Swivel Seats
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We went to 2 Van Conversion shops to have swivel seats installed. They would not do it because of the air bags in the OEM seats. One looked into removing some of the foam in the new seats and transplanting the air bag but would not attempt it after some investigation.
Our PMs have air bags in the seats? Wow, technology seems to have moved ahead of what I'm used to.
So, would it have been illegal for them to have removed them? i.e. because they think that the in-seat air bags are part of the crash safety system?
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Airbags have nothing to do with swivel seats! The airbag wiring goes thru the center of the swivel.
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I misread the first post and thought TheHuff was talking about replacing the whole seat. In my last post I was talking about replacing the seats with a whole new seat. That's what the conversion shops would not do.
Yes if one just adds a swivel base to an OEM seat that is most likely no problem. I am reading on this forum that some of the swivel bases raise the seat 1 to 2 inches thus making it uncomfortable. The impetus for starting to look into new seats was the passenger seat in our van had no armrest. Due to cost and other road blocks we just added the armrest to the passenger seat.
Yes if one just adds a swivel base to an OEM seat that is most likely no problem. I am reading on this forum that some of the swivel bases raise the seat 1 to 2 inches thus making it uncomfortable. The impetus for starting to look into new seats was the passenger seat in our van had no armrest. Due to cost and other road blocks we just added the armrest to the passenger seat.
Not to threadjack but how did you add an armrest to the passenger seat?
Back to the OP's question. I don't have an answer but I'm following along with mild interest. The passenger swivel from the dealer at the time of ordering was well north of $600 CAD. So I declined. For one thing, I wasn't super needing it. But for another, I understood there were 3rd party options starting at $250 USD (this info coming from some guy saying so in a youtube video, so not necessarily reliable). I was thinking if it was ever needed there'd be options out there and that those options that would likely be cheaper.
Another thing I've heard is that a swivel makes the space under the seat unusable. I don't have my PM yet and so I don't know how much room there is under the seat for use anyways, but if there was some room, I was thinking of putting a house battery there. I think I also read somewhere that the jack and tirechanging tools are under the passenger seat and that an added swivel means those items can't be stored there anymore--but this is just hearsay.
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Try this link: http://www.promasterforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=566434
The type of swivels we’re talking about don’t make underseat storage unusable. Some aftermarket pedestal swivel seats do, but this would mean no airbag and liabilities for the installer, so they won’t install them for you.
Swivels raise seats up an inch or two, so most people get lowered bases which limits the underseat storage slightly. There’s not enough room to mount your typical house batteries, but some people have mounted inverters, subwoofers and Webasto heaters. There is a toolkit under the passengers seat and optionally a storage bin under the drivers seat.
Per the OP, I don’t know that anyone has installed cheaper universal swivels. I think you’d run the risk they wouldn’t fit or wouldn’t swivel well or interfere or compromise safety in other ways. I’d only attempt it if I could return the swivel or had some fabricobbling or welding skills. After going through a more typical swivel install and the compromises it brings, I’ll say that the OEM swivels look better to me, regardless of the rocking issues one forum member is living through. I’d order them in a heartbeat if I was going to custom order.
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I have the optional bin under the driver’s seat, a CTA swivel on it and a Sportscraft lowered base. The bin still fits although you loose the attachment bar across the front which I substituted with a rod I had. I have the same on the passenger’s seat except I used a Sportscraft driver’s side swivel and the tool box still fits, no problem. Don’t try to cheap out with some boat seat swivels, its a life you are risking and these swivels are made and tested to be safe. Many swivels don’t have the center opening for the wires, avoid them too. Someday someone will find a supplier in Europe and order them directly brining the cost down considerably.
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Thank you for sharing that link. We don't get up so early on the left coast! And now I have a new word "fabricobbling":laugh:
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I stole it from AvE-- a fine Canadian YouTuber. His channel is a goldmine of spoonerisms malapropisms portmanteaus and other linguistical hi-jinks. There are online dictionaries devoted to his "AvE speak".
Worth a watch for a chuckle if you don't mind some coarse shop-talk. He also really knows his stuff.
Still don't see whys someone hasn't used one of these:
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Under $150, use PM seat with airbags, already approved for vehicle use, can't be that hard to add an adapter plate.
Or my pseudo swivel seat... faster than swiveling a swivel... pretty comfortable (but may add some padding to the seat part!)
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Buildable to any comfortable height, no wiring issues, lots of interior storage in addition to under the OEM seat, quickly removable, extra outside seat or 15" stepstool, perfect spot for use with a table between couch and seat with a view outside (especially with the door open), no safety issues, attached to passenger seat so it doesn't move while driving, total cost... maybe $40
(insert imp-ish troublemaker's grin here)
Under $150, use PM seat with airbags, already approved for vehicle use, can't be that hard to add an adapter plate.
Or my pseudo swivel seat... faster than swiveling a swivel... pretty comfortable (but may add some padding to the seat part!)
Buildable to any comfortable height, no wiring issues, lots of interior storage in addition to under the OEM seat, quickly removable, extra outside seat or 15" stepstool, perfect spot for use with a table between couch and seat with a view outside (especially with the door open), no safety issues, attached to passenger seat so it doesn't move while driving, total cost... maybe $40
(insert imp-ish troublemaker's grin here)
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DHL is supposed to be bringing my big buy this afternoon from the UK. It would have been here yesterday but for the weather. Now the main road leading to my road is blocked in both directions from the 1’ Of snow last night and electric wires down so I won’t be leaving home today and DHL won’t be dropping by either !
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I went to a pretty big RV show this past Thursday and got to sit in a new Pleasure Way Tofino based on a 136" Promaster. It had the OEM swivels and I was disappointed with how low they were. My friend I went to the show with is 5'4", and she was very comfortable and could put her fleet flat on the floor in the drivers seat. At 6'2" my legs were heading north from my hip to my knee, with almost none of my thigh on the actual seat. Is that normal or does Pleasure Way shorten the OEM bases?
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