Double seats

[Cooooooper]

I’ve just seen a Bongo on Autotrader with 6 seats… driver and passenger up front, then two rows of two seats behind. Have these seats been cut n shut from a couple of trebles?

[gilly99]

I have a similar conversion. Basically, they have stripped all the upholstery back, cut the middle seat out, then re-welded the seat frames retaining the floor rail and seat belt attachments, so yes "cut n shut". Done well it's a really nice job as retains the original safety factors for the seat belts mounts back to the frame and seat rails (unlike some rock n roll beds).

Some people get new flat seat cushion profiles when doing this as potentially makes it more comfortable when using as a bed, but I asked my converter to retain the original seat cushion shapes, as my thinking was likely much more time spent sitting rather than sleeping.

[Cooooooper]

Hi gilly

Thanks for coming back to me. Do you know who did your conversion?

Oh yeah, that’s pretty much what I assumed. The seats on the above Bongo also spin round which is pretty neat. I suppose after the seats have been cut n shut, it’s a case of moving the floor rails over. I can see why some people get the seats made flatter to make the “bed” more comfy….. we only use our for day trips so I would stick with the standard material and profiles of the seats.

[gilly99]

Yes, looking at the side conversion & materials used in your photos, the unit looks identical to mine (done around 2011), so I am pretty certain the conversion was by Budget Bongos in Southampton. I think it was called "Mistral" but my memory is hazy. Think Budget have folded/moved, and it's now part of Southern Bongos / Mistlebrook motors.

Budget (Simon) were pretty good and from memory price was keen - the materials used were generally good quality. Some of the workmanship was a bit poor, but nothing that cannot be sorted with a bit of TLC. I went for a full side conversion (sink, fridge & hob etc) to obtain formal Motorhome status on the V5 - as that lowers yearly insurance costs considerably. If I were doing this again, would have done the same conversion but specified 'Tambour' roller doors (as you need to move seats to open the std hinged doors, which is a bit of a faff). Budget also cut my std tintop off and added a low-profile raising roof and bed space - that job was really nicely done and kept the vehicle height under 2m - good for European carparks & motorway tolls.

I specifically searched for a conversion that retained the original seats, as rock n roll beds do not generally retain the proper seat belt mounting points, and it also keeps the feel of a day van with the two rear pax bench rows and just losing 2 seats from standard. It's heavy, so if you go for it, would recommend adding air-assist bags to the rear suspension.

Edit:- No need to move seat rails, the cut-down seat frames mount directly to the standard vehicle. Just need to ensure good welding quality on the frame and a reasonable re-upholstery job.