replacing lounge seats with swivel

[deefanow]

I have just purchased a second hand van & I find the L shape lounge seating uncomfortable. The cushions have lost all thier give & the back is too hard( van is 7 year old coromal ). Has anyone done a seat conversion ie. bolting a boat or office chair on to the original seat base or something along these lines. I need to retain the seat base as its over wheel arch & there is a good sliding draw at the top of the L. Just an idea I am kicking around. At the end I only need 2 seats
Any ideas welcome,
Deefa

[Lance]

There are several threads here where the original seats had been removed and replaced with free standing recliners, but I can't recall a situation similar to yours.

The office chair idea does sound feasible though, providing you have clearance from the wall to get enough swivel.

[Johno]

The problem with swivels is the space needed for the actual swivelling back.
I have been pondering the use of office type swivel chairs, but without the swivel.

The sagging sponge could be repaced with the new seats but bolted to the top of the existing seat boxing, suitably reinforced.

[Andyandelly]

We have had two swivel recliners in our van(a concept ascot ) since new and would not go back to foam seats.
they are April recliners we purchased and I fitted them with a 8mm ply base with anti-slip stuff glued to that=they never move
The van now has a trifold table which works well with them. There is a cupboard under the table which is out as far as the wheelbox.
it all works well.
AndyandElly

[Motherhen]

Hi Andy and Elly and welcome. Could you post a few photos of how it looks? I'd love to see the result.

[Cruiserman]

In our older Viscount I took out the "L" seat and replaced it with 2 high backed office swivel chairs. The L seat was very uncomfortable for long use, and I did the conversion just before we left for 4 months in Tassy. We just ignored the wheel arch.

Very successful, but I have just put the L seat back, as I am selling the Viscount, and wanted a more "original" look.

[Andyandelly]

Hi Motherhen,
Here are a couple of photos of our setup which we are quite happy with.
AndyandElly

[Motherhen]

Thanks Andy and Elly - It does give a nice roomy look.

Cruiserman, do you have photos to share of your conversion (before restoration, that is)?

[Cruiserman]

Cruiserman, do you have photos to share of your conversion (before restoration, that is)?

Somewhere, I'll start a search....

[deefanow]

Hi Andy & Ellie, Could we see a photo with the table out please? Also where did you get the seats?

[wombatsruleok]

In our old van (Millard) we removed the long seat which also served as a bunk and replaced it with 2 not-so -modern chairs, the ones known as tv armchairs ,with wooden arms and legs, over the basewhich had to be retained as it was the storage area.The Millard had no front boot.The chairs were the ones that slid backwards when you pushed with your body,but we couldn't really do that in the limited space. DH removed the back legs below the seat and left the front ones on and they just sat on top of the base with the front legs over the edge. For us they worked quite well , but because they had arms that sort of got in the way , and because were a pain to remove to access the under seat storage he decided to have a new seat cushion and back built to fit the area, with a higher back and a sort of head rest.
It was not as satisfactory as he expected and he still thinks the chairs worked better, although we used both arrangements for a couple of years each.
In our current van we are looking at the possiblility of putting in something more comfortable, like recliners but he too needs to retain the seat base over the wheel arch so this is a topic I will watch with interest.

[Andyandelly]

Hi deefanow. ,
Thanks for the interest in the recliners. We got them from Roth Newton at Hoppers Crossing @ around $600.00 or so
I screwed a circle of 8 mm ply to the base and then glued some anti slip to the bottom, it works real well- they never move.
AndyandElly

[DelandRob]

Hi Andy and Ellie
We love the look of what you have done with the chairs, table and shelving and was wondering if it would be too much trouble to give some dimensions of the table and the shelve depths and cupboard size as well as any other pertinent measurements that you think I will need to do the same as you have. Are there any changes you would make if you would do yours again. One other thing could you tell me what you do with the table leg when not under table and what do you use to fit the leg onto the table. What is the heater that you have used. Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks Del and Robert

[Andyandelly]

Hi Del & Rob,
Sorry I took so long to answer -we are away on a caravan club rally. The shelf on top is 220 wide at each end and 370 in the middle. The bottom shelf is 330 wide and tapers off to 180 at the door end.the length of bench top is 2160. The height of bottom shelf depends on wheelbox. The table top joins on to the top shelf with a piano hinge-the first section joined on to the shelf is 280 & the outside one is 360 giving a total length from wall of 1010. The table is 600 wide. The cupboard is 550 long with a door at both ends & 330 wide. The table leg is 25mm stainless square tube and we just lay it on the floor when not used-I machined up a spigot out of 50 mm black nylon to fit in tube with a flange on top with 3 holes to screw it under table. The heater is a Noirot 1000 watt unit. The height of the table etc depends on chair height. Hope this is all of some help to you and you can make it work in you van.
AndyandElly

[DelandRob]

Hi Andy and Elly (sorry about spelling you name incorrectly Elly)
Thanks for the information I will let you know how it all ends up.
Thanks Del And Rob