I doubt the swivel would be much use with the middle row fitted.
I wanted to travel with a kombi single seat in the middle row, then remove it whilst living in the van.
[GUIDE] How to fit an MS Craft T6 Double Seat Sliding Swivel Base
- Thread starter OllieGBR
- Start date
I wanted to travel with a kombi single seat in the middle row, then remove it whilst living in the van.
Nick Rutter
New Member
Yes - one things at a time. I need to stop thinking my van can do everything all at the same time. Give it a break
Really can’t imagine that this would be reasonably possible.
Maybe if you had a fat long bundle of wires that had enough slack to allow the seat to swivel, but I imagine this would be prone to failure.
Yeah fair call. I was hoping there'd be a top-part swivel for the double seat. I guess one option is to replace the double seat with a single and then install the single base that swivels from the top... I did see someone mentioning a specially engineered double seat that swivels at the top but it was like 1200 pounds. Would be epic to be able to have all that space for another battery later on or to store most of the wired units etc.
Yea, I dunno. The under-seat storage is incredibly useful, and you basically never need access to your leisure battery. I’d fix it somewhere more hidden.
alt
Member
This is the one - Personally I'd rather do a single seat conversion for that sort of money. As far as I know the Vancraft seat is the only one on the market of that style so your options are (very) limited.
Rianscott2000
New Member
The concept of the MSCraft swivel seat is great but the reality is a complete nightmare. Trying to slide a swivel and slide seat back into position to get the bolts in, is probably one of the most frustrating things you will ever do. The holes don't line up anymore and to be honest, weren't perfect from the outset. If you think you can use the under-seat storage then think again. It generally has to be emptied each time you want to get the bolts in and out. Why weren't the bolts put on the outside? I tried contacting MSCraft but the email just got bounced back saying the mailbox was full. I'm looking to buy a different style now because I don't believe that the product is safe to use due to not being able to get the bolts in correctly. Disappointing. In my opinion, don't get blindsided by the swivel and slide because it really is a poor design.
The process takes around 15 minutes in reality (about 20 minutes to return it and get the bolt holes lined up:
1. Start with clearing all camping gear from around the seat and making sure it has enough room to swivel.
2. Empty the under seat storage to gain access to the 2 bolts
3. Clear all the stuff you've taken out from in front of the seat again
4. Wrestle with the seat to turn it (make sure no one is in the van, even if it's raining)
5. If there is any kind of gradient then find something to wedge under the seat or it'll slide back or forward
6. wiggle the seat for 5 minutes trying to get at least one bolt in to secure it whilst camping.
7. Wife wants to pop to the town or pub, do the reverse and try not to swear.
As you can imagine, it's barely worth doing. Before purchase, I had visions of pulling up somewhere, spinning the seat and having dinner at the table with my wife and children. This has never happened. We actually purchased two telescopic stools because they were much faster to set up for the table than the 40 minutes swivel and slide seat (15 minutes one way and 20 the other)
We only ever turn it around at a festival and I absolutely dread it. I know getting it back is going to be a major hassle and have this dread that one day the bolts won't go back in at all and I won't be able to safely use the van (I'll have to leave the missus at the festival, actually that might work out well
)
I highly recommend you look at something different to the MSCraft Swivel and slide.
I like the look of the VanKraft one. is it the top that just swivels? That makes a whole lot of design sense. Once you've got sand in the MSCraft one you will be wishing you had paid the extra with a design with the swivel higher up.
I think I'm going to fit a folding seat bracket because actually turing the seat for anything less than a 5 night stay, isn't worth the hassle. Particularly in relation to the MSCraft one. When I say a 5 night stay, I mean that the van doesn't move for the whole time. If you are using the van every day then seriously you just wouldn't use it (as we don't)
The process takes around 15 minutes in reality (about 20 minutes to return it and get the bolt holes lined up:
1. Start with clearing all camping gear from around the seat and making sure it has enough room to swivel.
2. Empty the under seat storage to gain access to the 2 bolts
3. Clear all the stuff you've taken out from in front of the seat again
4. Wrestle with the seat to turn it (make sure no one is in the van, even if it's raining)
5. If there is any kind of gradient then find something to wedge under the seat or it'll slide back or forward
6. wiggle the seat for 5 minutes trying to get at least one bolt in to secure it whilst camping.
7. Wife wants to pop to the town or pub, do the reverse and try not to swear.
As you can imagine, it's barely worth doing. Before purchase, I had visions of pulling up somewhere, spinning the seat and having dinner at the table with my wife and children. This has never happened. We actually purchased two telescopic stools because they were much faster to set up for the table than the 40 minutes swivel and slide seat (15 minutes one way and 20 the other)
We only ever turn it around at a festival and I absolutely dread it. I know getting it back is going to be a major hassle and have this dread that one day the bolts won't go back in at all and I won't be able to safely use the van (I'll have to leave the missus at the festival, actually that might work out well
)I highly recommend you look at something different to the MSCraft Swivel and slide.
I like the look of the VanKraft one. is it the top that just swivels? That makes a whole lot of design sense. Once you've got sand in the MSCraft one you will be wishing you had paid the extra with a design with the swivel higher up.
I think I'm going to fit a folding seat bracket because actually turing the seat for anything less than a 5 night stay, isn't worth the hassle. Particularly in relation to the MSCraft one. When I say a 5 night stay, I mean that the van doesn't move for the whole time. If you are using the van every day then seriously you just wouldn't use it (as we don't)
Wow! The MS Craft swivel is clearly not working for you. Fortunately, you could probably sell it on for most of what you paid.
I’m fully happy with mine. We store coats and cold/wet weather gear in the seat, which are easy to reach past to fit the bolts. We haven’t had any issues lining up the bolts or threading them in.
We find the slider feature great for pulling the kids up to the table, etc. Rarely are we so off level that the seat moves itself. In these cases, we just fit a bolt or two and leave it in the back position.
If we’re staying a single night, we don’t swivel it unless we’re spending a lot of time in the van. But there’s also times we’ll swivel it on a day trip, for an afternoon.
Whatever your experience, I wonder if you would still prefer it to a Kiravans/RustyLee.
I’m fully happy with mine. We store coats and cold/wet weather gear in the seat, which are easy to reach past to fit the bolts. We haven’t had any issues lining up the bolts or threading them in.
We find the slider feature great for pulling the kids up to the table, etc. Rarely are we so off level that the seat moves itself. In these cases, we just fit a bolt or two and leave it in the back position.
If we’re staying a single night, we don’t swivel it unless we’re spending a lot of time in the van. But there’s also times we’ll swivel it on a day trip, for an afternoon.
Whatever your experience, I wonder if you would still prefer it to a Kiravans/RustyLee.
I too have one of these swivels.The concept of the MSCraft swivel seat is great but the reality is a complete nightmare. Trying to slide a swivel and slide seat back into position to get the bolts in, is probably one of the most frustrating things you will ever do. The holes don't line up anymore and to be honest, weren't perfect from the outset. If you think you can use the under-seat storage then think again. It generally has to be emptied each time you want to get the bolts in and out. Why weren't the bolts put on the outside? I tried contacting MSCraft but the email just got bounced back saying the mailbox was full. I'm looking to buy a different style now because I don't believe that the product is safe to use due to not being able to get the bolts in correctly. Disappointing. In my opinion, don't get blindsided by the swivel and slide because it really is a poor design.
The process takes around 15 minutes in reality (about 20 minutes to return it and get the bolt holes lined up:
1. Start with clearing all camping gear from around the seat and making sure it has enough room to swivel.
2. Empty the under seat storage to gain access to the 2 bolts
3. Clear all the stuff you've taken out from in front of the seat again
4. Wrestle with the seat to turn it (make sure no one is in the van, even if it's raining)
5. If there is any kind of gradient then find something to wedge under the seat or it'll slide back or forward
6. wiggle the seat for 5 minutes trying to get at least one bolt in to secure it whilst camping.
7. Wife wants to pop to the town or pub, do the reverse and try not to swear.
As you can imagine, it's barely worth doing. Before purchase, I had visions of pulling up somewhere, spinning the seat and having dinner at the table with my wife and children. This has never happened. We actually purchased two telescopic stools because they were much faster to set up for the table than the 40 minutes swivel and slide seat (15 minutes one way and 20 the other)
We only ever turn it around at a festival and I absolutely dread it. I know getting it back is going to be a major hassle and have this dread that one day the bolts won't go back in at all and I won't be able to safely use the van (I'll have to leave the missus at the festival, actually that might work out well
I highly recommend you look at something different to the MSCraft Swivel and slide.
I like the look of the VanKraft one. is it the top that just swivels? That makes a whole lot of design sense. Once you've got sand in the MSCraft one you will be wishing you had paid the extra with a design with the swivel higher up.
I think I'm going to fit a folding seat bracket because actually turing the seat for anything less than a 5 night stay, isn't worth the hassle. Particularly in relation to the MSCraft one. When I say a 5 night stay, I mean that the van doesn't move for the whole time. If you are using the van every day then seriously you just wouldn't use it (as we don't)
Works well for us.
Have the stuff under the seats in 2x bags and it simply lifts out and back again, as necessary.
Never had a drama getting the locking bolts back in.
Rianscott2000
New Member
The issue is that we have 4-year-old twins who sleep in the poptop so the seat has to be swivelled otherwise we can't get to them in the night if needed. so single nights are much the same as multi-night stays.
You say that the "The MS Craft swivel is clearly not working for you." and you are right. I think that the way people use their van depicts how much they need or would want to swivel. Even if we are stopping at a site or location for 3 nights, the seat would have to be turned back every day to drive the van so only festivals are useful for a swivel in our case. You also said that for a single night you don't bother to swivel, that doesn't surprise me but the swivelled seat does maximise the space so I think it must be a hassle for you too if you don't do it on single stop overs.
Having the bolts line up and the bolts on the outside would make a massive improvement on this product. Do you think you prefer the bolts inside the seat or would you prefer them outside like other swivels?
Perhaps I have a faulty unit, perhaps the stress, frustration and wasted time over the past three years has made me bitter about the product.
On a positive note MSCraft contacted me today after posting this so I'll try and do a video tomorrow of the issue with the bolts and send it to them. I'll post it here too if anyone is interested?
Rianscott2000
New Member
I think I chose the MSCraft one because I didn't want to release the handbrake to swivel it (and the dream of spinning it round at the motorway services to have dinner with the kids). It actually turned out worse because we have one of those fridge units that sticks out so even though the seat slides easily down the van, you have to make sure the fridge door door is open so it has room to swivel. In hindsight, I would have preferred the others because they have the bolts on the outside.
Hmm. Interesting. A couple things come to mind, for comparison.
From the pic, I’m guessing you’re SWB? I’ve got LWB and my fridge cabinet is further back.
Also, do you have the seat bracket that allows your seat back to fold down? I’ve put a ply panel in the back of the seat. For short stops, we drop the seat forward and my two boys (5 and 9) sit on the seat back comfortably. And this acts as a step for getting up top.
Yea, I can agree that having all bolts outside the seat would be easier.
Rianscott2000
New Member
Yes, the plan is to buy the folding seat bracket. I was hoping they would come back down in price but I don't think that will happen. It seems they are nearly as much as a secondhand double folding seat! Maybe I sell the swivel and buy the bracket because I have taken to not swivelling and trying to climb between the headrest to rescue a crying child or two. It is the fear that the bolts won't go back in one day(they aren't fully screwed down right now because I can see that the holes aren't lined up so I don't want to damage the threads by forcing them in.
I think I would be happy with a folding seat bracket and a piece of ply. yes its swb
Rianscott2000
New Member
actually, I think I just found the answer to my prayers! JK appear to do one, it may have the bolts on the outside looking at the pics!easy spinner do MSCraft make it because it seems very similar?
Oooh! Haven’t seen this one before. Looks good. Notable difference with the front bolts outside the seat. I wonder if it adds the same amount to the height.
Rianscott2000
New Member
". Please be aware that fitting this seat base will raise the height of your seating position by 5.7 cm, which is the height of the swivel base." is quoted
This doesn't match my experience. We don't have to empty the seat, just move things to one side. We also figured out that the things to store in there are the things you would typically remove when you were swivelling the seat, like the front windscreen thermal cover.The concept of the MSCraft swivel seat is great but the reality is a complete nightmare. Trying to slide a swivel and slide seat back into position to get the bolts in, is probably one of the most frustrating things you will ever do. The holes don't line up anymore and to be honest, weren't perfect from the outset. If you think you can use the under-seat storage then think again. It generally has to be emptied each time you want to get the bolts in and out. Why weren't the bolts put on the outside? I tried contacting MSCraft but the email just got bounced back saying the mailbox was full. I'm looking to buy a different style now because I don't believe that the product is safe to use due to not being able to get the bolts in correctly. Disappointing. In my opinion, don't get blindsided by the swivel and slide because it really is a poor design.
The process takes around 15 minutes in reality (about 20 minutes to return it and get the bolt holes lined up:
1. Start with clearing all camping gear from around the seat and making sure it has enough room to swivel.
2. Empty the under seat storage to gain access to the 2 bolts
3. Clear all the stuff you've taken out from in front of the seat again
4. Wrestle with the seat to turn it (make sure no one is in the van, even if it's raining)
5. If there is any kind of gradient then find something to wedge under the seat or it'll slide back or forward
6. wiggle the seat for 5 minutes trying to get at least one bolt in to secure it whilst camping.
7. Wife wants to pop to the town or pub, do the reverse and try not to swear.
As you can imagine, it's barely worth doing. Before purchase, I had visions of pulling up somewhere, spinning the seat and having dinner at the table with my wife and children. This has never happened. We actually purchased two telescopic stools because they were much faster to set up for the table than the 40 minutes swivel and slide seat (15 minutes one way and 20 the other)
We only ever turn it around at a festival and I absolutely dread it. I know getting it back is going to be a major hassle and have this dread that one day the bolts won't go back in at all and I won't be able to safely use the van (I'll have to leave the missus at the festival, actually that might work out well
I highly recommend you look at something different to the MSCraft Swivel and slide.
I like the look of the VanKraft one. is it the top that just swivels? That makes a whole lot of design sense. Once you've got sand in the MSCraft one you will be wishing you had paid the extra with a design with the swivel higher up.
I think I'm going to fit a folding seat bracket because actually turing the seat for anything less than a 5 night stay, isn't worth the hassle. Particularly in relation to the MSCraft one. When I say a 5 night stay, I mean that the van doesn't move for the whole time. If you are using the van every day then seriously you just wouldn't use it (as we don't)
Aligning the bolts is a bit of a pain sometimes but you have to slide it sideways after turning. I still find it easier than the Kiravan's one we had, where the whole footwell needs emptying and handbrake lowering.
You takes your choice...
