Installing Campervan Swivel Seats [2021 Guide]

Campervan swivel seats may just change your life!

Installing Campervan swivel seats into a van is one of the best, easiest, cheapest and value adding changes that you can make to a van. Swivel seats instantly covert your driver and passenger seats into multifunctioning assets that may just change your life!

Here we will look at the best ways to install swivel seats into any van or campervan project such as VW Transporters, Transits or even larger vans such as the VW Crafter, the process is exactly the same.

A complete swivel seat conversion using swivel seat base plates typically costs less than £100 per seat and around an hour of your time.

How hard is it to install swivel seats?

Installing Campervan swivel seats is one of the easiest jobs that you are likely to undertake when converting a van. On a VW Transporter the driver and passenger seats are bolted down with a few nuts that are easily accessible.

Below I have shown photos of my VW T4 front seat being converted from a standard double seat into a swivel passenger seat using a swivel seat base plate.

Where to buy a universal swivel seat base

I was lucky and managed to pick up a purpose-built VW T4 swivel seat base for £60 second-hand on eBay however, if you cannot find a purpose built one to install swivel seats into your campervan, the universal ones are just as good and usually a little cheaper.

Have a look on eBay HERE to see if there are any bargains to snap up, if not some of the best universal swivel seat bases can be found on Amazon for a touch over £100 (such as this one) offer good value for money.

Changing a van passenger seat into a swivel seat

To change your van seats into fully functioning campervan swivel seats, the switch takes between 30 and 60 minutes per seat. The process for a Transporter T4 is as follows:

Undo the floor mount bolts on your passenger or driver’s seat. The VW T4 has 5 mount bolts (you need a size 13 or 14 socket)
Newer vans may have some electrics that you need to unplug, the VW T4 has none…
Lift off the old seat and base.
Hoover up all the old crumbs from biscuits, crisps, and the odd French fry…
Remove the old base from your seat and install the new one (there is usually 4 bolts holding it together)
Install your new swivel seat with universal swivel seat base.

installing swivel seats into a van using a universal base plate — VW T4 with standard seat removed

universal mounting bolts for swivel seat conversion — Standard floor Mounting bolts on the VW T4 passenger seat

installing the universal swivel seats base — My second-hand swivel seat base plate installed

A converted van passenger seat into a swiver seat using a universal base plate — An installed swivel seat in my VW Transporter campervan conversion for less than £100!

Conclusion to installing Campervan swivel seats

Hopefully that has offered you some inspiration to get underway with Installing campervan swivel seats into your van conversion project. Swivel seats are great additions for day van use, trips to the beach and an essential addition for full campervan conversions.

Swivel seats add value to any van and are a sensible upgrade for those looking for simple, low cost van improvements.