Fitting Caravelle seat rails

[Hulkiebear]

here is one of the middle rails, yellow highlighted rings are pairs of square bolts(doubles?) and the red highlight rings are single square bolts. so 12 bolts on each.
the outer rails are in the van holding the seats in place (lashed down as I have no where to store them)
the outer rails are the same, 5 pairs of square bolts and a single either end.
so that makes 48 holes! FFS it gets worse every time I count!

 

[Skyliner33]

here is one of the middle rails, yellow highlighted rings are pairs of square bolts(doubles?) and the red highlight rings are single square bolts. so 12 bolts on each.
the outer rails are in the van holding the seats in place (lashed down as I have no where to store them)
the outer rails are the same, 5 pairs of square bolts and a single either end.
so that makes 48 holes! FFS it gets worse every time I count!

View attachment 109221

You dont use all those bolt holes. I cant remember which, but its not all those. I will see if I have any pics but I dont have the van anymore.

Edit: If you read through this thread there are detailed diagrams of where the bolts go. You need 24. Also some of the fittings you have are not correct/used.

 

[Hulkiebear]

You dont use all those bolt holes. I cant remember which, but its not all those. I will see if I have any pics but I dont have the van anymore.

Edit: If you read through this thread there are detailed diagrams of where the bolts go. You need 24. Also some of the fittings you have are not correct/used.

Ah ok, thanks skyline, I was kinda just gonna use all the bolts it came with, I do intend to use the middle 2 single seats and table at times aswell, so as long as its properly fixed down in the case of a crash, thats the most important thing.

I think I'm just missing double brackets now, which are about £6 a pop, which in the big scheme of things isn't a lot.

 

[Skyliner33]

Ah ok, thanks skyline, I was kinda just gonna use all the bolts it came with, I do intend to use the middle 2 single seats and table at times aswell, so as long as its properly fixed down in the case of a crash, thats the most important thing.

I think I'm just missing double brackets now, which are about £6 a pop, which in the big scheme of things isn't a lot.

Im pretty sure you dont use the brackets with the yellow and blue plastics bits on. I remember I had a couple of those but Im sure they werent used.

Once yu get under the van, it all becomes more obvious. Again if memory serves me correctly, I fitted the brackets and then used them as a guide to drill the holes from under then van to make sure I drilled in the correct places.

 

[Hulkiebear]

Im pretty sure you dont use the brackets with the yellow and blue plastics bits on. I remember I had a couple of those but Im sure they werent used.

Once yu get under the van, it all becomes more obvious. Again if memory serves me correctly, I fitted the brackets and then used them as a guide to drill the holes from under then van to make sure I drilled in the correct places.

yes the yellow and blue nylon bolt brackets confuse me a lot, and I was hoping it will make more sense once I get under the van!
Thanks Skyliner, thats loads of help!
I was hoping to use the brackets as guides to drill through!

 

[Hulkiebear]

So, this is the diagram for parts, No.8 is the nylon brackets, which seem to show it being used in conjunction with the double brackets (no.1).

weird!

 

[paggle]

Hi All,

First post, great information here, thank you.

Do the newer T6.1 models still need the 7H0802763A brackets? Or the 7H3803 244A/547 (for LWB) brackets? They are not shown on the parts list:

 

[paggle]

Hi All,

First post, great information here, thank you.

Do the newer T6.1 models still need the 7H0802763A brackets? Or the 7H3803 244A/547 (for LWB) brackets? They are not shown on the parts list:
View attachment 110411

Ok, I've answered my own question on the 7H3803244A/547 brackets, they are for mounting seat belts (not needed with the rail system, seat belts are integrated into the seats). Still trying to find out if the 7H0802763A brackets are required on T6.1 models (I don't have the van yet, it is on order).

 

[Hulkiebear]

Ok, so, finally I have squared this project away, after a lot of thinking and head scratching. finding info was the hardest part, so I'm gonna feed back into the community what I learnt and how I did it, so it may help someone in future.

first off, consider buying the brackets direct from a VW dealer, they are cheaper than the after market places. I used Marshall VW van centre in Bridgewater, they were really helpful.
The important thing I found for the positioning of the brackets was that they were 38 cm apart, and all parallel and in line. this is actually a lot easier than it sounds. The pressed indents on the floor make it really easy.
I used a 5mm drill bit and then opened the holes up to 12mm using a step drill bit, worked perfectly and easily.
The time consuming part is getting the access underneath, not difficult, just a faff and a bit time consuming.

for access I drove the van up onto concrete blocks(with little ramps) this gave me plenty of space underneath to drop all the covers and fuel tank(which doesn't really need to be fully dropped) also the heat shielding only needs access for the drivers side, I just bent it down so I didn't need to remove the braking system stuff. The rear exhaust box needs to come off, but thats no drama really, just a faff.

I have 4 full length rails, they came with 42 bolts in total, there are 44 holes, (11 in each, but 2 in the middle rails can't be used because you can't access from underneath)
I drilled the furthest rear holes, ensuring they were 38cm apart and all in line, then bolted the rails in, ensuring the front was all parallel and in line. marked all the positions for holes and used a large screw as a punch to mark the drill hole.

As for the brackets, I used 2 pairs of the single ones on the outer rails about half way along, the rivet holes are already there. The 2 different part numbers are for either side of the cross members, not either side of the van, which is what I thought.
The centre rails, I used 3 doubles for each rail. They must be for the kombi brackets, as there is no point for the caravelle rails, so I cut them in half and used them either side of the cross members. The only place I couldn't put one is where the spare wheel support bracket is. This is obvious once you are under there.
all other bolts were just fixed in, I did consider using large washers, but considering this whole system is fixed down with 42 heavy duty bolts, and 20 odd reinforcing brackets, any crash that would cause the floor to de skin away from the sub frame would be so devastating, that it wouldn't really matter! the front seats have 4 each! belt and braces in my opinion!

So here are some photos, hopefully they make sense,.

 

[bobbybasic]

Ok, so, finally I have squared this project away, after a lot of thinking and head scratching. finding info was the hardest part, so I'm gonna feed back into the community what I learnt and how I did it, so it may help someone in future.

first off, consider buying the brackets direct from a VW dealer, they are cheaper than the after market places. I used Marshall VW van centre in Bridgewater, they were really helpful.
The important thing I found for the positioning of the brackets was that they were 38 cm apart, and all parallel and in line. this is actually a lot easier than it sounds. The pressed indents on the floor make it really easy.
I used a 5mm drill bit and then opened the holes up to 12mm using a step drill bit, worked perfectly and easily.
The time consuming part is getting the access underneath, not difficult, just a faff and a bit time consuming.

for access I drove the van up onto concrete blocks(with little ramps) this gave me plenty of space underneath to drop all the covers and fuel tank(which doesn't really need to be fully dropped) also the heat shielding only needs access for the drivers side, I just bent it down so I didn't need to remove the braking system stuff. The rear exhaust box needs to come off, but thats no drama really, just a faff.

I have 4 full length rails, they came with 42 bolts in total, there are 44 holes, (11 in each, but 2 in the middle rails can't be used because you can't access from underneath)
I drilled the furthest rear holes, ensuring they were 38cm apart and all in line, then bolted the rails in, ensuring the front was all parallel and in line. marked all the positions for holes and used a large screw as a punch to mark the drill hole.

As for the brackets, I used 2 pairs of the single ones on the outer rails about half way along, the rivet holes are already there. The 2 different part numbers are for either side of the cross members, not either side of the van, which is what I thought.
The centre rails, I used 3 doubles for each rail. They must be for the kombi brackets, as there is no point for the caravelle rails, so I cut them in half and used them either side of the cross members. The only place I couldn't put one is where the spare wheel support bracket is. This is obvious once you are under there.
all other bolts were just fixed in, I did consider using large washers, but considering this whole system is fixed down with 42 heavy duty bolts, and 20 odd reinforcing brackets, any crash that would cause the floor to de skin away from the sub frame would be so devastating, that it wouldn't really matter! the front seats have 4 each! belt and braces in my opinion!

So here are some photos, hopefully they make sense,.

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This is such a great write up - thanks for putting it all together with decent photos too. Very helpful.

Would you mind sharing which rivet gun you used, and what size rivets as well?

Cheers!

 

[Hulkiebear]

This is such a great write up - thanks for putting it all together with decent photos too. Very helpful.

Would you mind sharing which rivet gun you used, and what size rivets as well?


I bought this pack from screw fix, I used the 4.8mm by 12mm, they were perfect, snug fit before using the riveter. I used one I had in the garages thats about 20 years old, but looks the same spec as the one in screw fix. hope this helps.

Cheers!

 

[bobbybasic]

Amazing, thanks!

 

[bobbybasic]

So I spent Sunday fitting the double rails for my California seat/bed. It was me and my Dad non-stop all day.

Got the van on ramps at the rear.

Went pretty smoothly. The hardest part was removing the heat guards and the plastics. There are annoying disc shape clips that slice your fingers as you try to remove them without damaging so they can be reused. Maybe there's a smarter way to do this.

Tank dropped easily enough, exhaust needed to be dropped as well.

I needed to remove 8 Kombi seat brackets first. 4 of the holes left from the Kombi seat brackets lined up with the holes on the passenger-side rail. So that one was easy once those 4 bolts were locked in. Then measuring for the drivers side rail was straightforward.

I ended up going with brackets underneath the van. Was able to reuse all of the Kombi brackets. Then the remaining came from the Transporter HQ set.

VW Transporter T5/T6 - Kombi Reinforcement Plates - Brackets Set - For 2 + 1 Rear Seat - Genuine

The whole point a Transporter kombi seat reinforcement plate is to better distribute the weight of your newly installed seats, so definitely worth having.

transporterhq.co.uk

I needed to do a bit of cutting to make a spreader plate for those holes where L shape brackets were not possible.

In total I fixed 10 bolts in each rail, with either a bracket or spreader plate for each bolt.

The passenger B Pillar needed to be removed to get the seat in. Anyone else found this? Maybe there's a way to fit without doing this. Would be good to know.

 

[bobbybasic]

So this is as far back as the seat will go after the cut has been made to the frame, but without modifying the seat.

The metal frame has been cut, so just the seat stopping it going further. This is a job for another day.

 

[Garny999]

So this is as far back as the seat will go after the cut has been made to the frame, but without modifying the seat.

The metal frame has been cut, so just the seat stopping it going further. This is a job for another day.

View attachment 114766

View attachment 114767

I too still need to fix the seat hitting the arch. However, for now, i just lift the seat and slide it back. It can put a little amount of pressure on the seat base but all seems fine. If I remember correctly, the only way I can remove the whole bench from the rails without removing the B pillar plastics is to unbolt the drivers seat and lean forwards to allow the lever to be lifted fully and also to unbolt the bench seat base. Its a right faff and i only wish i knew the answer.

 

[bobbybasic]

Oh yes, you just reminded me about the drivers seat, I needed to remove that to get to the lever too.

I don’t plan on removing the seat on a regular basis, but it needs to come out when I do the floor. Not sure how many times you can remove trim before the fixings wears out :/

 

[Garny999]

Oh yes, you just reminded me about the drivers seat, I needed to remove that to get to the lever too.

I don’t plan on removing the seat on a regular basis, but it needs to come out when I do the floor. Not sure how many times you can remove trim before the fixings wears out :/

Still not got my trims fitted yet as I am waiting for the Skyline Skylo roof when they decide to eventually release it. I have laid a one piece ply floor and left a small gap/notch near the clips. However, I think it will be a pain to get the trims off as the space between floor and trim is quite tight.

 

[bobbybasic]

Still not got my trims fitted yet as I am waiting for the Skyline Skylo roof when they decide to eventually release it. I have laid a one piece ply floor and left a small gap/notch near the clips. However, I think it will be a pain to get the trims off as the space between floor and trim is quite tight.

Ha, I’m waiting for the Skylo as well. End of May I’ve been told.

 

[Skyliner33]

Ha, I’m waiting for the Skylo as well. End of May I’ve been told.

I was booked in with Skyline North to have the first fitted (after they did one on their own van) at the beginning of last November. Still waiting for new dates. I suppose I should tell them I've sold the van in the wait.

 

[Garny999]

I was booked in with Skyline North to have the first fitted (after they did one on their own van) at the beginning of last November. Still waiting for new dates. I suppose I should tell them I've sold the van in the wait.

Yep, I've had a few release dates given to me dating back to around November like you say. I ignore them now. Its so frustrating not being able to crack on with the van.