8th Jan - Campervan Seat Construction

So next up was making the seat frames and drilling hold through the wood floor for the rear minibus seats. These seats will be the seats two of the children travel in.  The other three of us will be up front.

Now putting these seats in is not going to be easy.  The floor of this vehicle is just wood.  There is no way I am trusting this wood to take the weight of the seat and the children in a crash even with spreader plates. So I need to ensure the seat is secured through the floor and onto the chassis.  This is a another blog post of its own for a later date.  I need a coach-worker to do this for me and weld some structural supports underneath where we can then bolt the seat through.  For now however I have drilled through the plywood floor and located the seat so I can continue the interior fit out.

The frames for the surround on that seat and the other 5 seating areas in the back are being made from 38mm square timber.  These will then be clad in MDF and MDF striped cladding on the show sides for aesthetics and that country look. Incidentally I've ordered the kitchen cabinet doors, made to measure and will fit them as soon as they arrive - also a country feel. The good wife wants a nice country feel inside our Camper.


A visit to Toolstation yielded a collection of brackets and some screws and with my chop saw and my electric drill driver I began fabricating the seats. The rear drivers side (non travelling) seat is a deeper base than those which back on to the drivers and passenger seats, but only to match up to the depth of the travelling seats which sit on the passenger side.  The back 6 inches will be storage and I also plan to have storage areas under all wooden seats (hence the fronts being open).  I intend to have storage which can slide out or lift up from under the seats to store clothing and shoes etc...

The sleeping area for the travel cot has caused issues.  I had 70cm as more than enough room for a camp bed in the future, but it turns out the travel cot needs more than this. Thus the whole van gets crunched a little for this. With that extra 5cm eating some of the other space its now touch and go for the double airbed mattress space I need for the adults to sleep across the seating and table area.  But it'll fit.

The rears of the seats will support the kids hammocks so have extra supports in them.

For now though I continue to build the seat structures with just one more to do.  I will be buying some board soon and using B&Q's cutting service to make it a perfect fit.  Each seat will have electrics and dry lining socket cases have been purchased for these.  I need to consider where I am going to locate the kitchen sockets but that will come soon once I've had a good chat with an electrician friend.

Plenty still to do, but it feels like I am making progress seeing the internals take shape.