Which Swivel seats to pick

[Sunwhite]

I have just purchased and fitted a 'Sportscraft' seat supplied by Reimo Australia to the passenger seat. Delivered the cost was $500 Australian here in Australia and I found Reimo very helpful to deal with.
The passenger and driver seats both have side airbags so I was a bit concerned about the electrics. However with the ignition off and key out I disconnected the negative on both car and auxiliary batteries before doing anything else and everything went well. When all was reconnected and I turned the ignition on the usual warning lights came on momentarily including the airbag then as usual they all went out. I have yet to reconfigure the clock, radio, etc. but the van starts and runs ok.
Unfortunately the rear plastic trim on the seat no longer fits but I will fashion a bit of 3ply to fit, paint it grey and mount it with magnetic strips and all should look well.

 

[VanDamMan]

I have just purchased and fitted a 'Sportscraft' seat supplied by Reimo Australia to the passenger seat. Delivered the cost was $500 Australian here in Australia and I found Reimo very helpful to deal with.
The passenger and driver seats both have side airbags so I was a bit concerned about the electrics. However with the ignition off and key out I disconnected the negative on both car and auxiliary batteries before doing anything else and everything went well. When all was reconnected and I turned the ignition on the usual warning lights came on momentarily including the airbag then as usual they all went out. I have yet to reconfigure the clock, radio, etc. but the van starts and runs ok.
Unfortunately the rear plastic trim on the seat no longer fits but I will fashion a bit of 3ply to fit, paint it grey and mount it with magnetic strips and all should look well.

Hi @Sunwhite ..Don’t know if this helps but when I had my end panels fitted they used Velcro tape

 

[Rg_]

Had the passenger sports craft in since Jan now and is still all good. No complaints from the girlfriend sitting in it regularly which is always good.

Only thing I noticed was that when you swivel it round to face the rear it doesn't click into place? It only clicks into place when returning back to the front position.

Is this normal?

 

[Sunwhite]

Thanks VanDamMan, the velcro sounds a good idea and the panels look really neat in the photo.

Rg, my Sportscraft seat only locks into place when facing forwards and as far as I can see that is normal. Only locking forward and free to rotate in any other position seems ok for our usage.

 

[Reflinski]

Hello @Rg_ still no issues with our Sportscraft ones,passenger one is really easy to swivel and ours are the nut on top ones so you can fit a load of electrics underneath if needs be

Hi Gents,
My seats in T6 Multivan 2016 are connected to car's electrical system (fuse box in passenger seat, airbag or so?). It appears to me that I will need cable extensions to reconnect after inserting a swivel. Are any extensions required and supplied with the preferred Sportscraft swivel ?

 

[Undertoker]

VW Transporter T5/T6 - Rusty Lee - Swivel Seat Base - Double - Passenger

Thanks to ingenious engineering, the Rusty Lee double swivel base means that you can have a double bench seat that will also spin in place too.

transporterhq.co.uk

 

[Martin Gibson]

Hello @Reflinski ,we didn't need to extend any cables and our fusebox,airbag wiring etc was also under the passenger seat

 

[The Bear78]

Hi Gents,
My seats in T6 Multivan 2016 are connected to car's electrical system (fuse box in passenger seat, airbag or so?). It appears to me that I will need cable extensions to reconnect after inserting a swivel. Are any extensions required and supplied with the preferred Sportscraft swivel ?

Hi there,
I think you'll find that the single seat swivels (captains chairs) generally swivel the seat on the base. That is, the top part spins on the box so any electrics in the box are unaffected. This is certainly how my Sportscraft swivels work. If you have airbags in the seat the loom can just pass through the large central hole.
The double seat swivels like those in the THQ link above are a different matter.
I'm not sure if you realised this but it may be of help.

 

[wildjeff]

I have a Kiravans offset under passenger seat. Very happy with its functionality, swivel works a treat once seat pulled forward a little and raised.
Mine does rattle when seat unoccupied, and it cannot be lowered as low as the seat lever will take it down as the plastic seat sides catch on the swivel release lever , but only about 10mm short. ( 65 plate T6) Anybody got any rattle fixes ????, cheers Jeff

 

[Rg_]

Thanks VanDamMan, the velcro sounds a good idea and the panels look really neat in the photo.

Rg, my Sportscraft seat only locks into place when facing forwards and as far as I can see that is normal. Only locking forward and free to rotate in any other position seems ok for our usage.

Good to know, thanks.

 

[CarlsT6]

I’m in the market for two single front seat swivels, after reading this I’m unsure what to go for now.
Kiravans
Sportscraft
Rusty Lee
Are we saying they’re the top three manufacturers to go with? All crash tested to the same standard?
It’d drive me mad if they rattled once fitted...

 

[The Bear78]

None will rattle as loud as the armrests!

 

[david173]

Went for Rusty lee, made in the UK and fully TUV approved. Have to say i was super impressed with thier customer service. I rang them asking about handbrake lowering and they put me on to the workshop team who gave me some advice on dropping it etc.
Product is solid and locks when forward an backwards which is really handy.

 

[Sunwhite]

I really liked the look of the Rusty Lee ones but unfortunately there was no local supplier here in Australia so I went with a 'Sportscraft' swivel base for the passenger seat back in February. It still works fine and has no rattles or rocking motion.

Cheers

Brian

 

[Brennanpj]

Went for Rusty lee, made in the UK and fully TUV approved. Have to say i was super impressed with thier customer service. I rang them asking about handbrake lowering and they put me on to the workshop team who gave me some advice on dropping it etc.
Product is solid and locks when forward an backwards which is really handy.

Hi @david173 Can I ask how much extra height the rusty Lee gives ? Also if any nuts etc. stick out from the underside as I have a sub underneath.?
Thanks

 

[david173]

Hi @david173 Can I ask how much extra height the rusty Lee gives ? Also if any nuts etc. stick out from the underside as I have a sub underneath.?
Thanks

Think it is the usual 30-40 mm as with most swivels. There is a plate that bolts directly to the top of the metal seat base, nothing sticks down below that, seen a few people use them with leisure batteries etc so wouldnt have thought it was a problem. Hope that helps

 

[Brennanpj]

Think it is the usual 30-40 mm as with most swivels. There is a plate that bolts directly to the top of the metal seat base, nothing sticks down below that, seen a few people use them with leisure batteries etc so wouldnt have thought it was a problem. Hope that helps

Thanks @david173

 

[Nods]

Hey all. We've just fitted the Cheshire Motor Caravans (CMC) swivel base (with safe) and I don't know if we've got a 'bad egg' but it looks to me like way to much movement in the swivel base. In the video I'm very gently pushing on the shoulder of the front seat and it's lifting loads.

This is our first swivel so any thoughts and experiences would be a great help.

 

[david173]

Hey all. We've just fitted the Cheshire Motor Caravans (CMC) swivel base (with safe) and I don't know if we've got a 'bad egg' but it looks to me like way to much movement in the swivel base. In the video I'm very gently pushing on the shoulder of the front seat and it's lifting loads.

This is our first swivel so any thoughts and experiences would be a great help.

Has it gained M1 test certification? from their website it doesn't say anything about it. You could call them and check.

It looks like flex in the metal plate which looks pretty thin and the whole seat is only connected by the four small bolts surrounding the central hole.

Personally for me I wouldn't want to install anything which is safety critical such as a seat without the M1 test certification and/or TUV or equivalent approval, not worth the risk.

 

[Nods]

Has it gained M1 test certification? from their website it doesn't say anything about it. You could call them and check.

It looks like flex in the metal plate which looks pretty thin and the whole seat is only connected by the four small bolts surrounding the central hole.

Personally for me I wouldn't want to install anything which is safety critical such as a seat without the M1 test certification and/or TUV or equivalent approval, not worth the risk.

Hey David, thanks for the reply and I totally agree on the risk front. The seller assured me that it is M1 tested and safe and says that this amount of movement is 'within tolerance' and is claiming that it is not faulty and that it is just my opinion. The flex seems to be between the two plates at the swivel axel and doesn't look safe. I just wanted to check with others if their swivels had this much movement.