Baby No3 - seating issues.

[Bubble Meister]

I have a camper with 2 standard seats at the front and a bench seat in the back. As the kitchen unit runs along the off side of the van the bench seat only seats two. This was great when we were a family of four but Mini Meister No3 arrived in January and this presents a problem:

Where to get a fifth seat in the van (the seat must have a seat belt). I have considered a front bench seat or a rear facing buddy seat behind the passenger's seat. What have other folks done?

The bench seat has the advantage that it doesn't encroach into the living area however I'm not sure if there was a VW bench seat for the T3. And, if there was, did it have a seat belt?

A rear facing buddy seat will encroach into the living area. Was a VW or coachworks buddy seat ever fitted and, if so, was it with a seat belt?

My third but slightly strange and short term solution is to find an iso fix system from a scrap car. I could pull out the iso fix metalwork out of a car and secure it to the van floor. I could then use the baby seats iso fix base to clip onto the metal work. This would be ideal as it replicates modern child safety systems however that may be hard to prove to the insurers.

I would welcome the advice of anyone, esp someone in a similar position. If I can't find a solution then I will have to let the van go. She's precious to me and has had 14 years of my investment so I'm very keen to keep her.

[multisi]

T3 vans had a front bench seat in the cab with seat belts , the middle seat belt was a lap belt. There are 2 types of buddy seat for a rear facing seat, a fixed seat with lift up seat base and storage or the later multivan fold up seat base with quick release removeable function. Both types had lap belts, later style was retractable .

[Bubble Meister]

Excellent, thank you. Did the front bench seat used the passenger seat runners? I wonder if it hindered gear change?

I assume the later van buddy seat was removable but used floor fixings. Mine is a modified panel van so no fancy floor base. And it has a 19mm ply base on top of it.

The fixed buddy seat would eat into the living area but has a bonus of storage.

All are going to be a compromise however I would prefer a front bench seat as the living area is unaffected - space will be tight with the 5 of us. What models were they fitted to? I imagine they are rare.

[multisi]

Front bench seats are common to vans with bulkhead behind the front seats,not rare and can be picked up cheap from people removing the bulkhead to make a walkthrough , they use the seat runners and extend over the walkthrough, removable rear buddy seats can be fitted to any van , its all about fitting the correct brackets, i am doing a couple at the moment.

[Slider2]

Our van was converted to a camper in the 90s.

The installing company fitted what look like a removable minibus seat (unit as a middle row) which consists of a double seat on a very solid frame with integral 3 point belts. The whole thing quick locks down to rails bolted to the floor.

Best thing is the seats can not only be removed at a moments notics without tools but can also be mounted either forward or reverse facing. I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to pick up a similar set from ebay and bolt them in with unwin rails.
Takes it from a 5 seater to a seven seater (5 of which have 3 point belts).

[RogerT]

Here's another option for you to consider. Not original Transporter fare, but might suit you?

http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... t#p8083451" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Leggy]

I have a viking camper that came with a rear facing fold up buddy seat with a lap belt.
When child 4 came along I got a front bench seat and welded on a reclining mechanism from another seat as the bench seat backs are designed to lean against the bulkhead. I then fitted a center lap belt and had the left hand stalk extended to poke through the seat.

[Bubble Meister]

Just an update:
I have won a genuine folding buddy seat on ebay, c/w seat belt, side trim and lhs bracket. This has caused a squabble between the eldest 2 as they both want to travel on it!

I chose this as I didn't fancy fabricating a rear bracket for a front bench seat, also the buddy seat detaches quickly so it shouldn't interfer with the living area when parked. Plus the added bonus of keeping the van as genuine as possible.

Thanks for everybody's suggestions and advice, Bubble will stay in the family.

[multisi]

Do you have the floor leg plates, how are you going to fit it ?

[Bubble Meister]

Multisi, I hadn't considered that. Looking on Google images it appears that the frames have bottom lugs that would fit into original recepticles. However a lot appear to have these lugs removed. The seat unit I have purchased doesn't appear to connect at the floor; the images don't show any apertures on the floor. This is something I shall have to look at. Have you had similar issues?

[multisi]

The 2 legs should have round pegs that locate into brackets welded to the floor. The legs have to be held in position on the floor for the seat to be safe. Most of the brackets are still available, one floor plate isnt available but i have made my own. Is the seat you got on ebay the grey plain material one that was on recently cos that looked like it was fitted into the floor. If you have a plywood floor you could make some simple plates with holes for the leg pegs to locate. If you want measurements or brackets i can help you out.

[Smosh]

My third but slightly strange and short term solution is to find an iso fix system from a scrap car. I could pull out the iso fix metalwork out of a car and secure it to the van floor. I could then use the baby seats iso fix base to clip onto the metal work. This would be ideal as it replicates modern child safety systems however that may be hard to prove to the insurers. .

The duo fix for a Ford focus came as an optional extra that garages could fit. EBay it, the mounts are pretty cheap iirc.

[Bubble Meister]

Got the seat but have been too busy to do anything. Yes, it's a grey seat in relatively good nick. The only obvious missing bits are the reinforcing plates that I guess go inside the battery bay. Can you provide measurements Multisi? I gave an earlier van si assume there won't be any preformed dimples in the body work. I have a ply floor so I may have to factor this and lift the mounting location of the main bracket.
Cheers BM

[multisi]

I have the fixing brackets that the main seat bracket bolts into , one side is fitted in the spare battery box , the other is in the wheel housing behind the fuel tank vent tank. The seat should sit at the same height as a factory fit if the ply is about 1/2 inch. For the floor , you could drill some holes in the ply for the leg studs to locate into with the black plastic end caps on, i have some if the ones on your seat were missing. I can supply measurements , brackets etc if you want.

[Bubble Meister]

Multisi - I've pm'd you.