Kenworth Dashboard Height

Im in a kenworth t680 and its fine for me. I have the seat raised all the way up.

Of course im 6'7" though.

Do you find everything looks a little off when your using your mirrors?

Absolutely. My trainer cracks up laughing everytime he drives after me. When i get in the seat after him it feels like im sitting in a Adirondack chair its so low and my knees are basically even with my chest. For the first week he was getting upset with where i had my mirrors he didnt think i could see anything. I had to stack 2 pillows on my seat for him to realize its what i had to do to see.

I keep mine low, except if I’m driving straight into a rising/setting sun glare that the visor will not block. Then, I’ll bump it up to a higher perch. Spot on about the leg circulation problems, Old School.

This is a common rookie mistake and misconception. Most experienced drivers keep their seat down low. Having it up high really cuts off the circulation to your legs. A lot of drivers start seeing their ankles swelling from keeping the seat too high. You want to easily be able to slip your hands under your legs with your feet flat on the floor.

Old School, you don't even realize how much that piece of advice means to me. That is exactly a problem I have been experiencing! I even went to my doctor about it and he wants me to start wearing compression stockings. It never occurred to me that I should just lower my seat to the level you suggested. When I get back to driving, the first thing I'll do is properly adjust my seat. Thank you for the great tip!

Bruce, we just don't know how many things you're screwing up until you tell us!

Seriously though, that is a common misconception. Rookies think if they Jack that seat up real high they are safer with more visibility. It's really counter productive because it will cause you to fatigue faster due to the circulation issues it causes. It causes some people severe leg pain. We even had one member here who had to come off the road and be hospitalized because their ankles got so swollen. It's easy to correct but people just don't realize what they're doing to themselves.

My driver's seat is all the way down unless, like PackRat mentioned, I need it up to help shade my eyes from a rising or setting sun, and that is only temporary.

Im in a kenworth t680 and its fine for me. I have the seat raised all the way up.

Of course im 6'7" though.

Do you find everything looks a little off when your using your mirrors?

Absolutely. My trainer cracks up laughing everytime he drives after me. When i get in the seat after him it feels like im sitting in a Adirondack chair its so low and my knees are basically even with my chest. For the first week he was getting upset with where i had my mirrors he didnt think i could see anything. I had to stack 2 pillows on my seat for him to realize its what i had to do to see.

You might look into a low seat base. You can keep the seat aired up so that it doesn't bottom out. And still be lower or eyes closer to the center of the mirrors.

If you are looking into a mirror 2ft away but it's at your chest, without stooping down your looking at your waist. Where as if the mirror was at eye level... Get what I mean?

Old School, not only my ankles but my feet also. Funny it mostly affected my right foot and ankle, but I could notice some swelling in the left also. That advice will not only benefit me but who knows how many other rookies like me who didn't know. And you can be assured that I'm going to keep telling you how much I don't know, but you knew that already! Lol.

I'm 5'8 and have no trouble seeing over the dash in my T680. You'll be fine.

Bruce, we just don't know how many things you're screwing up until you tell us!

Seriously though, that is a common misconception. Rookies think if they Jack that seat up real high they are safer with more visibility. It's really counter productive because it will cause you to fatigue faster due to the circulation issues it causes. It causes some people severe leg pain. We even had one member here who had to come off the road and be hospitalized because their ankles got so swollen. It's easy to correct but people just don't realize what they're doing to themselves.

My driver's seat is all the way down unless, like PackRat mentioned, I need it up to help shade my eyes from a rising or setting sun, and that is only temporary.

You also risk a DVT event from this. Not having your seat where your feet are on the floor, restricts circulation at the point where your knees hang over. Even compression socks don't help much in this scenario, as your flow is still restricted.

Blood clots in the legs are NOT FUN, and can take you OFF THE ROAD for awhile (as well as KILL YOU if one breaks loose and travels to your lungs - can you say PULMONARY EMBOLISM!).

Rick

Rick, you veterans are proving your considerable worth. The seat height issue is so important to me and until yesterday I didn't even know how important it was. I feel sort of stupid that I didn't figure it out on my own, but nonetheless, what I know now could actually be life saving.

My trainers truck was a t680 and he was shorter than me (im 6 even) he rode with the seat low, i rode with it higher but had no issues with the dash height even when lower. Currently I drive with the seat just high enough it doesn't bottom out when I hit hard bumps in the road.