Van seatbelts - view from side
Fitting seats and seatbelts to a van requires design to meet the loading requirements in a frontal collision. The LVV Standards for seats and for seatbelt anchorages set out the different ways of meeting these requirements.
In the Hiace shown, some second-hand seats were to be fitted, these had the seatbelt anchorages in the seat frames, making them “Stressed Seats”. This is much neater than having all the seatbelts going to the floor, however it means that the seat has to be strong enough to take the seatbelt loads.
Van seatbelts - view from rear
A quick stress calculation showed that the back beams were not strong enough, and had to be strengthened by adding a 50 x 25 box beam to the original 50 x 50 box beam to make a 50 x 75 box beam.
The mounting system is the “Over-floor mounting bar” system, as in the LVV Standard.
Also visible are headrest mounts on the rear seat back, because of the closeness of the rear window.
Installation by owners Eastern Rentals 66 TeRakau Drive 09 577 0128
Design calculations and LVV Certifification by John Brett Technology Ltd. 0800 LOW VOLUME (0800 569865)
The LVV Standards are here- Seats and seat anchorages [692kB PDF] and here Seatbelts [1024kB PDF]
REAR FACING SEATS
Rear facing seats have to restrain occupants from frontal impact. This means that the seat backs have to be far stronger than normal, or a supporting structure provided.
This is a matter which is often overlooked by some commercial modifiers.
The requirements from ADR VSb 5B are:
Appendix B
Rear-Facing Seat Strength
Rear-facing seats and their anchorages must comply with the requirements of the latest edition of ADR 3/…
In addition, a rear-facing seat should withstand, without imposing any load on any other seat in the vehicle, a load equivalent to twenty times the weight of the seat and its occupants applied in the forward direction relative to the vehicle. Seats intended to accommodate more than one occupant should withstand the loads applied by all occupants simultaneously. This requirement should be demonstrated with the occupant load uniformly distributed over the backrest and head restraint of the seat.
The occupant mass to be used to determine the test loads for each category of seat must be:
Category 1 – 68 kgs
Category 2 – 38 kgs
Category 3 – 26 kgs.
Reasearch link:-
[DOC]
COMMERCIAL MANUFACTURE AND INSTALLATION OF ADDITIONAL SEATS
– 8:15am
File Format: Microsoft Word – View as HTML
Rear-Facing Seat Strength. Rear-facing seats and their anchorages must comply with the requirements of the latest edition of ADR 3/. …
www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle…/bulletin/…/vsb_05_b.doc
I think I will try to recommend this post to my friends and family, cuz it’s really helpful.
im wondering about folding seats in vans though, how do they avoid the need for cert? not all seem to have seat belts too
Peace
Sam
Hi Sam
Vans do not need seatbelts for a rear seat, if they were built before March 2002.
Also, if there are MORE than 9 seats, and the vehicle is pre March 2002, the rear seats do’t need seatbelts!
Lots of owners decide to fit seatbelts to these vans, and this is done under LVV Certification.
If the van has a factory fitted seat (such as the folding ones you have seen) there is no modification to Certify.
If the Van has had a seat fitted later, it does need a LVV Cert. for the seat, and this is a good time to add seatbelts, and include them on the Cert.
Hope this helps
John
Hi There,
I purchased two extra seats for my 80 series landcruiser thinking they would bolt straight into the back of my wagon. I have since been told that I need to track down a wrecked 7 seater, have the floor cut out and mounted into my vehicle before I can have them installed. Is there anything else that can be done?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
William.
Hi William. Is this really a Series 1 Landrover??
In reply- there is no set way that seat installion has to be done- if you can come up with a practical way to mount the seat, it should be OK. It WILL need to be LVV Certified, so talk to your LVV Certifier first.
Do you plan to put seatbelts in?
Hi John,
Thank you for this. Sorry I should have been more clear. My vehicle is a 1991 Toyota Landcruiser 80 Series. The extra seats were to be added to the very rear of the vehicle to make it a 7 seater. If I am hearing you right then as long as it can get LVV Certified it should be ok.
What has me confused is that this information was given to me from a panelbeater who spoke with the LVV Certifier.
I better give the LVV Certifier a call.
Finding someone to part with a floor from a landcruiser might prove difficult.
I have the seat belts and mounts for the seats. there is just nothing to connect it to the vehicle.
Ah, a Landcruiser 80 series! I have done many of these, and similar vehicles. There should be no problem adapting these to the existing floor.
The inner seatbelt mounts are on the seats, the seats lock down to a bar on the floor, which takes all the seatbelt loads. All this can be duplicated quite easily.
is the same requirements for toyota van for cof as above,, eg 10 seats no belts?
Hi Marty
see above:
“Vans do not need seatbelts for a rear seat, if they were built before March 2002.
Also, if there are MORE than 9 seats, and the vehicle is pre March 2002, the rear seats do’t need seatbelts!”
So the answer depends on what year your Hiace is.
COF makes no difference to whether seatbelts are needed or not.
Hi,I have ford transit mobility van with total 10 seats, I want to convert it to a 12 seater (with COF)and ready to loose mobility lift,
Can you please inform whatt to do and how or who can do that
regards
Vin
Hi Vin
You would need to get in touch with a LVV Certifer. The actual job of adding seats could be as easy as getting some Transit seats, and bolting tem to existing mounts in the floor, or there may be more work to be done. If you are in Auckland, call us on 0800 LOW VOLUME (0800 569865)
Regards
John
Hi, I have a 1969 Dormobile Kombi and I would like to install a single folding seat backing onto the passenger seat inside the sliding door does the seat and belts need certifing. What kind of seat belts can i use and who sells them? Queenstown area cerfifier?
Thanks Jas.
Hi Jas-
All seats and seatbelts need LVV Certification.
Does your Kombi have the steel partition behind the front seats? A rear facing seat needs strength in a frontal collision.
Certifers in Queenstown- In Dunedin is Roy McDonald on 03 4885657 and Graham Fitzpatrick on 03 4545088
Regards
John
Hi, I have a 1987 Toyota Hiace campervan, the seating in the back consists of 2 long storage compartments bolted down and running down the sides of the van with covered couch foam/matress on top. Do you know if passengers are permitted to ride in the back or will i have to put some seats in?
Thanks
Diana
Hi Diana
Under the current laws, Camper Vans on vehicles manufacutured before 1/10 2003 do NOT need seats and seatbelt anchorages in the back. Passengers only need wear seatbelts IF they are fitted.
So you can carry passengers in the back without seatbelts. You CAN fit lap seatbelts on those side seats, maximum 1 per side, far enough back so that an occupant’s head would NOT hit anything soldid in a frontal accident.
The new seatbelts would need to be LVV Certified. If you are in Auckland, I reccomend that you ring Seatbelt Specialists on 09 4440099 Regards John
We have just purchased a 1998 Toyota Hiace van that has a 3 fold-down seats immediately behind the drivers seat which doesn’t have seatbelts but the Trust that I work for, wishes to install. I have been led to believe that it is not a legal requirement. (Is that correct?) If so do I still need the certification for this work to be done? It makes it prohibitive to getting it done as it more than doubles the cost, making it $930-$1100..
Hi Alana- What you say is correct, seatbelts are NOT a legal requirement for the rear seat in this vehicle. If you have Seatbelts fitted, they MUST be Certified. The costs you mention sounds about right, if you are In Auckland try Seatbelt Specialists on 09 4440099.
I would think that the price is a bargain, compared with the cost, pain, and possible death of not having the seatbelts
Regards
John
Hi guys.
We are in the process of tidying up our dear old 65 Series IIa.
Currently we have the normal ugly statics mounted in the usual position… but on sunny days, when the sun is shining and the birds are in the tress… sorry, I digress – we like run it without the roof.
Now, this creates a problem… no roof = no top mounts (then I just swap them out for the original lap-belts on those days).
Any suggestions on a more permanant and suitbale solution that isn’t dependant on the roof being on?
We’re toying with the idea of 3-point harnesses as this would give us the freedom to go.. sans lid.
Cheers all
Richie
Is this a Landrover Series 11A?
If so- what body? SWB, LWB, Hardtop? Station Wagon?
One popular way is to add a roll-bar with upper seatbelt anchorages mounted off that. This is good if it is only a two-seater, but creates an Interior Impact problem if there are rear seats.
Another method is to add upper mouting points to the body side, below where the top removes.
Both require some engineering input before you start- I recommend you ring John Brett Technology (Low Volume Vehicle Certification) on 0800 LOWVOLUME.
Hi again.
Yep she an LR, SWB/88inch.
We’re fortunate enough to have a hard-top, cab and as of the end of teh month a canvas hood for it. Hence our dilema… need a system wherby we can use each/all if desired.
Full hard top is easy, cab is easy, soft-top becomes an issue
No seats in the back. The original hard top and cab have the required mounting plates etc for belts (which are readily and cheaply available ex-UK if anyone needs them) but we’ll probably lean towards keeping it original by using the canvas hood
Questions also around the limited space beteewn the door and the seat box for mouting the reel…
Thanks for the comments and advice – am on the Shore so will drop in or give them a yell.
Cheers
Richie
Incredibly awesome read. Honestly!
Hi there
I am looking at buying a LWB Toyota Hiace pre 2000. I was wondering if it is possible to put 2 small couches (Secured with bolts) down each side and a fold out sofa bed down the end facing to the front. Ive worked out all the measurements and with the couches I have and the sofa bed, it fits comfortably and perfect. Is this legal and if so do I need to put seatbelts in the back???
Hi
You would be building what amounts to a small motor-home or caravan. As the vehicle has three seats, and no more than 3 berths, you would not need extra seats and seatbelts.
As the vehicle is pre- October 3003, you would not be required to put the extra seats or seatbelts anyway. You could carry passengers in the back legally too.
The requirements for seats and seatbelts under LVV are stringent, your wooden couches and sofa beds are not going to be suitable as seats.
Regards
John
Good post and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you for your information.
Hi, we have recently recieved lotteries funding to purchase a disability vehicle for my husband. Could you please advise what the rules are with regard to the hoist and belts for the wheelchair if any. We get one story from the independent assessor and a different one from the dealers. We’re getting a headache trying to figure out what we need to know in terms of certification. We require a rear loading hi top van for a single wheelchair (powered) plus 4 passenger seats for the family.
There are a lot of Low Volume issues here- Seats, Seatbelts, Wheelchair and occupant restraints all need to be Certified, also the hoist. This applies whether the vehilce is built in New Zealand or imported. Who will be doing the conversion?
Have a look at the VANZ site for approved converters- http://www.vanz.co.nz/ Regards John
hiya,i have a 1980 sb3 bedford ex school bus which i am converting into a house bus and are trying to figure out the requirements for my drivers and pasenger seat,tell me i have purchased 2 3 point harness safety belted seats from a new plymouth camperbus shop and the seats have been certified in aussy,are the o.k 4 me 2 use? also i want 2 put on swivel bases,can i use the bases from a lapbelted toyota estima seat? thanks for any input .Debra
Best plan is to talk to a Certifier in your area. Get him to look at what you are planning before you start.
Regards John
Hey there, first off thanks heaps for the great information, I’ve been searching for ages for this info. I have a 1988 Toyota Liteace, I’ve put a foldable bench seat in the back currently fitted to the factory holes, If I were to turn this to face backward but still fit the same holes, would this need certed/tested? And one more, To add another of the same style bench seats at the back by drilling my own holes, would that also need cert’d? Thanks heaps
Your new seat needs to be LVV Certified enen though it is on factory holes. It cannot be certified as rear-facing unless you can make it strong enough to prevent passengers going forward in a collision- that usually means a cross-beam beam of about 65mm square section or similar. Best plan is to talk to a LVV Certifire before you start the job.