So the distance from the front of the van to the bed is the same for LWB and SWB, with the LWB you have more room behind the seats then - correct?
No. The whole point of a LWB is you get more space in the living area.
absolutely, fitting of the rear reinforced section is over the cross member under the spare wheel which is the same distance under the van from the rear regardless of lwb or swb. Space is gained in the living area.
Understand, the background to my question is if there are four of us, (the family), sat in the van on a raining British summers day, then we'll be too far away from each other, (with the front double passenger seat swivelled to face the rear) to engage - does that make sense?
I'm seriously looking at one of these for the from seats;
VW T5 and T6 Double seat sliding swivel base - MsCraft.co.uk
I'm seriously looking at one of these for the from seats;
VW T5 and T6 Double seat sliding swivel base - MsCraft.co.uk
We've also been looking at the MsCraft seat swivel. Looks pretty smart , i'd be interested on feedback from anyone who has one in their van ?
That swivel does look good! The only negative is having the forward fixings in the storage area under your camping kit.
Bought one of these last month and fitted over the weekend. Really straight forward to fit and easy to operate. Can’t operate fully as I’ve still got the kombi bench seat in place but I’ll try moving this out over Christmas so I can give the swivel base a proper go. There was an offer on the base a few weeks back hence the early purchase and install ahead of my van conversion.
We have ours rib set forward for this exact reason on the plus side we have a boot space too. We plyed out level with where the back of the rib seat be then under creating an L shaped boot to keep wet smelly stuff out the living space (awnings, wets suits alike)
in essence we have a swb camper with storage.
Check out @DubiousEngineering videos from his build thread, I believe he installed one of those.
Where did you end up mounting the bed then? This is exactly what I’m looking to do, so interested in any information you can share
Bolted through the floor set forward about 40cm. I am not with the van until tomorrow morning. I'll take some pics for you tomorrow and upload them.
The face of the frame is pretty much level with the opening of the sliding door.
Believe it or not in the boot we can fit an Vango blow up awning, inflatable paddle board, a Cobb with some fuel, George foreman outdoor grill, balance bike, kids scooter a dry bag full of wwtsuits and my road bike this year up to Skye.
Thanks @czmate1999 ... it was an interesting adventure fitting the rib bed... positioning it and drilling through the chassis is nerve racking... I’m happy with where mine is...
So you set it forward the exact length of the extra space you get with a LWB (400mm). Giving you the same upfront space as a SWB but gaining the additional 400mm in ‘boot space’.
I don't know how it's normally installed in a LWB. I can do some measuring for you. I don't think it's quite 400mm it's the space underneath that's really useful.
Watched with interest all of your build videos and learn’t many useful hints and tips.
Are you LWB or SWB?
Dogbreath7
New Member
I fitted mine without ramp or pit a bit fiddly the only problem was the bed frame was pre drilled at the front and with a short wheel base van the bolts line up with box section so had to drill a couple of holes to get access on nuts
