Adding or removing seats

cormie

Apart from the labour, what would be involved in either adding say 4 seats to the back of a van, or temporarily removing the seats from a crew cab van? I imagine removing the seats temporarily would be fine but adding seats to a van that's registered as only having 3 (driver and 2 passengers) would be a bit more complicated?

colm_mcm

You'd be liable for VRT

Having 7 people in the van would be handy for those push-starts though.

cormie

Haha:D

I'm guessing VRT is Vehicle Reg' Tax? How much would I be looking at exactly?

colm_mcm

it goes on a percentage of the value of your van...
less hassle to just bite the bullet and buy a crewcab.

Stephen

Haven't we got that Cormie's Van forum yet?

cormie

Hehe:)

Yeah, see I'd like a van that I can take 6 passengers in when I need to, but also remove the seats if I need the space for something else. Easiest option would probably be to get a crew cab and replace the seats with removable ones, or do some DIY jobby.

Does anyone know if Transit crew cabs or 3 or 4 seats in the back? I know Renault Masters are 4.

Del2005

Do crew cabs not come with a solid barrier between the passenger and cargo area? Unless you get an older van and put in tempory seating for extra passengers then take it back out again, is the only way to do it as I don't think that you can remove the seats from crew cabs.

I know a person with a big old Merc van with an extra seat in the back for bringing the band around. Van has been DOE'ed no problem. Don't know if they are proper seats or just a sofa stuck in though!

Esel

Oh dear God. :rolleyes:

IrishRover

I would say insurance to carry those passengers in the rear an important thing to look into. I don't think it's a straightforward thing to carry passengers in the cargo area of a commerical van. You'd have to think about fitting seatbelts too.

cormie

I think 7 seats is ok, I was talking to a guy with a 7 seater who had a transit mini bus before, the mini bus was 3.5K a year to insure, the 7 seater 1K so I don't think it's too bad.

Yeah, I think most of the crew cabs do have a barrier, that's where the DIY comes in;) I'm thinking a hinged door that can be brought back and stand up straight against the side walls when I need the full space, remove the seats and then I have use of the full length of the van, if I need the seats, I just put them back in, close the doors behind the seats and that'll be them closed off again. :cool:

colm_mcm

post some pics when you do!

Henry Ford III

Another Cormie classic!

CJhaughey

IrishRover wrote:

I would say insurance to carry those passengers in the rear an important thing to look into. I don't think it's a straightforward thing to carry passengers in the cargo area of a commerical van. You'd have to think about fitting seatbelts too.

There was a court case recently where a woman travelling in the back of a van was injured in a crash, she wanted compo from the insurance which naturally enough told her where to go.
She was not happy with the outcome and took it to the European court which ruled that she was entitled to compensation!
I expect that all commercial insurance will be affected by this ruling.

colm_mcm

that's a new caravan for her so...

RoundyMooney

I have a jackhammer, some slab nails and chewing gum around here somewhere if the OP is interested.

Oh, and an invalidated finance agreement...


Joke:p

afatbollix

you will also need to fit windows in the back..

Esel

Think big! Fit seats and windows to a 40 foot container - bingo - a Bingo bus!

cormie

Definitely sounds like starting with a crew cab and removing seats is the best option rather than trying to add removable seats to a normal one anyway:)

Del2005

Why don't you give the VRO a call and see what's involved in getting extra seats added to a normal van? You'd have a lot of cutting and welding to convert a crew cab to removable seats. You could proberly pick up a couple of used coach seats with belts and stick them in the back of a van. They would only need to be bolted to the chassis rails to make them as secure as on a coach!

cormie

Would I definitely need windows in the back? I suppose I should really just have a look at a few crew cabs first and see what would be involved:) At least there would be no paperwork anyway!