5 seater Grand Cali

[Camperfamily]

Out of interesthas anyone on here swapped out the passenger seat on the 600 Grand Cali with a 2 seat bench, in order to make it a 5 seater?

I’ve seen this done on a Cali but not a GC to date.

 

[Camperfamily]

Raising this topic again - is there any reason why the passenger seat in a GC600 couldn’t be swapped for a double? Other than cost and comfort, any other disadvantages?

I suspect this would require the 3.8T version of the GC600 given payload restrictions on the 3.5T, but thoughts on this welcome too

 

[Jay586]

Airbags might be an issue.

Apparently, on vans there is an extra airbag for the bench seat. If you do change it, ensure it reclines as the standard bench seat isn't comfortable.

 

[andyinluton]

Raising this topic again - is there any reason why the passenger seat in a GC600 couldn’t be swapped for a double? Other than cost and comfort, any other disadvantages?

I suspect this would require the 3.8T version of the GC600 given payload restrictions on the 3.5T, but thoughts on this welcome too

If you were thinking of carrying 5 the payload would certainly be a problem at 3.5tnne.

The only other problem would be the lack of heat / vent to the back, it seems to struggle to get there at the moment despite a huge gap between the front seats, closing off that gap will only make it worse. You will also loose the walk through ability.

The crafter double seat is supposed to be a lot more comfortable than the transporter one. The back seat of the GC is actually a transporter front double.

Have you found anyone that makes a swivel for the double? all the ones advertised seem to be for the previous Sprinter/Crafter model.

I would be interested to see if it is do-able following the arguments last week as to who was going to sit in the back...

 

[Camperfamily]

@andyinluton what is under the passenger seat in a GC600? Is the leisure battery under there?

 

[andyinluton]

@andyinluton what is under the passenger seat in a GC600? Is the leisure battery under there?

No, leisure battery is in the engine bay. The charger is certainly under the seat not sure what else.

 

[VW54WKSJUNE82]

I'm looking to buy a 600 too and I think I'll go down the route of having a removable 5th chair placed in the second row which will be purely just for travelling and then removed and stored in the garage at the back or placed in a pop up storage tent outside when camping. I'm not 100% sure this can be done but can't see why not. What do people think about this?

 

[andyinluton]

I would speak to someone like Cotrim Gloucester House, Newton Road, Churchfields Ind. Est. Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 7QA

Never used them but they specialise in this sort of thing. One of their packages is a row of 3 individual seats in the 2nd row on rails - perhaps just a third of this package could be what you need?

I think a swivelling double in the front would be a better solution as you would then have seats for all five when parked up.

 

[The Yorkshireman]

hi if you watch the YouTube video on the GC production the floor is put in as one piece so accessing the original floor structure might prove difficult.

 

[Camperfamily]

So I found this interesting suggestion from Germany:

Lösung – Kastenwagen für fünf

 

[The Yorkshireman]

Might be possible after all

 

[Camperfamily]

I think I’ve sourced a solution to fit a swivel double passenger seat in a GC, but I need to confirm what’s under the passenger seat and dimensions of such.

It turns out (as at @andyinluton alluded to) that the double seat in post 2018 Crafters is quite different to pre 2018 in that the new double seat and box are all one piece. As such, the new Crafter requires a floor mounted swivel plate, but the location of the fusebox (in a Crafter, perhaps different in a GC?) means a conventional floor mounted swivel, like that which can be aftermarket mounted in T5/ T6 Transporters (not Calis), for example, isn’t possible. Similarly, building it high enough to overcome the problems created by the fusebox would raise the seat approx 160mm which wouldn’t be ideal. The solution I’ve tracked down deals with this issue and clears the fusebox in a Crafter. I need to establish however what else/ different is under a GC600 passenger seat.

Would anyone with a GC600 be willing to take some photos and measurements (height, width, depth) of protrusions under the passenger seat?

 

[WelshGas]

I think I’ve sourced a solution to fit a swivel double passenger seat in a GC, but I need to confirm what’s under the passenger seat and dimensions of such.

It turns out (as at @andyinluton alluded to) that the double seat in post 2018 Crafters is quite different to pre 2018 in that the new double seat and box are all one piece. As such, the new Crafter requires a floor mounted swivel plate, but the location of the fusebox (in a Crafter, perhaps different in a GC?) means a conventional floor mounted swivel, like that which can be aftermarket mounted in T5/ T6 Transporters (not Calis), for example, isn’t possible. Similarly, building it high enough to overcome the problems created by the fusebox would raise the seat approx 160mm which wouldn’t be ideal. The solution I’ve tracked down deals with this issue and clears the fusebox in a Crafter. I need to establish however what else/ different is under a GC600 passenger seat.

Would anyone with a GC600 be willing to take some photos and measurements (height, width, depth) of protrusions under the passenger seat?

I would suggest checking with your Insurance Company and DVLA their requirements before proceeding.
The Transporter based California can be had with extra seats but the Grand California cannot. This might be problematic for DVLA and Insurance Companies.

 

[andyinluton]

Would anyone with a GC600 be willing to take some photos and measurements (height, width, depth) of protrusions under the passenger seat?

I'll do some over the weekend.

 

[Camperfamily]

Cheers Andy

 

[VW54WKSJUNE82]

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[VW54WKSJUNE82]

This is the solution, I believe r&j camper solutions are the only company that produce the new crafter bench swivel base but I'm not sure if this works with the grand cali though due to the heating vents coming up between the front seats on the floor. I'm told they also have a 3 to 4 month order wait.

 

[Camperfamily]

@VW54WKSJUNE82 R&J are exactly who I’ve been in contact with

 

[VW54WKSJUNE82]

@VW54WKSJUNE82 R&J are exactly who I’ve been in contact with

Have they did it will work in the grand cali?

 

[VW54WKSJUNE82]

*said

 

[Camperfamily]

@VW54WKSJUNE82 I didn’t ask them that question - I assumed that they wouldn’t have had any direct experience of a GC. I think your point about the vents might make it a challenge, but let’s see what others say

 

[andyinluton]

@VW54WKSJUNE82 I didn’t ask them that question - I assumed that they wouldn’t have had any direct experience of a GC. I think your point about the vents might make it a challenge, but let’s see what others say

Do you actually have anything coming out the vents? my understanding is that they are only used if you have the supplementary diesel heater with the controls in the roof above the rear view mirror.

 

[andyinluton]

I had a look under my seat & tried to take some photos - not easy. From what I can see it is only the battery charger thats in the way, looking at that Facebook video the swivel seat lifts up & with the charger being quite slim I would have though it should be possible to mount it sufficiently low that the seat lifts over it.

The only thing I didn't like was that the head restraints need to be removed to swivel the seat if you have the roof pockets over the seats.

Everything that doesn't swivel in the GC is contained within the bottom 150mm of space in the beatbox that the runners & then the VW swivel are mounted on. It looks like the charger is mounted on top of the fuse box There is still some free space in there hight wise. Not sure how much space the charger needs round it for cooling though.

 

[Camperfamily]

Thanks very much, Andy. Really helpful.

It sounds like the central floor vents need some investigation to confirm whether they can be ‘removed’ or modified, but your suggestion of this potentially only used on a particular option sounds promising.

I’ve not yet studied the detail of all the different GC options - is the diesel heater you mention different to the diesel powered heating and hot water upgrade (cf. standard gas version)?

 

[VW54WKSJUNE82]

@VW54WKSJUNE82 I didn’t ask them that question - I assumed that they wouldn’t have had any direct experience of a GC. I think your point about the vents might make it a challenge, but let’s see what others say

The parking/night heater vents in the floor aren't unique to the gc, a standard crafter can have these vents when built with the heater from factory so they may of considered these vents in there design ideas. I think I'll call them Monday and see what they say.