Bongo Fury

Bruce, when I had my passenger seat reversed, the MOT tester said it had to be turned around to pass - no idea if he was right though.
Scanner fitted the same seat as me - might be worth asking if his passed whilst reversed.

Simon Jones wrote:Simplest option at MOT time is to remove the seat altogether. There is no requirement to have a passenger seat and what it not present when tested cannot be failed if it is not a mandatory piece of equipment. It's a 5 minute job to remove the seat and the same to refit it. Presumably you'd already spend at least 5 minutes checking the vehicle over before hand so it's not massively going to ruin your day.

It's also only (less than) a five minute job to unbolt it, turn it around and just prop it up as a temporary inward facing seat when on site. What's a few minutes with a ratchet wrench and two different sockets (the other one for the belt anchorage) in relation to an overnight or even just an afternoon's stay?

I tried this on my driveway a week or so ago after reading this thread. I was satisfied that the headrest wouldn't go through the windscreen as a result of a good belly laugh in congenial company.

Before I got a swivel, I used to slide the passenger seat of my VW Type 25 fully forward out of the runners and insert it again reversed in under a minute. Sadly this is not an option with the Bongo.


Frank

nicstrike wrote:years ago having done beautiful repair to the floor of my mums mgb I sent her back to our local mot station (minus seat to show off to tester) for the re-test only for her to come back for me to fit the seat as he refused to test the car without it. he's not normally too fussy about stuff (if you know what I mean ) , so I don't know if the "take it out" theory is correct?

My rear rock n roll bed has no belts when in seat mode. I always take it for an MOT with it in the bed mode. There is nothing to test on a bed. I checked and confirmed this. MOT testers also can't move things to examine other things - so cars with under trays covering lots of pipes etc get through even with faults.

My tester told me they get iffy guys bringing in bangers where they spray expanding foam over suspect piping/rust areas and therefore get away with it.

Simon Jones wrote:MOT testers manual does not list missing seat as reason for rejection: http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s06000201.htm. Best bet would be to ask your local MOT station for their advise.

I think you will find in "nicstrike " case it was a "Refusal to Test" No test carried out.

Impossible to say what the rules were "years ago" when the incident took place, but the current rules do not specifically cater for a missing passenger seat:

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/tgx03000101.htm

On the plus side, by refusing to carry out the test, the fee would not have been payable at that time .

[quote="Simon Jones Impossible to say what the rules were "years ago" [/color]when the incident took place, but the current rules do not specifically cater for a missing passenger seat:

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/tgx03000101.htm

On the plus side, by refusing to carry out the test, the fee would not have been payable at that time .[/quote]


It has always been the case that the MOT Tester could refuse to carry out the test at his/her discretion.

I carried out the test when it first started , then it was for vehicles over 10 Years old.

Ah yes, back in the day of steam driven horseless carriages .

Simon Jones wrote:Ah yes, back in the day of steam driven horseless carriages .

Yep, and Men were Men and little boys were seen and not heard.

Just had a front passenger swivel seat fitted by New Dawn Conversions Tel 07850870145. Checked with my insurer (2Gether Insurance Ltd) and they say that they have no problem at all with this as long as it is supplied by a reputable company and properly installed. Also nipped into my MOT station and they say that when it comes to MOT time next month it will not be an issue for them either.
This conversion transforms the space in the Bongo . is strongly engineered ,easy to use and works a treat

vanvliet wrote:Just had a front passenger swivel seat fitted by New Dawn Conversions Tel 07850870145. Checked with my insurer (2Gether Insurance Ltd) and they say that they have no problem at all with this as long as it is supplied by a reputable company and properly installed. Also nipped into my MOT station and they say that when it comes to MOT time next month it will not be an issue for them either.
This conversion transforms the space in the Bongo . is strongly engineered ,easy to use and works a treat

Excellent. I was impressed by it when I saw it. One thing though is that 6' tall people like me have only just enough headroom unless they recline the seat back - people might want to be aware of that. Most people should be fine though

Very slightly clunky to look at too I thought, but not a deal breaker. Also need to do a bit of cutting out of carpet underneath it so it operates properly, but easy work with a sharp Stanley knife and hopefully the supplier advises on that.

Its a well priced mod I think and they should do well with orders.

mikeonb4c wrote:

vanvliet wrote:Just had a front passenger swivel seat fitted by New Dawn Conversions Tel 07850870145. Checked with my insurer (2Gether Insurance Ltd) and they say that they have no problem at all with this as long as it is supplied by a reputable company and properly installed. Also nipped into my MOT station and they say that when it comes to MOT time next month it will not be an issue for them either.
This conversion transforms the space in the Bongo . is strongly engineered ,easy to use and works a treat

Excellent. I was impressed by it when I saw it. One thing though is that 6' tall people like me have only just enough headroom unless they recline the seat back - people might want to be aware of that. Most people should be fine though

Very slightly clunky to look at too I thought, but not a deal breaker. Also need to do a bit of cutting out of carpet underneath it so it operates properly, but easy work with a sharp Stanley knife and hopefully the supplier advises on that.

Its a well priced mod I think and they should do well with orders.

I am 5'11 and it is fine for me .It is definitely a good mod for us regarding useability of the available space. I have nothing to judge it against on price other than looking at VW swivel mods which make it look a wee bit pricey . I was willing to pay the asking price as I have waited for years on a (any!) company to actually get around to solving the engineering problems and marketing one .They are taking a business risk on the relatively small Bongo market (VW market is huge) and so probably deserve the money! Re clearance .The trick is to peel /scrape off the yellow sponge insulation backing on the carpet - five minute job.

vanvliet wrote:

mikeonb4c wrote:

vanvliet wrote:Just had a front passenger swivel seat fitted by New Dawn Conversions Tel 07850870145. Checked with my insurer (2Gether Insurance Ltd) and they say that they have no problem at all with this as long as it is supplied by a reputable company and properly installed. Also nipped into my MOT station and they say that when it comes to MOT time next month it will not be an issue for them either.
This conversion transforms the space in the Bongo . is strongly engineered ,easy to use and works a treat

Excellent. I was impressed by it when I saw it. One thing though is that 6' tall people like me have only just enough headroom unless they recline the seat back - people might want to be aware of that. Most people should be fine though

Very slightly clunky to look at too I thought, but not a deal breaker. Also need to do a bit of cutting out of carpet underneath it so it operates properly, but easy work with a sharp Stanley knife and hopefully the supplier advises on that.

Its a well priced mod I think and they should do well with orders.

I am 5'11 and it is fine for me .It is definitely a good mod for us regarding useability of the available space. I have nothing to judge it against on price other than looking at VW swivel mods which make it look a wee bit pricey . I was willing to pay the asking price as I have waited for years on a (any!) company to actually get around to solving the engineering problems and marketing one .They are taking a business risk on the relatively small Bongo market (VW market is huge) and so probably deserve the money! Re clearance .The trick is to peel /scrape off the yellow sponge insulation backing on the carpet - five minute job.

I'm a little over 6' and found my head brushed the roof lining unless seat tilted back a little. As I found years back when I had a Fiesta, this caused me headaches as i tended to 'stoop' my neck without realising. But in any case, if the seat is needed it is generally because 3 people need to sit. With any luck, they won't all be 6 footers! And of course its upper body length that determines things, not overall height.

Agree about pricing - it will likely reflect the smaller sales potential compared to VWs. It will also with luck mean a far more personal service, from people who know and love the Bongo. Out of interest, how much is the equivalent job on a VW?

The seat can still move on the slides towards the rear of the van so are you sure about the head clearance? Regarding price ,I think that it is not really comparing like with like but a quick check on Google seemed to price VW ones at about £120 and yes, they seem like very reasonable folk too which swung it for me . Go on Mike,get one, you know that you are worth it !