Seat Swivels (1 Viewer)

[Feltwell]

I'm contemplating fitting a swivel base to the drivers seat - right hand drive van - of my 06 plate Ducato, X244 model, last of the "old shape". It's a coachbuilt with the standard cab and seats.

Question is, looking at it, for those of you that have swivel seat bases with standard Fiat seats does the back of the seat not hit the door armrest/pulling handle and then the steering wheel as you turn it? Or do you always have to turn it the opposite way, i.e. clockwise? Do you have to mess about with the steering wheel adjustment every time you use it?

At the moment the cab on my van is wasted space once on site - access from the back is tight, luton bed overhead that is fixed, and the driver's seat back makes it a squeeze to get through the gap. Having an extra seat that at least one of the kids can dive into easily would be useful on occasions. It wouldn't be turned through 180 degrees, more like 130.

The extra seat height caused by the swivel isn't really a problem, I'm tall and have the seat jacked up a bit anyway as even slid right back I don't have quite enough legroom to be comfortable when driving.

 

[Pilote87]

Sorry, but I can't answer your question directly. However, there a couple of things to think about.
1. Consider getting a low profile swivel so that it lessens the problem with not being able to comfortably see through the swept part of the windscreen.
2. Not sure how you can do it, but there may be a problem with the seat fouling the handbrake. On a Pilote we had of pre 2006 it was fitted with a drop-down handbrake lever. Once applied the lever could be set to its lowered position without releasing the brakes.

On my current lhd vehicle I have to move the seat backwards and forwards on its slide as I turn it. That is not to much of a problem.

J

 

[schojac]

IMO, not really worth it unless you remove the steering wheel. I fitted a Tazio Corse removable steering wheel. Expensive but does give added seating and room. Doesn't foul on standard handbrake when rotated.

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[DP+JAY]

All you need to do is slide the seat forward before you swivel it( the slider is above the swivel) Once swivelled it an then be slid back against the steering wheel if needed

 

[goldenline]

All you need to do is slide the seat forward before you swivel it( the slider is above the swivel) Once swivelled it an then be slid back against the steering wheel if needed

I fitted one to my hymer 644 passenger seat (left hand drive) and we are very happy with the results. The extra space is worth having. Try Jennings Seats they were very helpful and they sell everything you need
Alan

 

[reckless]

We have Fiat cab with swivel seats and find that we cannot turn the driver's seat fully for the reasons you mentioned. This means the seat is always angled inwards slightly and Brian will sometimes use 'my' seat for watching TV. Not ideal.
Karen

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[reckless]

Should have said, we have side lounge seats and the driver's seat snags on the corner of this when jammed back against steering wheel
Karen

 

[Shrimp]

OH fitted a removable steering wheel, otherwise it was a fiddle to swivel the seat and it wouldn't turn right round-it does now!

 

[Emmit]

On our Hobby the swivel meant that the height was too much and I had to slouch in the seat.
The ther prob. was that the seat would not turn, hitting the steering wheel.
That was solved by adjusting the seat back to less than 90deg for swivelling and then putting it back once the manouvre had been completed. It helped by putting the steering wheel (adjustable|) in the up position.
PS Ours is on an X244 Fiat and it's tight!!!

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[Emmit]

Too slow to add to the above that we bought some lower seat boxes to allow for the swivel.
This saves 'The slouch', very important when travelling downhill. Prior to this the view was minimum.because the van was fitted with front blinds that had a fitted pelmet, reducing the top line of the windscreen even further.

 

[Feltwell]

Thanks everyone. The Jennings Seats tip was useful - it highlighted a swivel by Sportscraft which has an offset pivot, so as you turn the seat it moves it about 4" towards the centre of the van, according to Marcle leisure. This might solve Reckless's problem above as well.

I checked the adjustment on my seat as it is now, it's about 40mm above the lowest setting, so adding a swivel then dropping the seat adjustment should put it back to roughly the same place. As for the handbrake - hmm, not sure, may be able to adjust it to make it sit a bit lower if it's an issue.

 

[Puddleduck]

All you need to do is slide the seat forward before you swivel it( the slider is above the swivel) Once swivelled it an then be slid back against the steering wheel if needed

Yes, that is what we do and the RH seat swivels anti-clockwise and the LH seat clockwise. It's not a real problem. The cab seats are the most comfortable and I often use the side seat or the dinette seat for my feet Make sure the seat is not too high when you have your feet down as you will end up with back-ache. A foot stool might help there

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[Feltwell]

Didn't work too well in the end - our MH just isn't designed for it really. It swiveled no problem but with the lack of head room (fixed over-cab bed) and narrow access to the seat once it was turned it just wasn't being used. It also did make the seat slightly higher, which wouldn't have been a problem except that it meant that lanky here was looking through the unswept part of the screen a bit too much for comfort, as was warned above.

So it went on Ebay and sold for only £8 less than I paid for it new

Not a great loss all in all!