Van/mini bus seats in the back of a 90?

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Anyone? I was wondering what you did for spreader plates under the load bay floor?
 
When I bought my 110, it was fitted with a bench seat across the body, the following MOT the examiner was deeply unhappy , about its mounting, and the lack of easy exit for anyone using it.. I took it out as I was intending to anyway.
Finding seats to go in the back, that face forward, that fit with out major engineering, will be a problem.
If you wish to face sideways then, most seats won't fit, as you have to sit very upright in the back . It's possible to make and fit supports for seats to the back. Such seats would have to be very small.
Note you would also have to think of fitting seatbelts and their reinforced mounting points.
 
I got a single minibus seat with integrated seatbelt and a heavy mount that it bolts onto. I had a local blacksmith cut and weld the mount so that it sits at the correct height for bolting onto the floor and wheelbox in the tub as well as make me up some heavy spreader plates for underneath. Still haven't fitted it yet but it's in the shed for the future and will provide a full size comfortable seat that can be removed fairly easily by taking the bolts out if need be.

TheQ said:
When I bought my 110, it was fitted with a bench seat across the body, the following MOT the examiner was deeply unhappy , about its mounting, and the lack of easy exit for anyone using it.. I took it out as I was intending to anyway...
Click to expand...

Never heard of this. Ive always had bench seats fitted in the back although I very rarely, if ever, carry any other people, but you can't open the back door without first lowering the dog ramp outside so if there is anyone in the back I need to let them out. Never had a problem at MOT time.
 
Oh and to answer your original post yes tons of people have did this, it's not difficult to fit forward facing seats from a minibus or ambulance and they'll generally just bolt straight in. Headroom for taller people might be an issue but not a lot you can do about that. You can buy proper forward facing seats designed for a defender but they're usually stupid money. No idea what @TheQ is on about as there's no major engineering involved. It's a Land Rover, not a Ferrari
 
So guys, forward facing seats in the back, no room to enter or exit unless you clamber over them when they are folded, is that an MOT issue? Its a rag top so you couldnt get out through the back anyway?
 
If they're folded up out of the way then they won't impede anyone getting out. Thousands of defenders have probably had folding seats fitted side by side, I've never heard of it being a problem. You could get them from the factory like that
 
It is very easy to do a 5hit and dangerous installation, but look at standard Land Rover rear seats if you want to do them properly.
All the factory fitted Land Rover rear seats that I have seen, have included some sort of framework to tie the seatbelts onto the chassis.
The other issue, that you may not have considered, is what would your insurance companies attitude be to extra seats.
 
You can put them in facing the rear and then there is no problem getting in and out, my son has a new Ford Custom people carrier and it has a row of rear facing seats (as well as another row of forward facing seats)
 
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I've got seats with integral belts that fold down very flat, just wondering how the mot might see it, insurance wouldn't be an issue if it isn't raised as one during an MOT.
 
nobber said:
I've got seats with integral belts that fold down very flat, just wondering how the mot might see it, insurance wouldn't be an issue if it isn't raised as one during an MOT.
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Insurance could be an issue, as every policy that I have taken out has asked how many seats the vehile has and if it has been modified.
I suspect that your insurance may get a little giddy if they discover that you have fitted extra seats into the rear of a soft top commercial vehicle without informing them, particularly if a passenger is injured or worse.
 
Rougharse Racing said:
Insurance could be an issue, as every policy that I have taken out has asked how many seats the vehile has and if it has been modified.
I suspect that your insurance may get a little giddy if they discover that you have fitted extra seats into the rear of a soft top commercial vehicle without informing them, particularly if a passenger is injured or worse.
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I would inform them, of course, thats not what I meant, they wouldnt have an issue with the seats themselves. I fitted a middle seat and they didnt even ask me where in the vehicle it was even though it went from 2 seats to 3, it didnt even bump the cost up at all. All my modifications, no matter how small, are all listed in my policy.
 
the_wolf said:
I got a single minibus seat with integrated seatbelt and a heavy mount that it bolts onto. I had a local blacksmith cut and weld the mount so that it sits at the correct height for bolting onto the floor and wheelbox in the tub as well as make me up some heavy spreader plates for underneath. Still haven't fitted it yet but it's in the shed for the future and will provide a full size comfortable seat that can be removed fairly easily by taking the bolts out if need be.



Never heard of this. Ive always had bench seats fitted in the back although I very rarely, if ever, carry any other people, but you can't open the back door without first lowering the dog ramp outside so if there is anyone in the back I need to let them out. Never had a problem at MOT time.
Click to expand...
Could you send me a pic of your dog ramp
the_wolf said:
I got a single minibus seat with integrated seatbelt and a heavy mount that it bolts onto. I had a local blacksmith cut and weld the mount so that it sits at the correct height for bolting onto the floor and wheelbox in the tub as well as make me up some heavy spreader plates for underneath. Still haven't fitted it yet but it's in the shed for the future and will provide a full size comfortable seat that can be removed fairly easily by taking the bolts out if need be.



Never heard of this. Ive always had bench seats fitted in the back although I very rarely, if ever, carry any other people, but you can't open the back door without first lowering the dog ramp outside so if there is anyone in the back I need to let them out. Never had a problem at MOT time.
Click to expand...
Could you send me a pic of your dog ramp. I need to fab something for our lab.
 
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