Surely theres a bench seat somewhere

[multidubba]

In a pickle..... I currently have an 06 Multi executive with the 2-2-2 seat formation. This is perfect for us (family of 6) now..... but we have twins about to join us, so that leaves me in a quandry:

How do I fit in 2 more seats. I have struggled to souce a bench seat over the past month or so so:

* Do I sell this one - I currently have it listed on carsales and buy another similar with 7 seats and get the 8th made after market,
* Do I sell/trade in a get a newer Caravelle with either 8 or 9 seats,
* Do I sell/trade in and get a Hyundai Imax,
* Do I continue to search, hoping that I can at best swap my two captains for a bench sometime very soon.

I dont want to put any more $'s into the changeover if I can help it. All the spare cash is going into home reno's.


Any suggestions?

[multidubba]

One option I have is to buy a bench seat from a bloke in Berlin (from German Ebay) It'd cost $2,200 plus shipping plus GST and customs on top.

http://cgi.ebay.de/VW-T5-Sitzbank-Multivan-Sitz-Schlafsitzbank-Leder-Glatt-/360308505692?pt=Autoteile_Zubeh%C3%B6r&hash=item53e40f7c5c

Probably not much change out of $4,000. VW reckon it would be around $7,000 to get one through a dealer.

What would be ideal is a straight swap for my two rear buckets for a bench. A real pity to sell her as she is in fantastic shape and we really like her.

Maybe aftermarket seats are the way to go, but would these be much less than $4,000 anyway?

[flyingfridge]

V-Gear do ****ie seats that slide along the table rails in the centre. They are for 'child occupants' so they're pretty narrow and I think from memory the weight limit is 50kg but it may help....

V-Gear - Seating

I can't remember what they're worth, could be worth a call.

[rob64981]

There was someone on here that wanted another single seat so the wheel chair could go in the van if i remember correctly.

Maybe you could swop with cash to get what you both need or if the seats dont match you could swop all the seats if you both came to an agreement.

Have a look in the past threads about seats.

Hope it might help you Rob

[MultiplexMan]

Those V-Gear seats look like the shot. Two middle seats and you are set! Good find FF.

[Sharkie]

I have heard that Trakka may have seats for sale. They turn Multivans into Trakkadu campervans and thus have interior bits that come out during the manufacturing process.

I have emailed them and asked for some pricing if this is correct and will post here once I have an answer. BTW also asked the V-Gear guys for pricing and if the seats once fitted are removable ....

Also ...

In a pickle..... I currently have an 06 Multi executive with the 2-2-2 seat formation. This is perfect for us (family of 6) now..... but we have twins about to join us, so that leaves me in a quandry:

How do I fit in 2 more seats. I have struggled to souce a bench seat over the past month or so so:

* Do I sell this one - I currently have it listed on carsales and buy another similar with 7 seats and get the 8th made after market,
* Do I sell/trade in a get a newer Caravelle with either 8 or 9 seats,
* Do I sell/trade in and get a Hyundai Imax,
* Do I continue to search, hoping that I can at best swap my two captains for a bench sometime very soon.

I dont want to put any more $'s into the changeover if I can help it. All the spare cash is going into home reno's.


Any suggestions?

Once you are used to the Executive, you will not like the Caravelle. It is very basic inside with lots of exposed bare metal and the iMax is terrible to drive and has no cruise control, even as an option....

[Sharkie]

Just had a reply from Trakka ..... they turn LWB Transporters into Trakkadu's so, no seats there I'm afraid. Puts an end to that rumour ....

Had a good result from the V-Gear guys .....

Cut & Pasted from an email I received 5 mins ago .....

Thank you for your enquiry on the Multivan center seats these are a permanent fixture and not removable.
The Prices are CS1 in cloth $1585+gst in leather $1785+gst.
The CS2 in cloth is $2400+gst in leather $2600+gst.
These are in matching trim (Current model 4-6 weeks away)
We also have a dealer in Brisbane for fitting.

So this is the solution I think. Pity about it being non removable, but can be had in leather to suit your Executive .....

[multidubba]

Thanks heaps guys.

I'll be ringing V gear today and see if they can give me some rough prices - thanks flying fridge,

Thats also a good lead on the single seats Rob..... I do recall someone looking for a single....

sharkie, me my good wife and 4 kiddies all agree with you, we had a look in a caravelle the other day all even though the LWB has great seat arrangements and even gives us a spare seat...its not nowhere near the multivan.

I guess we have pretty much decided to stay with the Multi, it just comes down to whether we sell this one and 'downgrade' to a highline without the DVD, reversing camera etc, but have 7 seats and the cost of downgrading covers buying that ****y seat. Or be able to effectively swap the captains for a bench,, or have the two extra made.

Only problem with the two getting made is that its an extra cost.

thanks guys, this website is great.

[Silver Caravelle]

Hi all,

I was the one with the wheelchair conversion looking for an extra captains seat for the rear. I haven't pursued this further as the bench seat is sitting in the middle row ( and is kind off handy at present and too bloody heavy to lift out! ) and one of the single captain chairs along side the wheelchair location in the rear. Ideally it would be good to put the captains chairs and the picnic table back in the middle row and aquire an extra matching captains chair for the rear. I would still aim to keep the bench seat though with the vehicle for resale in the years to come.

Sorry I am not much help in terms of swap. And mine is anthracite cloth not leather.

Regards,

Scott

[Tornado T5]

I used V-Quip to supply double individual bucket seats with child seat anchor points, inertia reel seatbelts, quick release fitting and they have been excellent as a second row seat for our T5 Transporter. (At the time you couldn't order a Crewvan with wing doors, maybe still can't) V-Quip have very good engineering abilities, popped in 3 times as they customised my van with full lining, seats, F & R protection bars etc, extra attachment points.. and I'm sure they could even modify their own seating to further customise what you're after. (apart from your stated non-removable preference above)

[multidubba]

Thanks Scott.

Well, my options are starting to reduce. As I see it I have two main choices and I need to commit to one real soon:

1. Sell our current Multi for $36-$38k and buy another (7 seater) for hopefully $1.5k less, this can then be used to get the CS1 seat.
Positives - no extra costs
negatives - selling a car in great nick and buying another that is in unknown nick

2. Keep our multi and definately get the CS1 seat made for $1.5k, look to either trade my captains for a bench seat or if nothing comes of that buy a bench from germany or get the CS2 made up.
Positives - have a multi we know and love
Negatives - extra costs and time spent looking

All this while I sit in the hospital with the twins coming out later today!

[multidubba]

Ta Tornado,

When you say V-Quip, do you mean V-Gear?

[Tornado T5]

Sorry, Veh Quip Australia pty ltd is the full company name, I think they brand some of their products under V-Gear as a division of the parent company....just read your above post..GOOD LUCK to all....but then again you're a veteran... as the older brother of twins...you're going to have a great and interesting future.

[Silver Caravelle]

Thanks Scott.

Well, my options are starting to reduce. As I see it I have two main choices and I need to commit to one real soon:

1. Sell our current Multi for $36-$38k and buy another (7 seater) for hopefully $1.5k less, this can then be used to get the CS1 seat.
Positives - no extra costs
negatives - selling a car in great nick and buying another that is in unknown nick

2. Keep our multi and definately get the CS1 seat made for $1.5k, look to either trade my captains for a bench seat or if nothing comes of that buy a bench from germany or get the CS2 made up.
Positives - have a multi we know and love
Negatives - extra costs and time spent looking

All this while I sit in the hospital with the twins coming out later today!

All the Very best Multidubba for the delivery of the twins today! Dare I say it, it may be a more straight forward 'delivery' than the delivery of a bench seat!

Regards,

Scott

[Silver Caravelle]

Another thing to consider is that your 6 seater will be currently registered as a 6 seater. Extra costs and hassel of re-registering as a seven or eight seater?

Cheers,

Scott