Swivel Seats?

[Trinasara]

I want to convert my front passenger seat and possibly driver's seat to swivel 180 degrees. Has anyone converted their front seats to swivel? I'm driving a 2013 transit connect XLT...

[2013TransitConnect]

With the center console where are you going to swivel too?

[Spiffw]

I want to make my passenger seat swivel. It does seem that the center console will be an obstacle. Any advice or thoughts? I'm willing to buy new seats that are narrower, and/or willing to modify the center console for clearance.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Spiffw

[Johnyguy]

I want to make my passenger seat swivel. It does seem that the center console will be an obstacle. Any advice or thoughts? I'm willing to buy new seats that are narrower, and/or willing to modify the center console for clearance.

i think the TC seats already narrow enough i mean i like it its grabs me well but maybe already too small for some how narrow you can go...

[windguy]

what would innovative and cool is if you could flip the backrest so the seat reverses with the seat part staying stationary.

not sure how the angle/tilt of the seat would feel sitting opposite.but it's just a concept for when the seat wouldn't be able to swivel.

they used to do this on commuter trains so you can face forward if the train reverses direction.

[Eazy]

I don't see how this would be possible.

You could probably modify a Ford seat bracket from a Class B to fit and allow the seat to swivel. Ford likes using similar seat mounts, it saves them money.

However, I don't think it would be possible for the seat to turn 180*. Even without the center console, shift column, and parking brake the thought is that it would it hit the drivers seat in its rotation.

[Trinasara]

Where would I swivel to? To face the cargo area of the van, when camping, etc. It wouldn't hit the driver's seat... maybe the parking brake is close, but there must be a way! The passenger seat doesn't have any arm rests, so it's just a matter of turning it, right?

[Johnyguy]

Where would I swivel to? To face the cargo area of the van, when camping, etc. It wouldn't hit the driver's seat... maybe the parking brake is close, but there must be a way! The passenger seat doesn't have any arm rests, so it's just a matter of turning it, right?

i think the front has no room for swivel seats if it would be a full size ford transit i would say make sense to find a way to do something like that .

like some of those old ford vans made for camping but thats a different story.

i even surprised when people talks about turning the TC into a camping vehicle when you put a mattress in the back you have no room left whats the point? when you towing a camper that i understand.

[Willie]

It makes a very minimalist camper to be sure, Johnyguy. To me its the opposite of a large Winnebago with all its luxury touches. The idea is that less is sometimes really more, but you either "get" that or you don't. I certainly admit that its not for everybody or even for most people.

[Eazy]

I really like the idea of a transit connect camper. I owned a westy bus until a couple weeks ago. While it's not living in luxury, it's doable.

I have a lot of ideas of how it could be done, but I dont (currently) have the luxury of tearing into my connect to make it happen. Maybe in the spring.

Like I said though, check the salvage yards for a class b or class c built on the ford chassis. I imagine you could pretty easily adapt that swivel seat. I do question the clearances, but I've never actually measured.

[Leprechaun]

This thread seems to be dormant, and it looks like the site is as well. But in the event that someone opens this one hoping to find out if the TC can be modded with swivel seats, I can confirm that it not only can be done, but has been. Sherrod http://www.sherrodvans.com did a TC conversion that caught my eye in early 2010 when I was shopping for a Lincoln SUV. It had four "captain's chair" seats, a 17" TV where the shelf is, and was priced more than double the price of the '10 TC. Because my primary criteria for van selection was the convenience of the little old ladies I occasionally gave rides to Mass and doctor appointments and such, Serrod's swiveling front seats were a very attractive feature.

Sadly, some folk seem to think that front seats can swivel to face the back. I hope they don't waste too much time and money pursuing that notion. However, there are aftermarket seats that do swivel to allow easier entry and exit.

Hope somebody someday reads this and finds it helpful!

[windguy]

@leprechaun - thanks for the post.

I'd be concerned about the side airbags that are mounted inside the seat backs.

In a Gen 2 TC, the bucket seat bottoms are squeezed in pretty tightly against the center console. not much extra space in there.

[Leprechaun]

Agreed on both points! I didn't examine them, but IIRC, the seat bottoms were a bit narrower than the stock seats; I do recall noticing that they swiveled outward to facilitate entering/exiting.

I didn't consider trying to use the stock seats; as I thought of it, I expected to find suitable aftermarket seats with appropriate swiveling mechanisms. Sadly, the lady who has the greatest difficulty getting into my truck wouldn't benefit from it at all (she has trouble folding and lifting her legs to get her feet inside), so I did not pursue the notion.

That being said, my age and mobility make me interested in benefits such seats would provide to a number of folk. However, the OP's wish to swivel front seats, even only the passenger seat, to face the rear is not realistic via any means. His best upgrade would be the platform, rather than the seat -- say to a 40' motor home.

[kib]

I have been thinking about this for years.  Given today's safety features and computerization I don't know if this is possible, but I think the least complicated front-back conversion would be a removable seat back. The sitting portion of the seat remains stationary.  In a perfect world, if the seat back had posts and post holes, you could disengage some sort of cotter pin, pull the back out of the rear post holes, and then reinsert it into front post holes.  It would definitely be a custom seat in order to make it both  possible and comfortable to sit facing either way, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be legal for the driver's seat.

 

My old van has a jackknife sofa - basically it's a special hinge that allows the back of the sofa to do a half roll and become part of the mattress instead.  I wonder if a hinge could be designed to do a similar thing, similar to what the person talking about the trains said.

 

Another alternative if you don't use the passenger seat is to simply remove it and replace it with any custom sort of seat/container/table combo you can design.  This obviously limits this to a being a one-person vehicle, but it could open all sorts of possibilities for better space utilization.

Edited September 21, 2019 by kib
another idea came to mind.

[Double Nickels]

You're only limited by your imagination.......and reality.  Take out the seat, then install a swiveling bar stool with the legs cut off.  There's no possible way to sit in the passenger seat and swivel.  Where will your legs go?  Easy enough to fabricate a lazy Susan style ball bearing swivel.  Next you remove the center console, and the door.  That OEM seat still won't turn.  You can remove the front seat, then install a rear facing jump seat.  An accident would kill whomever is sitting that way.  

[dinocarsfast]

I welded in a swivel mechanism into my camper conversion.  Mostly to access the sink and stove that I put behind the passengers seat.  

 

Its definitely possible and not as convenient as with a full size transit because I have to open the passenger door to rotate the seat but it can be done with a little welding.

 

 

[2012TCJohn]

If the bolt patterns are the same in the front and back, couldn't you just replace them with universal clevis pins, pull the lock pins lift and rotate, and replace the seat backwards?  If the bolts are welded to the sliders, you could just drill the bolts and add the clips instead of nuts.

You could just rotate it when you get to camp, and put it back when you leave.

[Beta Don]

There are companies that make aftermarket, bolt in swivels for van seats.  I have a diesel Mercedes Sprinter based motor home and I know they sell the swivels for those, both passenger and driver seats . . . . and, they sell them for other makes and  models too.  Pretty sure they are DOT legal too, which is important.  You can find them on eBay for $150 per seat or so

 

Don