Hello, This feed and the knowledge from the replies might be able to help. I have a T6 3 seater Beach and I was thinking about the extra seats for when our bus isn't camping and need advice. Please forgive me if this is very obvious but can you fit another 3 seat ex-transporter 1+1+1 combination seat(s) in front the the slider seats to make 8 seats like a caravelle ?
If I have understood you correctly and you mean a second three seater bench, then from memory the answer in theory, is yes but it would raise certain other major issues. Those being:
1. With the second bench seat in the fully forward position, access to the rear bench would be very difficult indeed. The only way you could gain access to the rear bench would be to tilt the upright back section of the front bench seat forward to allow very tight and limited access. Sitting here, writing this post, I cannot remember if that is actually possible on a T6. I haven't played with the rear bench recently. Does anyone know?
2. Rear seat passengers would find it very difficult, if not impossible, to get out in the event of an accident. The mechanism for tilting the front bench back section forward, (if it is indeed possible) is a strap located in the middle of the seat base where it joins the seat back. It would therefore not be easily accessible to rear seat passengers when the front bench seat head rests are in position. The rear bench passengers would be reliant on help from the driver or other passengers sitting in the forward seats. That just wouldn't be safe.
3. As you would be modifying the vehicle away from the designed specification you would almost certainly find it harder, if not impossible to get it insured.
4. With this modification and eight passengers with luggage etc, you may be taking the vehicle to above its maximum permissible gross vehicle weight. Not a good idea.
5. I doubt if it will have been crash tested in this configuration so you may be entering uncharted safety territory.
6. Whilst I have never tried it, I would imagine that moving the three seater bench in and out would be very difficult indeed and bl**dy heavy.
7. If the seats that you are suggesting are of the type used in the Transporter Shuttle then they won't fit. You can specify a VW Transporter Shuttle bus with two rear rows of three seats but these seats use a completely different fixing system to the rail system in the Beach so would not be transferrable. From memory I believe that the Shuttle seats are simply bolted to the floor and cannot be moved fore and aft. Also the front three seater bench in that case is usually split into a two seater fixed bench and a single seater tilt/fold seat to enable adequate access to the rear bench. I also believe this single seat is easily operated by the rear seat passengers.
So in essence, whist spouting all this from memory, (so I stand to be corrected), I believe that it is possible in theory but the sensible answer is definitely do NOT do it.
have fun
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