Lapbelts convert to 3 point belts ????

[mpjc1961]

Hi People

Thinking about getting a bongo for our main family car. There is me and my wife and 4 kids. 12, 6, 4, 2 We are looking at the bongo as it is a 8 seater, However all the ones we have looked at have lapbelts in the middle on both benches. We were wondering if anyone here might know of some super fantastic bongo fix to convert the lapbelts into 3 point belt fittings. Anyone know if it is possible or any places that could do it. We have 3 car seats that need to be used and the youngest we would like on the front bench so that we can give her biscuits and drinks on the long journeys. The seat near the door we would like to keep clear of car seats so that our eldest can get in the back without haveing to move the whole bench forward. Also we might use the bongo for school field trips so we would need 3 point belts by law.

thank you in advance

Oh and hello again

bye for now

Martin

[dave_aber]

The seat backs themselves are not designed to have the shoulder section of a 3-point belt attached, so you would be looking at a roof-mounted middle belt, like modern clios etc. If you have an AFT, the belt mount would need to go where there is a great big hole in the roof.

If you have a tin-top, then in theory a roof beam could be fitted and a belt attached etc, but without doing the crash testing that manufacturers do, how would you be confident that it was really up to the job?

The only option really would be to fit a seat with integral belts, like a RIB seat. Not ideal - they sit a bit too high, and they are very expensive.

[Colin H F]

Just a thought when I had my Renult Espace the rear seat belts were made long enough to reach the middle row center seat so as to make a double shoulder belt, dont know if you could add extra belts on the rear anchor points

[Alison01326]

Even if you could fit 3 point belts to the middle seats, you wouldn't get a car seat on them as they are narrower than the other seats. Like many "3 person" seats, the centre seat of the three (the one with the lap belt) is for small bottoms!! Whilst children may have small bottoms, their car seats do not!!! There is also a slight bulge which means that some car seats could well tip over (as we discovered when we first got our Bongo - we were experimenting, and as our son's seat could be fitted with a lapbelt only we stuck it in the middle and I went round a roundabout and I heard this "wa haaaaay, this is like being on a motorbike" from behind me, and I looked in the mirror and there he was on his side, still strapped in his seat, with a stupid grin on his face!!

I have successfully managed three adults and four car seats in the Bongo so far!!!!! That's everyone bar the skinniest adult with 3 point belts, and said skinny adult squashed in the middle between two car seats and contained by the lap belt.

[mpjc1961]

HEHE WEEEE !!!!

thanks for that!!!

We managed all car seats in the front bench the only issue was when we broke the youngest child almost got chopped in half!! that was only going at 10km/h
hence we thought 3 points would be better. But yes the kids loved it!!. I will admit now that it was a hard job to get the seats in think this car had a well used middle seat as it was only slightly raised in comparison to the the others.


thanks again people
Martin