Rear Seat Query

[Mcfluff1984]

I have recently purchased a unconverted Bongo and have a query regarding the rear seat set up.

Basically I have rotated the first row of seats to face the rear of the van (facing rear seats) so I could put a foldable table in between.

The problem I have is when laying the two rows of seats flat to make a bed I cannot get the seats to lock without having a 2 inch cap between them in the middle.

Is this a common issue when having the set up like this? It's a tad annoying.

[Bongoplod]

Seats should but right up to each other.
Have you lifted the little lever under the seat next to the seat support,that may give you the extra couple of inches

Brian

[Jimbobvfr400]

Yes, the stops in the rail aren't in the right place when the seat is rotated, we either stuff an inflatable pillow between the seat and the engine tunnel or use the headrests to wedge it. I did consider wrapping a ratchet strap round the legs of the bench, it worked well but turned out unnecessary.

It also helps that we have a topper, so don't really notice it moving slightly particularly.

[George217]

Funnily enough, I tried the same thing for the first time yesterday with my newly purchased Bongo. Like you, we have the middle row reversed and I struggled to get a decent flat surface. Luckily we have a removable rear kitchen pod but I don't want to have to take this out every time if I can help it. Even with the front seats right forward and head rests removed a level bed still cannot be formed. Looks like it's going to be a bit cramped down below.

[Jimbobvfr400]

Funnily enough, I tried the same thing for the first time yesterday with my newly purchased Bongo. Like you, we have the middle row reversed and I struggled to get a decent flat surface. Luckily we have a removable rear kitchen pod but I don't want to have to take this out every time if I can help it. Even with the front seats right forward and head rests removed a level bed still cannot be formed. Looks like it's going to be a bit cramped down below.

Do you know if you have long rails or short rails for the seats, I believe with short rails (where you'd have originally had flip-up rear seats rather than a second sliding bench) that the seat can't go far enough towards the rear. I've not done it myself but I did read it's possible to install the longer rails to solve this.

Another alternative would be a swivel on the middle bench seat. Best of both worlds but not cheap.

[George217]

No, they must be long, as the rear is the original bench (the van is a 2001 model), Interestingly enough, Phil at JAL did not rate the swivel at all. I was thinking of getting one for flexibility but he reckoned they were unsafe.

As it stands, it's manageable, but not ideal