I've been looking for a passenger van lately but a 10 seater is very hard to find on here and if they are on here they cost a bit more than im willing to pay. So I was wondering if anyone has bought a van like a Hiace without rear seats and installed them themselves. 1. Do all Hiaces have the holes for the rear seats? 2. Do they have the holes for the seatbelts that are bolted to cab? 3. Do they need to be certified? 4. Is it really worth it?
Really just looking for people who have done it before but any helpful feedback will be greatly appreciated.
kazbanz,
Feb 23, 7:35pm
Ok first of all. Hiace has been around for a very VERY long time so an indication of year range will make answering more relevant. the answer to your generic question is NO Cost wise for LEGAL seats is $1200 per row of seats plus a $350 certification charge.This includes seat belts etc. Is it worth it.? Ok 3 rows of seats is $3600 so $roughly $4000 for the fitout. This is why passenger vans get $3000 more than non passenger equivilents. You CAN do anything you want to in the back of a van. so bolting flip up seats from hiiaces yep you can do. But its not legal or safe. I did see a wrecker in southland selling a complete set of seats from a Nissan Caravan coach. If they were properly mounted and seatbelt points solid enough it may be an option. still would need a cert though
thebluboy,
Feb 23, 7:44pm
1990-2000 Models. I've seen plenty of seats on here all the time for under $1000 most of them have all bolts and seatbelts included. I would also look at other options like Nissan caravans aswell. Do you say its unsafe because the proper holes aren't there? or its not factory installed so that makes it unsafe. Thanks for your feedback.
supernova2,
Feb 23, 8:50pm
Just asking why you need a cert if you have fitted a whole lot of "spare" parts to your van? If its all factory parts on factory mounts why the problem?
kazbanz,
Feb 24, 1:13am
Its the FACTORY MOUNTS part that's the problem, Yep if its a passenger van and you are bunging the seats back in then no worries. Literally you are restoring factory fittings. If its a commercial van that had never been fitted with seats then the seat mounts could rip out of the single skin tin floor and the seatbelts could rip out of the pillars. If it was me with an older commercial van then I would probably go the option of fitting a set of second hand seats/seatbelts then getting the engineer to look it over and say whats needed to be done reinforcing wise to get it up to scratch. It may be as simple as box section bolted back to the chassis or perhaps repositioning the mount bolts so they go into the existing chassis
mrfxit,
Feb 24, 5:18am
LOL, whhhooo on a minute. IF . the correct factory seat belt/seat mounts are already there, then why would there be a problem & the need for a cert.
barbuzz,
Feb 24, 7:36pm
If you use the factory seats & mounts, then it won't need a cert. But usually if you're trying to put seats in a commercial van, then the factory mounts won't be there, hence, why, it's a commercial van. To get seats put into a commercial van, you will need to have the floor reinforced/strengthened with 4/5mm plating. I was going to get 2 seats in the rear of my Hiace as it says on the cert plate, seats 4. But because there are no original mounts, being a commercial van, they would have to fit it out & get the cert, even though it says 4 seater. The seats I picked up on TM for $10 which were a 2 seater & a 3 seater. But as it had to be certed again, I decided not to get it done & on sold the seats. Although the fold up seat behind the driver, doesn't need to be certed or belts, just because they fold up. Loop hole right there.
kazbanz,
Feb 24, 7:39pm
x1
mate that's what I said. factory mounts. factory seat belt mounts Factory seats from another Hiace -all good. The issue is with retrofitting those seats/belts etc into a van that hasn't got the factory mounts -such as using coach seats/belts in a commercial van that doesn't have the reinforcing in place for the belt mounts/seat mounts
mrfxit,
Feb 24, 8:14pm
Arrh yea that sounds clearer. Retrofitting (read, home drilled) mounts.
LOL shite ;-) . used to do that all the time to the 50's & 60's cars Only ever seen cracked mounts on somebody elses cars when wrecking them.
Fair enough call if theres no factory drilled/ mounting points Yea big difference in steel thickness these days
richardmayes,
Feb 24, 8:25pm
8 new seatbelts, that's $800 straight away. ?
martin11,
Feb 24, 9:20pm
Possibly more I just put new seat belts in a car and had to get the web grabber type , best price I could get was just over $150.00 each . Car had to be certified after , failed first time because of incorrect set belts type .
kazbanz,
Feb 24, 9:59pm
yep when you add it up suddenly those vans already set up as a coach seem pretty good value and $1200 per row of seats (new) with legal belts is a bargain. That interior set the wrecker in Christchurch? was selling was really good value
richardmayes,
Feb 24, 10:18pm
I'm building a shed on my back lawn at the moment.
Pieces of wood are only a few dollars each - that's cheap right?
Until you add up all the pieces of wood you'll need.
mrfxit,
May 29, 4:11pm
This whole thread has me wondering what my 95 Nissan Caravan 8 seater is worth. Not the tidyest around but that TD27 is running fine now on the reco 5sp. Got sideways flip up back seat row as well
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