When it comes to van you converted, what was your worst decision?

[Millie Master]

I/we love our 'Millie', 5 years on after the build she is still totally rattle free and everything is still working perfectly despite her being used extensively.

But there is one thing that I am always kicking myself about buying the (totally) unloved ex shop fitters van in the first place and that is her colour! I always think that silver cars and vans are the easiest to keep and look clean, but, unless you spend a small fortune on having a professional body shop do any paintwork repairs I find the colour nigh on impossible to match or ghost blend in.

If I were ever to do another build then the only (practical) colour for me is white!

Phil

ps. I might also fit an underslung gas tank next time

 

[SquirrellCook]

For me, deciding on how long it was being kept for. Nothing worse than going back to fix a problem you knew was going to bite you.

 

[tapfitter]

I have a white van, but the problem is, there are hundreds of different colours of white. In the sunshine from the side of our van there are 4 different shades of white from where repairs have been made in the past.

 

[BOTCANU]

Drilling through the fuel filler neck when drilling hole for shower tray drain ............

 

[Eurobiker330]

The decision that `It wont cost that much, it`ll be cheaper than that!`

 

[n brown]

i work very fast,and i'm usually thinking of the next job while doing this one .so when i drilled through the floor for my sink drain hose . i pushed through enough to reach the floor and thought no more of it . months later ,i noticed rust appearing on the lower panel at the back , and when i got under to inspect i found the sill full of stinky water . i'd drilled into the space between the inner and outer wall of the sill

 

[Squiffy]

I think the only thing I would change is provision for a third travelling seat. It hasn't really bothered us but there have been occasions when we would like to have taken a grandchild with us. We have travelled with an adult on the back bench seat as it seems to me to be legal over the age of 18 but the law is very cloudy, unless someone can point me to where it says illegal. Phil

P.s. I know that it is regarded as illegal but I personally can not find where it says totally that its illegal.

 

[Eurobiker330]

Hi Squiff. I am kinda off a similar view as yourself. When travelling on a bus, side facing bench seats dont require belted seats. However if you look it should be under the Construction and Use Regs, 1986 If i remember rightly.
If you do find the legislation let me know, our MoHo is 4 berth but only 2 dedicated travelling seats. Your right for a child of certain age and height there are regs for their seating requirements (rightly so) but again I think anyone over 14 is responsible for attaching their seat belt although the driver also has a cause or permit liability.
Its bit of a minefield. G

 

[Squiffy]

Hi Eurobiker, yes if you look at construction and use regs the side facing seat laws on seat belts is nebulous in the extreme, it is almost as though they are trying to make it look as though its illegal but realise that there is infact a loophole that has not been addressed and are just hoping that people assume its illegal. However I'm sure that I remember reading that it is up to the inspecting officer to ascertain whether the seat construction would be safe in the event of an accident, but no mention of seatbelt requirements. Phil

 

[Eurobiker330]

Hi Sqiff. Yeah, legislation for cars are clearly defined, PCV`s 90% so, but Motor Caravans and PVC`s not so. As you say if a VOSA inspector was looking at a vehicle they would look at the seat construction and fitting, if it passed there is no real reason why on say a PVC you could not then get the vehicle registered as a Motor Caravan and bypass the red tape that way! Possibly?

 

[trevskoda]

I looked into all this and ask at NI test station,also VCU regs,simple all seats must be belted after 1979 but holding plates dont count to 2006 where the must meet the regs,seats after this date should be marked for travel as eu states ,but as no members worked out a plan this has been dropped,side seats and belts are a no no after 1989 as side whiplash will break you neck,in co will not cover and police can fine the driver for not carrying a person in a safe manor,as for front middle seats they must be belted and no part of the persons head or body can be in striking distance of dash or screen.
I was pulled at first mot test regarding under floor plates for seat fixing as it was not to there spec until i pointed out Vc and use cut of date regarding this which is 2006 and my van is 2000 reg,so got a retest and pass.

 

[Squiffy]

Just come across this, "Converting a van to carry passengers in the rear" .gov

This is an extract.

Side-facing seatbelts
Our advice is that passengers are safest in a forward or rearward facing seat equipped with a lap belt or, preferably, a three-point belt.

Although side facing seats, with or without seatbelts, are not illegal, we would not advise that they are used. This is because seatbelts are not designed to be used with such seats. In the event of an accident, seatbelts on these side facing seats may help to prevent the wearer being thrown around the vehicle or from being ejected, but in a frontal crash they can increase injury risk by subjecting vulnerable parts of the body to higher loads than seatbelts used on forward facing seats. You should also bear in mind that child restraints cannot be fitted to side facing seats. In order to fit the required child restraints, you would need to have forward or rearward facing seats with full three-point seatbelts.

Phil

Full transcript.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...verting-a-van-to-carry-passengers-in-the-rear

 

[Eurobiker330]

Well done that Man. Think I will print that off and digest fully without a beer in me. We have travelled (not far just over to St Andrews) with youngest son (18yrs) lieing with his iPad on the fixed bed for a couple of nights and to be honest felt ...cautious about it.
Obviously an unrestrained passenger is not ideal, but with a 4 berth it is tempting if he wants to come away for a break.
I will read it fully later. G

 

[Nabsim]

I think I have the relevant part saved somewhere if you need it digging out but there is a dat (I think 2007) where they stopped side facing seats for carrying passengers. Before that date it is legal as it wasn’t retrospective. What is retrospective is regs for children.

In spite of it not being illegal to carry adults in side facing seats the police can still pull you under unsafe loads. In practice that is very unlikely unless you are driving like or being an idiot or give them a load of verbal.

What may stop you is insurance, they may only cover you for belted seats

Edit: the bit I found was any vehicle and not related to conversions per se

 

[Squiffy]

I think I have the relevant part saved somewhere if you need it digging out but there is a dat (I think 2007) where they stopped side facing seats for carrying passengers. Before that date it is legal as it wasn’t retrospective. What is retrospective is regs for children.

In spite of it not being illegal to carry adults in side facing seats the police can still pull you under unsafe loads. In practice that is very unlikely unless you are driving like or being an idiot or give them a load of verbal.

What may stop you is insurance, they may only cover you for belted seats

Edit: the bit I found was any vehicle and not related to conversions per se

I read something like that also but my last post from .gov was made In 2010 and mentions nothing about the 2007 edit, so who do you believe in this instance, it's all a bit murky and pretend illegal as I have never yet come across any direct information saying it is defo illegal, it all seems to be smoke and mirrors. It could be of course that the 2007 edition was about newly built commercial vehicles produced for the general public market, hoping that nobody would wish to go to the bother of after market additions and therefore it would slowly die out over the years, but in the meantime they make it so muddy that everyone including plod thinks it is illegal. Phil

 

[Nabsim]

I had a look in my cloud storage and the document isn’t there so it will be on the laptop in storage

What I found meant anything registered before the 2007 date could use side facing seats. I notice yours was related to converting vans now so if supercedes what I had anyway.

They couldn’t say it was illegal as military use side facing seats and so did some busses (don’t know if they still do as not been on on for years).

Typical grey area really, legal in one set of legislation and not in another.

 

[Eurobiker330]

So chaps, what do we think the answer is for a production manufactured low profile Motorhome 2016. Side facing bench seats no belts. legal/illegal?
I read that document you posted last night sqiffy and my understanding is that legislation relates to conversions.
G

 

[Squiffy]

Yes Euro,
Sorry I forgot yours was not a conversion done privately, but of course it does relate to those of us who bought a van and converted it. Phil

 

[SquirrellCook]

Seat belt law is interesting to say the least. I asked Plaxton how the Beever’s get away without having seat belts. Turns out they have an exemption as they won’t go over 60mph. One thing I did come across that it’s recommended not to travel in the back of a motor home.

 

[Squiffy]

Seat belt law is interesting to say the least. I asked Plaxton how the Beever’s get away without having seat belts. Turns out they have an exemption as they won’t go over 60mph. One thing I did come across that it’s recommended not to travel in the back of a motor home.

I have to say I saw a program once on the survivability of someone travelling in the back of a coach built motorhome a few years ago, they did a crash dummy test with a well known make I can't remember which but the end result was horrific, at the time I had recently bought new a Swift Sundance 630L and I have to say that it was on my mind during my ten year ownership of it. The whole area just behind the cab split in two I.e. the chassis cracked and collapsed, the forward faceing rear travelling seats even though they were on welded frame collapsed with the chassis everything folded up on the crash test dummy no way would a human have survived it, I seem to remember that the test was carried out at 50mph head on which in reality is not unlikely. Of course a conversion would not have collapsed quite as dramatically due to the chassis being built into metal floor being also supported by the sill areas box section and steel walls, admittedly depending on how well the internals had been fitted you could still end up with a good head ache. For those who have coach builts I actually do love the space so I'm not suggesting I'm against them it's just a fact you have to live with if you do own one.Phil