Date:         Mon, 12 Dec 2005 10:54:49 -0600
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Subject:      Re: Westy Camper Additional Seating Options?
Comments: To: Michael Diehr <md03@XOCHI.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <184D6789-78CC-4E61-B374-4A7E3E0DDE96@xochi.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

I haven't done this yet but have gathered the parts and done the
research.

You can add a single seat for $$$. This raises the seating capacity to
five, offers storage under the seat (at least in come cases) and
provides for most/all camper functionality with the seat still in place
(you can open the fridge and cabinets, for instance, and travel from
front to rear).

The setup I opted for is a middle seat and a set of the rails and trays
that they slide into. The fittings and holes are made into the floor of
every vanagon, so they tell me, and that looks to be the case.  I will
use the bolt holes in the floor to locate the position of the rails by
drilling up through those holes from the bottom.

Then I will have to remove the floor which means removing the cabinets
and rear seat, but from there on the process looks straigntforward.
I'll mark around the trays and rails, cut out the flooring that needs
to be removed and then reinstall the floor and bolt in the tracks. The
seat will slide in from the side. The middle seat comes with its own
high-quality seat belt arrangement.

If used on a camping trip, I plan to simply slide it out and cover it
with a tarp to use the camper interior.

Of course, if you're just wanting to add one person, you might also
look at adding another seat belt in the middle of the other two in the
back, in case the mix includes children who could ride back there. I
can't speak for the safety issues there, I'm sure others will do that
for me : )

Jim

On Dec 12, 2005, at 10:34 AM, Michael Diehr wrote:

> One limitation of the Westy full campers is seating for 4 in the
> stock situation.    Can anyone explain (or provide pictures) of what
> the  additional seating options are?  I'm confused about jump seats,
> middle row seats, etc.   Can they be installed  / removed quickly or
> is it not something you'd want to do on a day-to-day basis?
>