# Purpose of folding backrest?



## Spiritofherald (May 18, 2012)

I have an Elddis Expedition 100 with a board that acts as the backrest for the sofa cushion directly behind the drivers seat. No problem so far. This board is attached to a full length hinge and is held up by a catch which, when undone, allows the board to hinge down on to the base of the sofa seat, BUT the hinge is about 2" above the seat base so it cannot fold down flat. The board is not strong enough to take much weight in this position, and it can't sit on top of the cushions as they're about 4" thick, so just what is the purpose of this fold down backrest?


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

possibly so you can get to the back of the seat in front ?


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## ched999uk (Jan 31, 2011)

Also it allows the front seat to recline more than if the board was fixed. I wish my MH had a folding back rest behind the drivers seat. I have always driven in a very reclined, some would say laid back, position. Our MH has a seat back that stops the drivers seat reclining more than about 2 degrees. I think it's a great idea. Can't do it in ours as might be an issue with seat belts.


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

Exactly right the seat can go further back on its runners, its a good idea, the seat on my Apache wont go back far enough as the dinette backrest stops it, i can gain a bit by raising the seat but still cant get it right. On my old Hymer the whole dinnette seat base was on runners so you could slide it back to get the full range of adjustment on the drivers seat.


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## rogerblack (May 1, 2005)

sideways said:


> Exactly right the seat can go further back on its runners, its a good idea, the seat on my Apache wont go back far enough as the dinette backrest stops it, i can gain a bit by raising the seat but still cant get it right. On my old Hymer the whole dinnette seat base was on runners so you could slide it back to get the full range of adjustment on the drivers seat.


Like ched999 I like to have the seat reclined and the base quite far back to accommodate my long legs. Our previous motorhome (Herald Castille) had the long bench seat/bed on the driver's side so no problem; however the Pollensa is the symmetrical opposite and hence had a fixed wooden panel (covered in green carpet & trim) to support the back of the rear facing dinette seat. This meant I wasn't able to get a comfortable driving position and felt squashed up against the screen! 
I took it to Auto-Sleeper at Willersley and they cut the panel off a couple of inches above the seat/bed base and down the side of the bulkhead, fitted a piano hinge to rejoin the two pieces along the bottom and fitted a bolt and catch near the top. This meant that when I drove, I could lay the dinette seat back on its base and fold back the panel to lie against it then adjust the seat to its full extent.

They also re-trimmed the new cut edges and made it all look as if it had been designed that way from the start.

Note that none of this affected the driver seat or seat belt mountings in any way.


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## Spiritofherald (May 18, 2012)

Thanks everyone. That all makes sense as the seat could then recline (although I prefer to use the sofa for napping) and maybe it was an aftermarket modification in the same way as Rogers. It's just a pity they didn't cut it off lower so that it sits flat on the sofa base so the seat cushion can go on top of it. If I tried that now then the sofa would be tipped forward and I doubt the board or hinge fixings would take the weight of an adult sitting on it.

Thanks again for all the replies.


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