Definitive Guide - Rear Seat Belts - Wardrobe side.

[vanny]

Hi,

Recently had 2 3 point seat belts fitted in the rear, LHD Westy with wardrobe on the drivers side, to keep our kiddies safe.

Basically both belt reels are fitted to the rear off side post in the boot. Off side belt is as norm. Near side belt is long comes across to the centre where it secures with a normal seat belt release rather than bolting in, this allows us use of the bed.Then secures "3rd point" normally.

I expect this doesn't make much sense, I'm tired! Please e mail if you would like a photo.

P

[purplecrocs]

just wondered if anyone had anything to add to this topic? I've just come across it having just bought a T25 Westy and need to put in 2 rear 3 point belts for car seats. The wardrobe side was perplexing me.. I noticed that you can get belt kits from Brickwerks, has anyone fitted these to both sides? Or has anyone used a seatbelt fitting company to do the job and how has that turned out? Pictures would be good, thanks in advance!

[Trish]

We had 3-point seat belts fitted in the rear of our previous camper. As said before the two belts were fitted to the non - wardrobe side and one belt was much longer than the other. This belt worked in the same way as the middle rear belt in a car. Fitted by a company in London who offered a mobile service and very impressed with service and workmanship. Now having to manage with lap belts until we can afford to have new belts fitted to our new camper.

[purplecrocs]

can you remember the name of the company? And do you happen to have pics of that set up?

[TravellingChick]

I used these guys earlier this year: http://www.seatbeltservice.co.uk/galler ... r-vans.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They fitted a 3 point on my non wardrobe side and a lap on the buddy for £180, a good job quickly done by a nice guy.

Sarah

[otleygas]

whilst noting earlier comments about this question being specific to 3 point belts, we had the same issue and decided to go for 5 point harness which are secured from bolts under the 3/4 seat, and above from bolts just by the top of the rear boot, thus avoiding the need to fix through/round/in the cupboards. The belts can also be unclipped and storred away when not in use.

[Trish]

sorry for the delay in responding. The company we used was Auto Safe based in London. I have tried getting on their web site but with no success. Not sure if they are still trading or not. As mentioned on another post there is another company in London who offer a mobile service. Unfortunately we haven't got any photos.

Good luck.

[Inderlad]

I had a frame welded together which fitted inside the wardrobe and was bolted to the floor ond sides of the van. Just a question of drilling a hole in the wardrobe for the spool. Job done. Obviously someone else did it for me!

As for lap belts, don't know for sure if they are safe, but I don't trust them.

[smudge]

http://www.quickfitsbs.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These guys are apparently the ones when it comes to fitting 3-points in your bus, be it a T25, split bay, whatever. Based in Stanmore Middlesex. They had a feature in Camper and Bus Magazine a while ago, interestingly enough the author of the article had a T25 westy, and the company fitted a 3-point inertia belt in the rear on the wardrobe side. (If you have a look on their website in the gallery section you will see how they have fitted belts in a variety of vintage VW's.) It was a very professional job too.

They can also make the webbing in a variety of colours, if black isn't your thing.....

I'll have a trawl through my back issues later and see if I can find the magazine issue number.

I have to say having had a variety of bays and splits in the past I've always had 3-points fitted for the kids in the rear. This has often meant stripping the interiors out and having proper brackets welded into the bus, but for me it's a no-brainer. I personally would never be happy with them using a lapbelt, they are well known for causing spinal injuries amongst children in the event of an accident.

When we finally find the westy of our dreams we will be visiting the quickfit seatbelt people fairly swiftly if rear 3-points aren't already fitted.

Hope that helps.....

[Fozzie]

I attached mine to the standard rear mount points, then passed the web through the open door - just to see if it worked. It does, perfectly, Nothing snags and the line is almost perfect. Of course it won't work with a full wardrobe, so we'll travel with either the wardrobe full and that seat empty, or vice versa.

FWIW it passed its MOT like this. Clearly it needs improving for the longer term - will probably cut a hole in the panel at the corner of the wardrobe, and line it to ensure no abrasion - but it's an effective compromise of cost and mild inconvenience with no loss of safety.

If I've got the upload right, here's a pic!

wardrobe_seatbelt.jpg

[otleygas]

Just in case it is of use/interest to anyone, here's a couple of pics of the harnesses we got installed, which gets round the whole 'hole in wardobe' issue. We've also got a lapbelt in the middle, but I think 3 harnesses would fit OK.