We wanted to have a second row permanent seating with belts for two people, so I bought the Ford Transit two-seater module. I planned to mount the seats on a raised platform so that they are on the same level as front seats. This design with rotating front seats would allow to have a nice dinette for four.These seats are good, but have two issues for my purpose: they are quite narrow and one leg is in the middle, which makes it impossible to have a large space under the seat for batteries. The solution was to build a special platform and modify the seat mounting.
The platform pieces were cut from steel angles and screwed together and to the vans floor. Then assembled platform was removed from floor and welded. Despite it was welded in fully assembled state, some thermal deformation happened, which posed some problems when screwing it back to original floor holes. The frame is attached by 16 stainless steel bolts: 10 to the floor with large washers, 4 long to the frame across the van and 2 to the vertical wall in front. The rear compartment is for batteries and electrical, the front - for storage box. The dimensions are 45x31x6 inch and are determined by needed seat position and seat mounting system.
Each of the seat legs was attached to the seat by 3 large bolts. Legs were removed, put on the rails that come with the seat and screwed to the sides of the platform. then I drilled the original holes for bolts to larger diameter and put through them three steel 9/16" rods (one side was threaded and screwed to the leg while another was hold on place by a pin.
After that the whole legs assembly was taken off the platform, one leg removed and the seat, where I drilled wholes to 9/16", was slid on the rods and the second leg put back in place. Now the seat with legs can be easily clicked into the original rails.
This construction resolved all issues I had originally with the seat:
1) I got a large tall usable volume under the seat; 2) the seat could be moved on the rods left and right: when at left provided more room for passage, when at right - more room for seating as there was about 6 more inches between the seat and the left wall; 3) the OEM rails provided an easy way to release the rear hold and rotate the seat forward to allow the space for working under the seat, which was absolutely necessary for future electrical compartment installation.
Greetings,
ReplyDeleteI happened upon your build layout on the promaster forum and was so excited. I recently purchased the same Promaster as you have with the intention to build it into an rv so my autistic daughter and I could start exlploring the country.Your layout is almost exactly the same as what I have in mind. The exception is I would like 2 side bench seats in back that can convert from bench seats to a bed. They would have slide out drawers for batter and clothes storage that could be accessed by pulling them out the back door or lifting up the seats.The reason for the bench system us to allow for another dining table and to have two separate living areas. One could be for my teenage daughter and a few friends and a separate area for me, when desired or if one of us wanted to sleep and the other wanted to stay up. We could have a curtain between the sepoarate areas. Before I purchased the van I found a builder who agreed to the build at a price I could afford. So I went forward with buying the van. However, after further discussion the builder acknowledged they were not actually equipped to do the build I want. So, after talking to a number of other builders who are far beyond my budget and having an empty van for over a month I have decided to do the build myself, with help from a friend. I am 65 and neither one of us have any experience. My plan before reading your post was to first add a window on the passenger side with vents, a window in the sliding door and a Maxx fan in back. Then, I thought we should do the insulation. Dynamat sound control and thinsulate was what I have in mind. Then,I think adding the two seat bench behind the driver seat would be next. However, I am not sure about the prooer order, just what seems logical. Should I do the floor and cut around it for added seat or install seat and build floor around it? These are some of my questions. Should I insulate before or after electrical, etc. I plan on a cassette toilet as I do not want a black tank. Also, no propane,so either an induction or butane stove. I am considering just using a Big Kahuna for showering inside the shower/toilet enclosure. Also, I just want a simple quick disconnect system with fresh and grey water containers directly below the kitchen sink.
We could certainly use some guidance. Would you consider acting as a consultant on the project so we don't completely wreck my van? Due to budget constraints We will likely have to do the build in two segments, with the bathroom and electrical in phase 2, so I can pay as I go. Hopefully you are available as a consultant. I can be contacted at camiliaa@aol.com. Thank you.
Congratulations with your new van!
ReplyDeleteI see you have great plans. I do not understand what do you mean under being consultant. I am not professional builder - this is my first van to build. However i have some experience in DIY: I completely rebuild my house, do everything inside the house myself including gas, plumbing and electrical.
I will be glad to share my experience on this van. You can ask questions here, in this post or email me at the address in the blog (do you see it? I am new with this application and do not know all details). I think, asking questions in the blog is better, since then, question and answers are available for others to see.
Regarding the questions you asked.
The order: it depends on how you prefer to do things and what kind of conversion you are doing. Many builders that I have seen, do insulation first, then floor and paneling, and then add details inside that box. For me that order is not good: I want to utilize every inch of the space, so I do not build a box inside the van but use the van body. So I am doing all systems first (electrical, water, propane, etc) and insulation and paneling are at the very end - last step before the furniture.
Floor and seats.
It depends what kind of seats you want. I needed a regular seats with belts safe for driving - so I had to have a reliable attachment to the van's body. That's why I build the seats first. If you do not need this you can make a strong sub floor and build the seats right on it. Many people that do bench seats are using this approach.