doubt you'll find one at a wrecker for some time to come either.

I find the Stratos very comfortable on long hauls and bouncing around on really rough stuff too. Have driven an NPS with the Recaro trampoline seat and while they're really good quality, they don't seem to work as well as the Stratos either.......I suppose it might come down to the age old question: "Does my bum look big in this?"

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi John,
While the topic of the stratos seats is current, I recall you mentioning that you had the oportunity to test them while inverted, and were pleased with their ability to hold you in place! I am having them fited to my FG and feel that any improvment over the standard seats has got to be good. options are limited, but one option is better than none?

Wish you hadn't reminded me of that. Yes. They were truly excellent while cartwheeling at a 100 kph but I doubt they'll use that as a sales pitch !!!! .....there was no way I would want to have been in the OEM passenger's seat back then. The front right corner took nearly all the initial impact so there was plenty of G's sideways and one thing those Stratos seats have is good lateral support.

Regards John.