I need to put rear seatbelt in van conversion - wooden bed

[binka]

Hi,

I've just bought a Camper that started off life as a Transporter Panel Van ('86). It doesn't appear to have any seat belt fixings, so I thought no problem I can buy the whole kit and find a man to fit it. But then I started worringthat as the rock and roll bed is a wooden structure rather than a metal one, can a seatbelt be fitted?

Thanks

[leeroy]

Hi welcome to the club your van looks a good one.
We have rear lap belts in the rear of our van and looking to upgrade the to the three pointer type this is on a wooden base for the bed/ rear seats( on to the metal body work of the van)

lee

[Alice]

My rear lap belt is fitted to the metal structure of the van, not the seat/ bed itself. Look in the wiki too.

[1664]

Two lap belts. The passenger side fixing you can barely see is secured to a reinforced bar fixed to the inner skin of the camper

I've only got these photos as I've just removed all the furniture from my van.................

[surfingmarla73]

Hi Binka

We have a lap belt & have fitted a 3-point seatbelt suitable for a child seat in our van & we have a wooden seat, so it is possible. It is fiddly though.

Hope you get it sorted out OK.

Mark

[shortbloke]

Hi there,

Looking at the picture, am I right in saying you did not use the seat belt/buckle mounting point on the slopped side under the bed??

On my van on of these mounts/bolt holes on the slopped side under the RnR bed, is rusty and is in poor condition (the hole thats currently next to the bolt hole where the exisiting lap belt is) so I know it would fail the MOT so will be removing these ASAP.

I will patch up and repair the damaged area for cosmetic reasons and to stop the rust spreading, but will NEVER use for a seat belt again for safety and MOT reasons obviouly!!!

...So can I still fit a 3 point belt or lap belt in the back but staying well clear of this damaged area???

Cheers

Mat

[1664]

Hi there,

Looking at the picture, am I right in saying you did not use the seat belt/buckle mounting point on the slopped side under the bed??Mat

If you are referring to my van, the belts are lapbelts only and were fitted by the conversion company. The water tank lies against the sloping side of the engine bay. The seat belt fixings are reinforced with steel plates.

I'm afraid I can't help with alternative mounting locations but if they are sufficiently reinforced I can't see why you can't put them where suits you.

[chrissiefiddle]

just make sure that you do not have loose cushions.... or they could slide out and leave your child unprotected by the belt.

my van has rear belts fitted to the bulkhead, the seat is wooden but the cushion foam is firmly fixed to the base.

[shortbloke]

Hi there,

Looking at the picture, am I right in saying you did not use the seat belt/buckle mounting point on the slopped side under the bed??Mat

If you are referring to my van, the belts are lapbelts only and were fitted by the conversion company. The water tank lies against the sloping side of the engine bay. The seat belt fixings are reinforced with steel plates.

I'm afraid I can't help with alternative mounting locations but if they are sufficiently reinforced I can't see why you can't put them where suits you.

Hi 1664, sorry for not replying sooner. The rear belt setup in your van is exactly what I need.

Any chance of some more info on the company that did it or what belts are in there etc? Also (the big question) of how much it cost! lol.

When you say the fixings are reinforced are these steel plates just sandwich between the fixings etc or are they welded on?

Cheers mate

Mat

[1664]

Any chance of some more info on the company that did it or what belts are in there etc? Also (the big question) of how much it cost! lol.

Well I can't really help there 'cos as I said it was done by the conversion company (who have ceased trading). I should think any conversion company could do it for you though - ring around or email them pics? Autosleeper are still in business.

When you say the fixings are reinforced are these steel plates just sandwich between the fixings etc or are they welded on?

I have only really looked closely at the one fixed to the inner skin on the side. The others (I presume) are under the van and since I'm not an 'under the van' sort of bloke, I haven't looked at them. The one on the side is a straight plate with three holes drilled in it. Each hole has a nut spot welded behind it so you can just thread the bolts in. The centre hole for the actual belt is larger than the outer two. The plate is not welded, just held by the fixings.

If I was to GUESS at sizes, I'd say the plate was approx 8" x 11/2" and about 3mm thick. The outer holes nuts/bolts 8mm and the lapbelt nut/bolt 10mm.

The only other photos I have are these two which may give you a better idea.....