Twin Front Seat Cali

Bally2811 · Mar 3, 2014

We are now on our Second VW California having being an early customer when they first were released and subsequently bought our new 5 seat version in april last year. Now as you will have read the difficulties of moving the 5th seat is painful and storing it for quick overnights even more so, in effect it means brining an awning and storing in there.

So.......following quite an extensive research project I'm glad to say it was finished only at 1pm today and I'm absolutely delighted with the results. Highe thanks to Colin at oxfordt5 and Transcal.

It does not come without its compromises as i will explain later.

Stage one removing the Front Single Seat and Replacing it with a Twin Double folding seat from a Transporter.........

A few considerations.
The twin Passengers seat needs to be modified to house the battery.

Double seat base is only available in black, Cali seats have a grey base?
Front Airbag in a Cali is a single and an upgrade to a double was required, again very simple job.
To install the extra 4 floor studs you need to lower the fuel tank and remove some under trays, quite simple really as all the right holes are there.
You also would need to make 4 holes in the flooring/ carpet but this is covered by the new seat.
You might want to re register the vehicle with dvla by using the amendments section on v5 to 6 seats if you want to keep the middle seat but we didn't so no change required.
Insurance need to be updated but this wasn't a problem with my insurer Safeguard.
You might need to get it retrimmed to match your other seats?

so here are a few photos.....I'm still waiting on the twin passengers seat headrest to be upholstered as i told them it had the wrong ones!

calikev · Mar 3, 2014

Great job

Meoncoast · Mar 3, 2014

:cool
1st class job to meet your needs like the retrim

Bally2811 · Mar 3, 2014

Sorry should have said......

Seat cost
Not as much as you would think, as the resell prices for the 5th seat and single passengers more than pay for the twin replacement and labour. Also keep and sell the California standard trim as they are worth a few quid. Colin at oxford T5 made my adjusted seat with the battery plate. First class job...www.oxfordt5.co.uk

Retrim Cost
There are plenty of people who will and can do this for you, i used Transcal in bristol and it was a 2 week turn around..www.transcal.co.uk

Airbag
Any VW garage can change the airbag..you just have to get them to want to as they will haggle.

SimplyDubs · Mar 3, 2014

Nice work... Colin is a top bloke, got a few Caravelle bits from him in the past... including a hard to find Multiflex board.

Couple of questions:-

How difficult is turn the drivers seat? Looks like quite a close fit, but is it actually any different that the original? (Which is just a matter of getting in the right place to start with.)

Any idea if it would be possible to fit one of the twin seat swivels? Guess Colin would know.

Looks very tidy indeed.

Rgds
M

Bally2811 · Mar 3, 2014

It was a real squeeze and in fact I had to replace the seat belt buckle as it was a ridged metal plate with a flexible one, after that it you need to open up the twin base and with a bit of back and forward you get there....but most importantly it does turn!!!

I did think about getting the twin swivel plate, but that would have required moving the electrics and batter under the drivers seat.....probably a step too far for me at this stage!

Its quite funny the things that trip you up are not what you would expect....

Battery plate needed fixing
Driver seat swivel..as per above

But all in all we are really really happy and look forward to our 4 week European trip in August through France and Spain!

comfortz · Mar 4, 2014

Looking very good Bally!

I've dealt with Colin a few times and he really is a top chap!

Off topic a littte here and most certainly a shameless plug

..... but you maybe interested in one of these down the line.....3" memory foam to create and extra bed for the little ones - different material of course!

Pistolknight · Mar 4, 2014

Very nice indeed, I'm tempted to follow suit. Could Colin do the whole job, bar the re-upholstering as it sounds quite involved?

Bally2811 · Mar 4, 2014

Yeh Colin did the lot for me other than the air bag and retrim. He and also gained all the knowledge of the what works and what doesn't, so I think he will be in a much better position to do another!

Also if you are not fussy on retrim you could buy ink a seat covers which would do the job nicely and the cost then would be min.

I would stress though that you do loose a bit of flexibility with regards the seat not going to be able to turn, also you need to check with your insurers as I believe if you have insured through a typical "car" insurance company they are a bit funny, whist if you insure via a campervan specialist like safe guard as I do it is less of an issue as they insure lots of T5 conversions!

I get the head rests tomorrow so il post a few finished photos after I give it a proper clean and polish

.

Cheers

SteveM · Mar 4, 2014

Looks great, I recently had a transporter as a courtesy vehicle and loved this setup. The folded seat looks great as a step up to the roof as well! Quick question I presume the airbag you mention is the front passenger airbag in the dash that gets swapped for a wider one to cover the central seat as well? If this is the case what happens to the side passenger airbag in the single seat is there an equivalent in the new double seat or do you have to turn off in the electronics? Perhaps I have misunderstood... tell be if I am being an idiot!

Love the retrim - great job there!

Steve.

Bally2811 · Mar 4, 2014

Steve, another good point!

The air bag which was changed was indeed the one in the dash which was replaced for a double one....I think that you do need to check as apparently some are already fitted with a double airbag and might not need replacing.

The airbag in the side passengers seat need to be deactivated and an electric tech engineer with the VAG computers can deactivate and isolate to ensure you don't get a fault showing up?

There is no alternative passenger seat which has an airbag as far as I could find and as such is one of the downsides of the change....I guess for all of us it is a matter of weighing up and making choices....for us as a family it was absolutely the right thing but for others not??

Retrim is ace.....really happy with it....especially the twin passengers seat which we tried to make it look similar as the rear bed bench seat!

Cheers and take care

David

Bally2811 · Mar 13, 2014

FINAL POST..............well after 3 weeks of change the van is finally 100% they way I want it.

To top it off I have just purchased a quality front seat mattress which is ideal as for my eldest who stays up a bit later. Then quality is amazing as i opted for the brush cotton finish (Which incedently matches the vans colours!), many thanks to Comfortz Leisure. It also fits perfectly behind the passengers seat so docent take up any space!

I might try and see if i can sort out a layout with the twin passengers seat folded flat as this might be better again, but means i will need to prop up the mattress on the drivers seat to keep it flat?

http://www.comfortzleisure.co.uk/#/t5/4575833167

see Photos

Ok thats all from me on this post, any questions just ask!!! Dave

James · Mar 13, 2014

Very clever and creative. Would work very well in a LHD Cali. Without the kitchen unit behind it, a double seat could make even more sense.

Like the thought that has gone into this.

James

smgcowfoldparts · Mar 13, 2014

Looks good!

sebking · Mar 13, 2014

how much was that re trim- looks great!

vw_liz · Mar 18, 2014

Really good job, the retrim looks very smart! :thumb

We have just done the same with our '91 LHD California and we love it!

viewtopic.php?f=134&t=6291

We also turned the double into a swivel which works really well.

Thanks,

Liz and Jim

Bally2811 · Jun 10, 2016

About 2 years ago i said it was my final post, well i finally managed to find someone who helped me move the electric and battery from the passenger to the drivers seat, allowing me to fit a twin swivel. (Martyn from www.travelvolts.com)

Thanks to all who helped me!!