INSTALLING SWIVEL SEATS IN A FORD TRANSIT (super easy install)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ต.ค. 2024
- Adding swivel seats is one of the fastest and easiest ways to make a cargo van feel like a camper van, and this video will teach you how to install them.
Here are the swivels we used: theswivelshop....
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You just saved me spending 500 bucks to have someone install this during the van build process. Thank you.
👍👍 Yeah, took us an afternoon even with filming. Super easy.
Thanks for the video! I just bought one of these swivels for the passenger side of my 2015 Transit. A few notes: The original seat bolts are Torx T40. The replacement ones on the swivel are allen head. There was no plug going to the seat in my van. One of the bolts didn't line up very well so had to use vice grips to bend the flange a little to get it to line up. The jack is almost impossible to remove once the swivel has been installed so I just pulled it out and store it somewhere more accessible now.
Hello DIY Pro Teachers (a compliment to you; I hope) .... just a comment here about seats. I have a 2021 Ford Transit high roof like yours, so it has been especially helpful to be able to move my build timing along with your progress. Since watching this seat swivel install, I felt that it may be helpful to other owners/builders of Ford Transit to know that the Scopema Swivel can be used with the Ford 10-way Power Seat. I chose the power seat when I ordered my van, because it has more flexibility for seating positions. IMO it is a myth that some people say the the swivels cannot be used with the power seats. I am here to tell you that the Scopema brand swivel works nicely. Also, since the seat height adjustment can move up-&-down, it is Not Necessary to cut off the child safety seat anchor bar. Additionally, my seats are able to make the swivel without having to open either door. One note here; I did raise the seat a bit with long mounting bolts to be able to clear the motor-&-electrical cabling. I am 6' 2" tall, so the extra leg room is welcome .... the Ford Transit high roof has ample head room, and combined with the Big windshield .... visibility is fantastic with these swivels. So, if you want to convert a Ford Transit, with 10-way power seats .... you-can-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too ....
Great! Good to know.
After a ton of research and trying my own 2021 cargo 10-way powered seats w Scopema I do not recommend them at all on the 10-way powered. The motor that goes across between the seat rails needs at bare minimum 3/4” spacers install on the swivel to clear the wire bundle. I gauged 1” spacers to be sure clearance is achieved. And at that point you’re dealing with longer bolts and many DIYers may not consider sheer strength of their bolts making the seat unsafe for the force of an accident. You can view the 2 videos on VanTransitions. 1 is Scopema and following that is Amazing Auto swivel which is designed for the 10-way powered seat. By the time you have the Scopema height plus spacers, you’ve added height equaling the height of the Amazing Auto swivel.
@@EXPLORISTlife I’m 6’1” and w the AA swivel on 10-way powered seats you can swivel without opening the door due to their offset center swivel hole. But you can’t really swivel while sitting in the seat.
The height adjustment of the 10-way powered does not impact the seat rail height or location. You must have bent your tether anchor down if you didn’t remove it.
Request you guys do a 'summary to date' video that helps DIYers understand the processes you guys are sharing. (Ex: methods of cable management, reasons why certain decisions were made, reasons for doing X before Y, and upcoming projects with anticipated strategies, etc.) This could be added onto when certain build milestones are met supporting the final tour. Keep up the great work and thanks so much for adding to the community.
That's awesome thanks for making this video. Def. a lot less intimidating than I imagined.
Another good video, thanks. The 2 back holes of the plate were off just a bit so I had to redrill those 2 holes to fit. Not sure if it is the scopema bracket or the ford seat. But it sucked!!! For $400 I want them to bolt on!
Awesome video. I have not tried to do this yet, but you put me at ease about the process. Thanks!
Glad I could help!
Another detailed video, cheers guys
Thanks! 🙂🙌
Ooh thank you for sharing this. I have an older 2012 transit connect and l can’t add swivel seats due to a console in the front. However l am adding seating in the cabin. I was going to order captain chairs but l can just get regular used chairs for 1/4 of the price and add these swivel bases. Genius again thanks for sharing.
What kind of console do you have? I have a 2010 transit connect too, I was planning to add a swivel seat. 😮😮
The height of the swivel bases in the Revel are stunningly tall. I basically have the driver's at it's lowest position for driving, and I'm 6 ft tall with a 35 in inseam.
I keep pointing out all these things I don't like about our Revel, but the truth is we really do love the overall plan of the truck, and the bed system is something we really would NOT give up. Having the open passage all the way through the vehicle means that we can still haul things like full sheets of plywood and up to 12 ft lumber when we need to.
I have factory ford transit swivels and I still have to open the door to turn the seat completely around so no big difference in operation of aftermarket swivel I guess.
Ah, interesting! Good to know.
Your channel and website are awesome. Loved your email about this week video. I am in a complete solar install using you plan, it's a great resource. Thanks for doing all this content and your site.
Hey! Glad you like the newsletter. I appreciate that. Thanks for watching!
You didn't mention disconnecting battery power that some others have said needs to be done so as not to mess up the air bag sensors. Does that really need to be done?
Didn't give us any problems. Without digging in, I think it would be quite hard to disconnect the batteries before removing the seat since the seat is on top of the batteries.
Have fun getting your Jack out now , if yours is under the passenger seat like my 2017 transit
Our jack is in the passenger side step well.
I saw another ford transit conversion where they swapped the double seat for a single seat (like in this video by the looks of it) but for it to be legal as a campervan they had to put the original double seat back in. In that case is was in Australia. I think the technicality was to do with side airbags and putting in a driver's chair on the passenger's side meant the airbag was on the wrong side.
Yeah, I don't know. These were the original seats.
Thank you!
You bet!
Can you comment on how hard it would be to add a third seat to that van, say behind the drivers seat? Don't want the bench seat model as it takes to much cargo space but need to carry a total of 3 people. Thank you and Loved your seat to swivel seat video.
Very nice. But I have a handbrake just close to the drivers seat.....what should I do?
If you have electric seats with heat, it does not work. The side panels of the seats hang down lower because of the control buttons. I watch a video of someone taking a hacksaw to them and it worked except he did not have the heated seat button. It is very low on side panel.
It 'works with modifications for your own needs and equipment'. 🤣👍
When you reconnected the electrical harness on the passenger side did you get any fault codes for airbag, etc. Well done, btw.
Nope.
Great video, Thank you! 3:30 child seat anchor concern: rather than cut the anchor loop off, can it be bent downward flat and horizontal and provide enough clearance for the plates/fasteners to rotate past it?
I prefer not to remove this feature because I use it for a tie down strap for my bike.
I dunno. May just have to play around with it.
Hi, do I need to disconnect the battery, because of the air bag sensors on the Transit?
I just bought a 2023 Ford transit van 350 . Would this swivel work on it
Nicely done
Thank you! Cheers!
Do the swivel seats work with power seats? My 2023 Transit Trail has power/heated/seats.
Love it thank you so much
You are so welcome
Are these possible for Transit Connect models?
Are the Scopema swivels locked facing forward or rear, or do they have lock placements so you can face at an angle while facing back?
Good information
Hey Tim F, Thanks so much! Cheers!
Thought I've read somewhere you need to disconnect battery before unplugging seats to avoid airbag trigger?
I'd be interested to see how somebody would disconnect the battery before removing the seat since the battery is under the seat. I will say that the airbags definitely did not go off, though.
Is there a need to disconnect the battery in your rider to keep the airbags secure?
Not in ours, no.
I have a Toyota Estimate and have been told it’s a major exercise to instal swivel bases on them. Do you have any experience, or advice, regarding this? Thanks 😊
I've never dealt specifically with a Toyota Estimate.
I like that the swivels don't add a lot of height, but needing the doors open to turn the seats seems like a pain. Do the seat belts get in the way when swiveling the seats to the rear?
Ultimately, we only need to swivel the seats around, what, once a day? I don't forsee having to crack the door being any more of a hassle then actually swiveling the seat.
The seatbelts don't get in the way, no.
Hello, A friend recommended your channel because I am building out a van once I find the right used option. I live in Avon Colorado and will be in Steamboat possibly Wednesday and for sure Thursday. Curious if you’d have time to meet? Happy to pay for your time and advice. If you will be around LMK and we can make a plan. If not in person, possibly facetime or zoom?
Hey! Nice! We are filming for new videos on both Wednesday and Thursday and won't be able to pull the team away from that to accommodate visitors, unfortunately. I think that you'll find that these videos we make would likely answer the vast majority of your questions without the need to pay for 1-on-1 consulting time.
Have you compared this Scopema ( adds +7/8" height) vs the Alpine Swivel Seats (adds +0.5" height)? Curious of any other Pros/Cons of each besides the higher price tag on Alpine. Thoughts?
I'd guess that most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference in 3/8" of seat height difference.
I recently purchased an ex CruiseAmerica rental class C RV based on the 2017 Ford E-350 chassis with the Triton V10 6.8L gas engine. Is this the same as the "Ford Transit" van in terms of the seat arrangement? I'd really like to have the seats swivel like your video shows!
Thanks!
I suspect they aren't the same.
Can you do this in a Toyota Corolla??
??Someone said that you need to disconnect the battery?? Is that true?? Also seen a couple of people say that the bolts don’t line up ??
We didn't disconnect the battery, no. The bolts weren't perfect, but were close enough we didn't have to re-drill anything.
Hi, great video. Did you consider the 10 way electric seats in your initial order? Sorry if I missed this discussion somewhere, but these gray seats just don’t look comfortable for long trips…
Yeah, we considered it. Don't remember why we opted against them. The seats are pretty comfortable so far, though.
Did you have to disconnect the battery before installing the swivel?
Nope
Leg room. Any provision to gain any additional leg room for the driver’s seat?
While swiveling? No. I'll just get up out of the seat. Easier that way anyhow.
Will that swivel base work for Chevy City Express van? Where can I get them?
I would guess they wouldn't work for a different vehicle, no.
does this fit the transit connect?
There should be a compatibility chart on the product page.
I have a 2021 cargo w 10-way powered and it required trimming the side plastic of the seat so it would swivel. You didn’t have to trim the seat plastic?
We did not. We don't have the 10 way powered seat, though.
@@EXPLORISTlife ya, score for the simplest swivel install ever! I can’t say if the 10-way is worth it… I mean, most of us set it and forget it.
I watched the video, read numerous reviews, and was so impressed I ordered and started my install today. I too have the 2021 cargo 10 way powered seats and discovered I will need to do some serious trimming of the plastic metal housing on the sides. Are there any suggestions for the best way to complete this task.
I have a handbreak, where is yours?
Electronic brake. Button on the dash.
If we have handbrake, what is the process then?
Hand brake?
Electronic E-Brake with a button on the dash in this van! 😁😁 Made it super easy.
@@EXPLORISTlife lucky you. Lowering the handbrake looks to be a pita
So if we have a hand break, it will hit?
(2017 Transit 250)
Thank you
On my build, the Security Screen divides the cab from the back swivel seats won't work.
Yeah, I can see how that would pose a problem. 🤣😂
👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
Hey thanks for this. The referral link doesn’t work :(
Oh nvm, it worked!
Perfect! Thanks for watching.
My swivel seat install was even easier. I let the guys on the assembly line install mine.
That would have made a thrilling video. 🤣😂
kinda defeats the whole DIY Van idea though...
The factory swivels have a significant problem. They are mounted above the sliders. So no matter where you turn your seat to, it can only move forward and back along the long axis of the van. So if you want to have the seats facing each other across a table (as I'm planning in my build), they are only about 8 inches apart and you can't slide them backwards to increase that distance. Aftermarket swivels all seem to mount below the sliders, giving you the ability to move the seats in the axis of the seat, no matter which way they are pointing.
Not a Transit as stated.
What?