Swivel seat adapters: you get what you pay for?

[sp99drac9r]

Hello,
I've been scanning the posts for awhile to pick up the common wisdom on swivel seat adapters. Looks like there plenty of variables to consider, including whether you have a suspension seat or not (I don't) and whether and how you want to try to deal with the approximately 2" increase in seat height that typically results (I'm okay with 2" increase). My needs are pretty simple and I'm not looking to do anything fancy like install Westfalia seats in place of the factory units, etc. I'm just looking to rotate my factory seats to face backwards so I can use them for living, working and eating as well as driving.

So it looks like the Sportscraft seats installed in this post:

http://www.sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171&highlight=swivel

are the preferred brand of many. Some indicate Eurocampers (http://www.eurocampers.com) are often quoted as the recommended source for the swivel seat adapters, but their prices are at least $205, whereas at SprinterAccessories.com they list for $179 and at DiscountVanTruck they list for $174.

Does anyone have experience with the other options? I obviously would like to go with the cheaper option provided the product is the same and the service is good.

Thanks!!

 

[Hikinginpdx]

Be aware, these are pre-shipping charge prices. I've seen shipping typically running close to $100 per pair. Make sure you are comparing delivered price not just the asking price.

If you find a smoking deal, please share, I'm ready to order the same. Currently EuroCamper seems to be the best deal; however, I may try to co-buy with someone else locally and see if we can get a break on the massive shipping charges.

Keith

 

[sp99drac9r]

If you find a smoking deal, please share, I'm ready to order the same. Currently EuroCamper seems to be the best deal; however, I may try to co-buy with someone else locally and see if we can get a break on the massive shipping charges.

Keith

I will try to contact EuroCamper and DiscountRV tomorrow and get total invoice prices. It seems that folks lean towards EuroCamper even though list price is about $40 higher. I'll share anything I learn.

 

[sp99drac9r]

So it looks like there are two different price points of swivel seat adapters on the market. There's the Sportscraft units that are sold by Eurocampers.com for about $205 plus shipping. Then there are units sold by www.discountvantruck.com for $174. According to them, these are of their own manufacture. Interestingly, they do not distinguish between passenger and driver side. Does anyone have any experience with these units??

www.sprinteraccessories.com sell theirs for about $179, and it looks like they may be the Sportscraft units.

Hikinginpdx, shipping to the SF bay area looks a lot cheaper than shipping to your area for some reason, I'm being quoted between $32 or $50.

 

[Hikinginpdx]

I think they like you better!

Linda at discountvans is checking on the rise of theirs. The others add 48mm, thats like 1.89". The shipping she quoted was only $38 which puts theirs at $386 delivered for the pair. I'm assuming the the shipping you quoted here is for a pair and not single peices. If it is per peice that matchs the $98 a pair shipping I was quoted.

I too would love to hear from anyone that has had experience with discount van's product... The handle appears to be a straight bar and they claim it doesn't interfer with the parking brake. For about $75 less, is it worth it?

Keith

 

[d_bertko]

I got my swivel from DiscountVanTruck. At the time it was $129---considerably cheaper than the euro model. It is heavy duty. It differs from the euro model in that the swivel is centered and not offset. Thus it works either side at the expense of having to crack the door for a moment to complete the turn. No biggie. It added 39mm to the seat height--better than the euro and useful for my shortish wife. Note that the rear floor is lower than the passenger area.

I needed to lightly file one of the swivel adaptor holes. Maybe an uncommon event.

The swivel was a great addition and it has held up well.

Dan

I think they like you better!

Linda at discountvans is checking on the rise of theirs. The others add 48mm, thats like 1.89". The shipping she quoted was only $38 which puts theirs at $386 delivered for the pair. I'm assuming the the shipping you quoted here is for a pair and not single peices. If it is per peice that matchs the $98 a pair shipping I was quoted.

I too would love to hear from anyone that has had experience with discount van's product... The handle appears to be a straight bar and they claim it doesn't interfer with the parking brake. For about $75 less, is it worth it?

Keith

 

[Hikinginpdx]

Great feedback Dan,

I never realized that the others were offset. I assume the reason you need to open the door is the seatback run hits the door panel. If the seatback is raised does it still require the door to be opened a bit to turn?

Thanks again

Keith

 

[sp99drac9r]

I got my swivel from DiscountVanTruck. At the time it was $129---considerably cheaper than the euro model. It is heavy duty. It differs from the euro model in that the swivel is centered and not offset. Thus it works either side at the expense of having to crack the door for a moment to complete the turn. No biggie. It added 39mm to the seat height--better than the euro and useful for my shortish wife. Note that the rear floor is lower than the passenger area.

Hi Dan, do you have heated seats? In HKpierce's swivel adapter installation note (re-attached here for reference), he mentions that the SportCraft adapters rotate on a tubular bearing that allows wiring to pass through. By the way I've learned a lot from your posts. I'll have more for you regarding L-track and nutserts soon. Many thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[d_bertko]

My seats are plain-janes. The discountvan pivot does not have a pass-through on mine. I'll note that the company offered several flavors including one for power seats IIRC.

I do put the seat upright to aid the swivel clearance. I'd think that the euro swivel would also require a fairly upright position.

This brings up another story. The red plastic handle to adjust the passenger seat back cracked on my 02. I think the replacement parts were very dear. The Sprinter parts guy and I both agreed a small vise grip would be way cheaper. Turns out the vise grip works much batter than the original handle. Plus you always got an essential tool available!

sp99drac9r:
Looking forward to seeing your track ideas. Mine have proven their worth several times as I've redesigned the hinged benches and added and subtracted some half-baked creations.

 

[Krenovian]

I recently purchased a set of Sporcraft swivel bases from Eurocampers to put in my 2008 140 High Roof 2500. I have suspension seats with the short base. For the passenger side the install went smoothly other than having to use a cutting bit on a Dremel tool to elongate two of the holes on the swivel base so they would align with holes on the original seat base. I followed moto19's suggestions for mounting and modification found here:
http://www.sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6487&page=3

moto19's suggestions work great to get a Sportcraft swivel base to work with a passenger suspension seat. Thanks Randy!! As mentioned earlier the Sportcraft base pivot is offset. You do have to have the seat in an upright position to rotate it. I found that the seat base still interferes with the door panel requiring the passenger door to be opened. This can be fixed by grinding away about 1/4" of the base where it hits the door panel. Since you have regular seats and I assume the higher seat base, the door interference may not be a problem. With respect to the added height I found that when the seat is facing the back of the van my feet barely touch the floor. I'm not exactly tall at 5' 8". Facing forward the added height isn't an issue.

It is another story when it comes to the driver side. Even though the swivel base comes with an adapter to lower the parking brake this doesn't solve the problem. The pylon which the parking brake mounts to is high enough on the low seat base that it interferes with the swivel base. For the Sportcraft swivel base to work with the low seat base the pylon will need to be removed and reattached in a lower position; no small task. I realize that you probably have the higher seat base in which case this isn't an issue, but I'm posting this for anyone who may have the low seat base.

I went with Eurocampers as I had read a negative post about Sprinteraccessories in this forum when I was researching swivel bases. Eurocampers' price was the best I could find for the Sportcraft bases once the cost of shipping was added.

Curt

 

[clark]

Krenovian

Did you get the divers side to work? Any pics?

Thx

 

[lzcamper]

Keith,

Have you tried Upscale Automotive in Tualatin? http://www.upscaleauto.com/seat_swivels.htm Their price looks a little higher, but you wouldn't have to pay the cost of shipping.

Rick

 

[Hikinginpdx]

Rick,

I've talked with Upscale and even with being local, there was a significant shipping charge. It was a bit surprising, but that is what I was told when I called.

Keith

 

[Krenovian]

Clark,

I have'nt started the project of re-mounting the parking brake pylon. If I can remove the existing pylon intact I will just bolt it to the seat base in a lower position. If I can't remove it intact I'll fabricate a new one. I'll post photos when it happens. Building cabinets and a bed system are higher priorities at the moment.

Curt

 

[clark]

Thanks, maybe I'll get to it first... I'll keep you posted.

 

[NBB]

I was just calling around about these. My finding is that there are only 2 different products among the 4 quoted vendors to choose from. Let me know if you have found different.

I have not found another option for sale here in the US, though in Europe there are a few other options.

From pictures and mechanical diagrams on Eurocamper, Sprinter Accessories and Upscale Auto - I got the impression they were all offering the exact same product. Advantage: Offset swivel for easier rotation. Disadvantage: Parking brake issues. Not sure I'm psyched on the seats shifting toward the center after rotation, either.

Discount Van RV offers a different product. I spoke at length with their tech support. He said 1 5/8" rise. Advantage: No parking brake repositioning epic. Disadvantage: More awkward to rotate.

I will probably go with Discount's product.

I think I'm mostly just repeating prior posts, but thought I would summarize.

- Nate

 

[eurocampers]

Our swivel prices may seem a bit high, but we charge actual shipping costs, so the total price you pay may actually be less than the other guys. With your purchase from us, you also receive great customer service and quick delivery. We stand behind our products, and offer a 1 year warranty and parts and also offer repair service on our swivels. We accept credit cards, which gives you purchase protection. We have also been in business since 1996, and we will still be in business many years to come. EuroCampers is a family run operation. We answer the phones and emails, and we're here in the office 5 days a week. We are located in Pevely Missouri and are open to the public by appointment You can also purchase 24 hours a day through our website. http://eurocampers.com

We offer Sportscraft brand swivels that have been pull tested to US standards. These are designed just for your Sprinter unlike our competitor that takes a generic swivel and welds pieces of metal to it to try to make it fit. Ask them if their swivel is pull tested. The Sportscraft swivels are heavy. They need to be of heavy duty construction to pass the pull testing. The floor of your Sprinter will fail long before the swivel does in the pull tests.

In regard to installing this on the suspension seats. We do not recommend this. Any alterations to the swivel or the way it mounts may make it no longer safe. This type of use has not been tested and we are unable to offer any support or warranty for this type of installation. As others have posted, the handbrake adapter does not give enough clearance for the swivel seat when modified to work with suspension seats.

Next month we will have some new swivels available for the 2007-2009 Sprinters. We have been providing these swivels to a major RV manufacture in the past, and now will have them available on our website. These new swivels are made in Germany by Reimo, and are the best made swivel that we have come across. They have a lower profile and turn smoother than the Sprotscraft. The downside is they are more expensive. I expect to offer them for around $270 each. They should be available on the website in the next couple of weeks. We will continue to also offer the Sportscraft swivels.

If you have read this far, thank you for your time. We are offering a 5% discount to the Sprinter Forum members. Enter the code sf2009 to receive your discount at checkout. The discount only applies to internet orders through the end of this year.

I always welcome comments and suggestions.

Best regards,

Steve Lashley
President
SKL Enterprises Inc.
http://EuroCampers.com
505 Old State Road North
Pevely MO 63070
888-797-5994
636-337-7700

 

[OrioN]

Our swivel prices may seem a bit high, but we charge actual shipping costs, so the total price you pay may actually be less than the other guys. With your purchase from us, you also receive great customer service and quick delivery. We stand behind our products, and offer a 1 year warranty and parts and also offer repair service on our swivels. We accept credit cards, which gives you purchase protection. We have also been in business since 1996, and we will still be in business many years to come. EuroCampers is a family run operation. We answer the phones and emails, and we're here in the office 5 days a week. We are located in Pevely Missouri and are open to the public by appointment........... .............only applies to internet orders through the end of this year.

I always welcome comments and suggestions.

Best regards,

Steve Lashley
President
SKL Enterprises Inc.
http://EuroCampers.com
505 Old State Road North
Pevely MO 63070
888-797-5994
636-337-7700

Steve is d'man!

I recently purchased a full set of custom mats and had him make an additional matching side sliding door mat. Plus, I ordered a Fiamma F65 awning.

Yes there may be cheaper or cheap, but there is no substution for dedication, honesty and integrity, which Steve has.

He took more time than what was need to explain the pro's and con's & intimate details of the products' function and such, clearly knowning his products. When I didn't like the fit of the mid section mat, which he had explained may be the case in advance, he facilitated in having my own templated design made and shipped, in under 2 weeks, no cost.

I needed a replacement switch for the Fiamma motor kit. I called to ask if he had one or should I contact Fiamma. He immediately said Fiamma warranties, but before I had a chance to say Ok, I'll call, he said "I'll contact (Bill/Bob?) and have one shipped.", which he imediately did and followed up on. He didn't have to, but that's Steve....

 

[dbeyer]

Steve is d'man!

He didn't have to, but that's Steve....

In 2005 I purchased 2 swivel seat bases from Steve. 9 months later I called to see if I could return the unused passenger swivel. No problem treated me like a gold star customer.

David


PS: Upscale is also great but stay away from Sprinter Accessories

 

[NBB]

Thanks for the update(s). A swivel that isn't pull tested would be indeed be unacceptable to me. Doesn't matter to me how it's made, just that it passes a recognized test. The net is great for locating weird items and getting a good price, but it really sucks not being able to handle and play with a product before you throw down what is usually quite a bit of money - to vendors who often have horribly high restocking fees. So, I'll wait for these other swivels and probably buy them from someone with a return policy commensurate with the trials of internet shopping. BTW - Discount RV = 30% restocking, 7% processing fee for cancellations - also unacceptable, IMO, for someone selling mostly homebrew items - no thanks, not worth it.