Swivel Bases + Seatbase Batteries

[Argent]

Evening all,

I’ve had a little break from my house build so thought I’d jump back into the van for a few days. I’ve mostly finished the cab electrics (special thanks to @Gosport_Jules ), so figured it was a good time to fit the Rusty Lee passenger swivel.





The problem I’ve got is my seat base battery sits slightly proud, and the rusty lee base protrudes a bit underneath via a plate and bolts. If I fitted the Rusty Lee upside down it would actually clear fine (but I’m guessing that’s a very bad idea for safety reasons!).

So I have a few questions:

• What’s the best combo of seat base + shims to clear the battery, without ending up raising the seat by 60 mm or so?
• The RIB V3 is meant to be only +21 mm, but some sites list +43 mm (maybe just copy/paste from older versions?). If it really is 21 mm, I think I could live with shimming another ~20 mm on top. Has anyone measured this in practice?
• Has anyone got experience with the Sportscraft "battery base" swivel? I can see @SkyTri had a normal version and it caused issues, but I’d love to hear from anyone who has a leisure battery version. Any photos of how it clears underneath would be great.
• Are there any other seat bases that give more clearance underneath, or the lowest-profile option people have found that still works with a shim?

Basically I want to clear the battery without ending up sat on a booster seat. Any advice or pics of your setups would be massively appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Stay Frosty]

I've got my Roamer sat under the drivers seat which doesn't swivel and I'll be honest the thought of trying to turn a 230Ah lithium battery with 0 guage wires attached through 180 degrees on a regular basis gives me a chill down my back.

 

[Sasquatch]

gives me a chill down my back.

Or more likely a serious burn to the love plums.

 

[airhoguk]

You could consider using the RIB raising shims which adds 18mm

RIB Raising Shims for VW Transporter T5 to T6.1 (2003-2024) Passenger side seat swivel

These raising shims are ideal if you're trying to fit a leisure battery under the passenger side seat. The shims are 18mm thick and are compatible with the VW T5 & T6 Passenger side seat swivel. Includes all extra bolts & washers required.

www.kiravans.co.uk

Despite what it says these should fit either side assuming your swivel mounts the same as the RIB swivel

 

[Dellmassive]

I run twin Roamer 230s under both seats.

Id cut off the ground stud ander the carpet, and cut the carpet out and replaced with a price of Ply as a stable base.

I used the RIB V3 seat swivel set....

But found I need a second riser kit for the passenger side.

The riser blocks are around 20mm.

And the swivel plates are around 20mm.

So the total rise is that combined.

Both seats are captains with riser handle.


I also run a Fogstar 230 in the van, with no swivel or riser plates, standard captains chair.


.



See the camper section.

Thread 'Dellmassive’s "How I Done It" blogs.'

30 Aug 2018

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@Dellmassive`s - Camper Van...

• Dellmassive
• dellmassive how to guide
• Replies: 36
• Forum: Electrics, Lighting, ICE, Security

• 
• 

.

 

[Velosaurus]

S

Thread 'Sportscraft Swivel and Roamer Seatbase 230Ah'

2 Jul 2025

Hi all,

Does anyone have this combo and has made it fit? I want to fit a Roamer Seatbase 230Ah under the passenger seat, which has the battery version of the sports craft swivel.

The Roamer battery is tall enough to be almost flush with the top of the seat base itself (pic 1), and the swivel has a reinforcing bar running across it (pic 2) which eats in to this space and therefore doesn't have sufficient clearance. The bar is about 12mm, and the spacers that are welded to the swivel in the corners are 6mm, meaning the protrusion in to the seat base is about 6mm.

I am thinking I might...

• SkyTri
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Electrics, Lighting, ICE, Security

Might help. The Roamer is a slightly different size to the fogstar.

 

[Stay Frosty]

I probably got the wrong end of the stick here as we've got a Kira swivel on our passenger bench and with that design the seat and base all turn as one unit.
With various cables emerging from under the rubber mat it would put everything under stress every time you turned the seat, I'm guessing it's just the seat that turns on the fixed base in this situation?

 

[Argent]

I've got my Roamer sat under the drivers seat which doesn't swivel and I'll be honest the thought of trying to turn a 230Ah lithium battery with 0 guage wires attached through 180 degrees on a regular basis gives me a chill down my back.

I don't understand, the battery itself never moves, just the seat above. (You've actually just replied with this realisation as I'm writing this post )

You could consider using the RIB raising shims which adds 18mm

RIB Raising Shims for VW Transporter T5 to T6.1 (2003-2024) Passenger side seat swivel

These raising shims are ideal if you're trying to fit a leisure battery under the passenger side seat. The shims are 18mm thick and are compatible with the VW T5 & T6 Passenger side seat swivel. Includes all extra bolts & washers required.

www.kiravans.co.uk

Despite what it says these should fit either side assuming your swivel mounts the same as the RIB swivel

Hopefully I have a set of these on their way, I bought from @andy6093 on the forum.

I run twin Roamer 230s under both seats.

Id cut off the ground stud ander the carpet, and cut the carpet out and replaced with a price of Ply as a stable base.

I used the RIB V3 seat swivel set....

But found I need a second riser kit for the passenger side.

The riser blocks are around 20mm.

And the swivel plates are around 20mm.

So the total rise is that combined.

Both seats are captains with riser handle.


I also run a Fogstar 230 in the van, with no swivel or riser plates, standard captains chair.

See the camper section.

Thread 'Dellmassive’s "How I Done It" blogs.'

30 Aug 2018

-- Dellmassive`s -- "How I Done It" -- thread --

**************************************************
Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread
**************************************************
Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --
**************************************************
Trade members and forum supporters
**************************************************
For Sale - Summer-weekend-t6f Limited Edition External Stickers
For Sale - T6F Flags
**************************************************

@Dellmassive`s - Camper Van...

• Dellmassive
• dellmassive how to guide
• Replies: 36
• Forum: Electrics, Lighting, ICE, Security

• 
• 

I have cut the ground stud and carpet out, the pictures are with all that removed. And yes I have studied your posts thoroughly, it's where I found @Gosport_Jules who was kind enough to let me take a look at his install as he is local.

S

Thread 'Sportscraft Swivel and Roamer Seatbase 230Ah'

2 Jul 2025

Hi all,

Does anyone have this combo and has made it fit? I want to fit a Roamer Seatbase 230Ah under the passenger seat, which has the battery version of the sports craft swivel.

The Roamer battery is tall enough to be almost flush with the top of the seat base itself (pic 1), and the swivel has a reinforcing bar running across it (pic 2) which eats in to this space and therefore doesn't have sufficient clearance. The bar is about 12mm, and the spacers that are welded to the swivel in the corners are 6mm, meaning the protrusion in to the seat base is about 6mm.

I am thinking I might...

• SkyTri
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Electrics, Lighting, ICE, Security

Might help. The Roamer is a slightly different size to the fogstar.

Also true, I believe the difference is 5mm.

 

[Velosaurus]

I probably got the wrong end of the stick here as we've got a Kira swivel on our passenger bench and with that design the seat and base all turn as one unit.
With various cables emerging from under the rubber mat it would put everything under stress every time you turned the seat, I'm guessing it's just the seat that turns on the fixed base in this situation?

On a single seat swivel, the base, with battery, chargers and cables, doesn't move, just the seat on the top half of the swivel. Things like seatbelt sensor wires route through the centre of the swivel