RETROFIT ARMRESTS ?

[dottie]

Hi,

We recently acquired our first campervan (after years of dreaming and saving!).

We have an Autosleeper Trident 1996, and wondered if it was possible to fit armrests to the 2 front seats or would we have to buy new seats? We would appreciate any advice you may have.

Thanks

[Randonneur]

We asked this question 18 months ago and really got nowhere, hope you have better luck than us.

[Bazza454]

Hi Dottie/Randonneur,

A friend of mine had some retro fitted a couple of years ago at the Auto-Sleepers service centre at Willersley -

http://www.asoc.fsnet.co.uk/Tech_Group/AS_Service_Centre.htm

[dottie]

Thanks

[bob b]

I used to have an old mercedes without armrests. I knew that some better spec models than mine had them, so I felt along the side of the seats and found the fixings under the fabric.

 

A visit to the scrap yard yielded the armrests and I got new matching covers from mercedes and fitted them myself.

 

So, if you've seen your particular model with armrests, feel along the side of the seat for the captive nut and DIY.

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

dottie:

 

bob b has pretty much covered this, though it's perhaps worth adding that the way arm-rests are attached to cab-seats can vary significantly make-to-make and/or model-to-model. A captive-nut fixed to the seat's frame, with a bolt through the arm-rest is probably the simplest method, but both of my Ford Transit-based motorhomes' seats used a quite different arrangement and, in the one instance, I doubt if I would have detected the method employed without being told about it. (In my case I was interested in removing the original arm-rests rather than in adding them. From a driving point of view, I think they're a menace, and, when the vehicle is stationary, their presence inhibits movement between cab and living-area.) If your Trident has swivelling seats, then you may need to confirm that adding arm-rests won't prevent them rotating.

 

If you visit a VW dealership and quote your Trident's VIN Number, they may well be able to check their Parts List to see what was available seat-wise for a VW T4 in 1996. Otherwise, Auto-Sleepers may be able to help.