[sandymetaldot]

Has anyone changed their front seats? Did you confront the airbag? Anyone local in Ca. Or. that can do this? These seats are uncomfortable. Please help!

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

I have the 6 way with lumbar support and vinyl and I luv'em. Get a pair of them.

 

[proeddie]

I'd like to upgrade my PM base seats to the 6 way lumbar version. Problem is - no one has any to sell. On de'Bay you can find lots of Econoline van seats because the rv converters replace the seats with nicer ones. Winnebago and Roadtrek use the PM seats instead of replacing them (and selling the OEM ones).

I think my lumbar is in the wrong place.... I was thinking of talking to a seat upholster about taking a bit of foam out of the back so it doesn't push the center of my back so hard. On my SUV, I set the lumbar air pillow all the way deflated and it's just right for me. Not a big issue, but could be better.

 

[Signalhill60]

I pulled out the factory seat and replaced it with a Flexsteel 591erst. I pulled out the seat heater and weight sensor and transferred the female end of the seat belt to the new seat pedestal. I removed the airbag and attached it to the underside of the seat pedestal as seen in the picture. In the event of an accident with airbag deployment the airbag will deploy front under the seat toward the rear of the van. I am completely aware of the reduction of safety in the passenger seat. The passenger seat now has 3 airbags instead of 4, but my truck has 1 airbag per seat and my old sports car has none. Sometimes you just got to roll the dice! The new seat has a Flexsteel swivel and a Flexsteel pedestal. The seat does fit but it took several days to to find just the right place to bolt it in and get all the wires to fit without binding with the swivel and the seat track. I wired the seat heater to the house battery ( I have 4 house batteries ) so I can use the seat heater without the ignition on.

 

[MsNomer]

Signalhill60, could we see more of your build? Looks interesting.

 

[Quest4Adv]

WOW signal, that's a project and nicely done I might add...

I would gladly be a passenger in your van for a long drive if I could sit there

 

[Signalhill60]

Here are a few pictures of the work in progress. Here are a few details. The rims came from EuroCampers. The tires are BFG KO2 245/75/16 very slight rubbing in front under extreme compression, this is after I cut away about 3/4 of an inch around the the inside of the fender, snow chains may be a challenge. The windows are from Motion windows, good quality but 7 week lead time. I did a vinyl wrap around the windows. I built the rack and ladder out of 16 gage steel and had it power coated. On the roof are 2 Grape solar 160 watt solar panels along with a Midi Heki skylight. The sofa is a Flexsteel Magic bed. The cabinets are a combination of steel and wood. The upper cabinet doors are a pre curved wood and the steel frames are bent to match the curve. The kitchen cabinet has a trash can incorporated in it and a fold up table. I'm going for the Restoration Hardware distressed look. The refridgerator is a 2 way ( 12v 120vac) Nova Kool that I have running 24/7. Between the batteries and the solar the refrigerator uses very little power. With any luck I will have it done in a few months. Many thanks to the other forum members, I got a lot of good ideas from them. I will continue to post more pictures as I progress.

 

[MsNomer]

Cool and different from any other I've seen. Is that lattice a wallpaper?

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

That rack 's the BOMB! You got skill forming tube!

 

[Signalhill60]

It's hard to tell from the picture but the lattice is Dynamite sound dealing. It will get covered with the 3M Thinsulate insulation as soon as I run the water and electrical.

 

[MsNomer]

Ha. I should have recognized that, since I used it myself. Good stuff.

 

[fanqwest]

is the rack a custom build or something on the retail market? awsome van

 

[Signalhill60]

That is a custom rack. It is made with 1 1/2 inch 16 gage steel tubing. Powder coated with a bumpy finish. It is attached at 8 points with a 5/16 bolts. I was uneasy about drilling 8 holes in the roof and tried 2 utilize the factory mounting points but that proved to be a pain. The corners are bent with a tubing bender and the slight radius in the front and rear cross sections are done with a tubing roller. I was trying to avoid the lumber rack look by rolling the tubing until it match the radius of the roof.

 

[keeponvaning]

Here are a few pictures of the work in progress. Here are a few details. The rims came from EuroCampers. The tires are BFG KO2 245/75/16 very slight rubbing in front under extreme compression, this is after I cut away about 3/4 of an inch around the the inside of the fender, snow chains may be a challenge. The windows are from Motion windows, good quality but 7 week lead time. I did a vinyl wrap around the windows. I built the rack and ladder out of 16 gage steel and had it power coated. On the roof are 2 Grape solar 160 watt solar panels along with a Midi Heki skylight. The sofa is a Flexsteel Magic bed. The cabinets are a combination of steel and wood. The upper cabinet doors are a pre curved wood and the steel frames are bent to match the curve. The kitchen cabinet has a trash can incorporated in it and a fold up table. I'm going for the Restoration Hardware distressed look. The refridgerator is a 2 way ( 12v 120vac) Nova Kool that I have running 24/7. Between the batteries and the solar the refrigerator uses very little power. With any luck I will have it done in a few months. Many thanks to the other forum members, I got a lot of good ideas from them. I will continue to post more pictures as I progress.

Nice work and design all around! Especially the rack! Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[sandymetaldot]

That's great work! Did you have to deal with the head restraint recall?

 

[sandymetaldot]

how did you deal with the head restraint recall?

 

[Signalhill60]

I never received a recall notice. My build date is 6/15. Maybe I was built after the head restraint problem. I did keep all the old parts incase I have to return it to stock for some reason.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

My 6/15 got no head restraint recall either. I think we got the new ones.

 

[dencof]

Thanks for posting, very nice work! I am in the process now of converting, so your pictures, comments and designs are all greatly appreciated. dc.