Club 80-90 Forums

Hi, am considering buying a T25 with pop up roof. Most for sale seem to have cupboards along side, and a two seater bench / bed. Is there any way of replacing this bed for one with 3 full seatbelts. Or maybe adding an additional removable chair by the sliding door. I need the seating to be suitable for childrens car seats, which I think means it must be forward facing. This will be our first ever camper so haven't a clue what is possible!
Thanks, Jo

Hi,
To be honest you wont get 3 on the back seat, you may be able to get 2.
Full kit is available here from Si Baxter
http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php?o ... 2&Itemid=6
Also fitting guide is here
http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php?o ... 5&Itemid=1
You could then as you say fit a buddy seat with another 3 point belt.

Hi

What's your layout internally?

You can get 3 x 3 point belts on the 3/4 bench but they won't accomodate 3 x childseats. Do you have a buddy seat and what age are the kids?

I had a 3 point on the bench and a lap belt on the rear facing buddy seat a couple of weeks ago by a mobile fitting service. They did a good job.

There's a thread in "general" about car seats that work with lapbelts which might be useful for you?

Good luck
Sarah

type seat belts in the search box

we have 3 point seat belts fitted, easy just drill a hole through the cuboard , thats what we have done and it works a treat, and our 2 little ones are safe and sound.....

also for the third get a buddy seat that is behind the passenger seat and that gives you the third seat...... i have also given this thought just in case the family gets bigger....

Hi, thanksfor all your messages. My boys are 4,2 and 1. My 4 year old could prob use a booster, but on long drives still falls asleep - also we drive a lot at night - so the highback chairs are more comfortable (no head on knees scenario!). The prob with the buddy seat is don't we loosethe swivel passenger chair? Also is it ok to fit a car seat rear facing? Guess I'll have to pop to mothercare.

Is it poss to fit a forward facing buddy seat in a t25?

I rear facing buddy seat is , I believe, safer than a forward facing one.

You don't have to lose the swivel on the pax seat all together - just swivel 180 degrees instead of 360...........

Do you know if its possible to get a removable buddy seat? Also Travelling Chick do you know anyone who can work well on a T25 in London area?

not sure about removable buddy seat. not sure i'd feel happy with putting a kid in a carseat in that but i guess as long as your seatbelt is fitted well you'd be okay.

i used http://www.seatbeltservice.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; as id'd by another member on here. nice guy, specialises in campervans.

I rear facing buddy seat is , I believe, safer than a forward facing one.

Not having a pop here but that can't be true.

The whole purpose of a seat belt is to stop your momentum(weight) from travelling the same direction as the vehicle in a collision, so unless you are going very fast in reverse or have a seatbelt behind your back surely this can't be correct,I have been known to be wrong once in my life but it's not a good idea to give safety advice unless you are sure you are right.
Rob.
I could have worded that more thoughtfully but don't have the time(Bustypes)thats the truth.
Que the hate mail.

As it happens I was browsing thr Vagcat catalouge last night
I noticed that the original 3 point rear belt did not say discontinued,so if still available it can be purchesd with all fittings for under £60.
It would have to be a caravelle type body ie: with factory fitted windows to fit standard though.
If not a caravelle type body,there are kits available.
If there are cupboards a device can be made.
I saw one on a westy van Peet was breaking and although it looked capable, I could not vouch for it's actual safety.
As I'm sure your aware,there is no compromising when your kids are involved.
I personally would not put my daughter in anything but a proven safety device.

Ok having writtern this post I could have worded the previous post more thoughtfully,appologies Travellingchick.
I'm off to bed.

s'okay Rob, I'm not offended and I totally agree with you in terms of putting your kids safety first.

my comments are based on what the seatbelt fitting guy told me AND the safety studies done in Sweden where kids are kept in rear facing car seats to a much later age than in the UK. The rear facing buddy is along the same principle but I am okay with it in my vehicle because it's a fixed buddy not a removable or flip up/down type seat (like the rear facing buddy seats in airplanes that the stewards sit in iykwim?).

I'd have to do some googling/reasearch to back up my words above but not much time myself either today.

Obviously I would hope that anyone asking for advice on an enthusiasts forum would do their own research on the safety aspects/accuracy of the responses.

Or maybe I should put a government health warning on my posts just in case

ps: just to further clarify my comment was purely wrt rear v forward facing buddy seats..............

Hi Hi, thanks for the posts. I obviously won't be taking your advice wholeheartedly, and treating it all as hearsay. As you say I am only looking for ideas and suggestions that I can research further myself. (I will not be returning with laywers to hand to haunt you!). But I think I agree rear facing is safer if you are in a crash going forwards... But have reservations that a 3point would be safe. Because the seatbelt tightens on impact - when body is pressed hard against back of chair in this case - after impact you are likely to be crushed? I think that actually in this scenario maybe you are better of with a lap belt after all! But this is just my imagination running wild - no evidence to prove.

Certainly not considering a flip down seat (like stewards use), am thinking of a box like buddy seat,with seatbelts attached as part of the whole unit - not attached to vehicle (except via the seat being bolted to the floor)

lhd wrote: I saw one on a westy van Peet was breaking and although it looked capable, I could not vouch for it's actual safety.

Hi Lhd, thank for message. What exactly did you see being salvaged? A 3 point belt or a buddy seat.
Can you still buy buddy seats new? Are they difficult to attach - Is there a tank under the floor there. Is this a problem,or can you just work around this carefully?