hymer1942 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I am thinking about buying a removeable steering wheel for my Mercedes Sprinter, can anyone give me an idea of price and where to get it done etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DESCO Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I once looked at one as I thought it seemed the answer in a van conversion, but was warned that some insurance companys do not take to kindly to them. Our insurance company did not like them and wanted to load our premium. Be warned check first. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Air bags (if fitted) are a problem with removable wheels and I don't know of anyone who offers such a device. A removable wheel makes a good anti-theft device though, but a bit bulky to carry round. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libby Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 What is the object, you already pay the insurer for a replacement vehicle and it will not prevent someone entering. The more 'extras' one has, often indicates the owner has more goodies to nick! Keep it tatty looking and it will be less desirable (perhaps?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelling Tyke Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I fitted my own. It is a Mamo kit. My Bessacarr does not have a an air bag, she is a 2000 E605. I fitted it to give more room to rotate and position the drivers seat better when parked up. (When removed it also makes it a little more difficult to drive off with.) Make sure that the new steering wheel diameter is not much smaller than the original in case you loose power steering on the move - it is damn hard to turn the steering wheel if power is lost and a smaller steering wheel will exacerbate the situation.... My insurance company is happy with it and so am I. At home the van is on the drive with the steering wheel under our bed. I have seen Mamo steering wheels advertised in magazines. I got the wheel from the web and the fitting kit from a "Go-faster" shop. The wheel cost £17 which was good, but the fitting kit was about £100. I have not had any problems whatsoever, and enjoy the benefit of a loungeable ("!") drivers seat. The anti theft benefit is a plus but to be honest I dont expect to loose Wilma when there are many more attractive later models around, some of which may almost be as good as her. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I think that's probably "Momo" rather than "Mamo". GOOGLE-ing on "removable steering wheel" will pick up plenty of stuff. It's essential to confirm that there is an adapter that will fit a Mercedes Sprinter steering column and that things like the horn are unaffected. These wheels are usually aimed at motorsport and car customising and may not offer the same level of safety in an accident as the original steering wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizken Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Try Wyvern Accesories.for price and availability I have one fitted to 2004 Peugeot, and previously to 2000 Peugeot. I would not be without it - I also keep the wheel in the house when at home, and take it off and hide it in the van when parked up away. It allows more room in the cab, when parked, and allows the driver's eat to fully swivel. My insurers also accept it as a security device, although do not give extra discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 As far as I am aware my removeable steering wheel was factory fitted and to be honest I had never thought of informing the insurance company for that very reason. I think it is an excellent anti-theft device and it certainly makes for more comfortable entertaining. I find it a bit fiddly to refit sometimes and it is important to test the horn before moving off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 10 years or so ago removable steering-wheels for motorhomes were regularly exhibited at outdoor leisure shows, but the general adoption of air-bags pretty much killed what was already a niche market. When I was young and less miserly I changed the steering-wheel on a number of my cars and it needs highlighting that this can be a trickier DIY task than one might anticipate. Even if you have a tool suitable for undoing the wheel's securing nut (for safety reasons often embedded deeply within the steering-wheel's guts and usually very tight), if the wheel is taper-mounted as well as splined then you may well need to make, or borrow, an extractor to remove it. When one buys a modern vehicle the design of its steering-wheel and the positioning of the wheel relative to a driver will have taken accident-safety into account. Replacing the original steering-wheel with a 3rd-party design introduces an unknown quantity and it may be that's what insurance providers may dislike. Although I never fitted 'snap-on' steering-wheels to my cars, it was obvious that the replacement wheels (usually Momo) with their rigid metal, central column-adapter bosses, could, in a heavy frontal crash, be much less kind to my vulnerable anatomy than the 'softer' originals. Motorhome steering-wheels, besides being more at an angle than cars', also tend to be larger. Fitting a smaller replacement will not only increase muscular effort at the wheel-rim (as Travelling Tyke warns), but the overall design of the replacement wheel may cause dashboard instruments to be obscured and/or inhibit access to switches. Studying the photo on page 153 of April 2006 MMM's Hymer Star-line 660 report shows how the design of the original Mercedes wheel is deliberately matched to the dashboard layout and how effectively padded the standard wheel is. The MMM report does not mention that swivelling the driver's seat is particularly difficult (the usual incentive for fitting a removable steering-wheel), though it does say that the handbrake has to be released first - something that a removable wheel won't affect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANDI Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 removeable stearing wheels are not that much of an anti theft device as you may think an old friend of mine (in the alarm trade his broke on a demo car) said you just have to put two pairs of mawl grips around the spindle as it is splined the grips bite in well and hay presto you can stear again bit harder though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapido-lass Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I can see the advantages of having more room in the cab for the reclining of the drivers seat, but for security whilst away from home - are you going to carry the steering wheel around with you? if not, then surely it's only a matter of finding it in the van and away they go. I know alot of the time it's to stop the opportunists taking the van,but I would have thought the opportunists are more interested in the contents than the vehicle itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelling Tyke Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 The main reason for fitting ours was comfort, it does make a difference. Of course it is difficult to drive off with the van without the steering wheel - (even with lash-up systems) I'd say it was "well nigh impossible"! The steering wheel clips onto the "Steering hub" and is then locked into place with a small brass pin lock. This ensures that the steering wheel will still stay onto the hub unless it is unlocked and the pin removed. This pin can be locked into the steering wheel when the steering wheel has been removed preventing the steering wheel from being fitted to the steering hub. (It is also a good place to store the lock when the steering wheel has been removed anyway) So if some one is minded to break into van, find the steering wheel, break off the pin and then fit the steering wheel to the hub. Then break the steering wheel lock, jump the anti theft systems and drive off with the van then they are realy determined and must think highly of Wilma. They also have to put up with the din from the alarm systems and find the tracker. Yes items from the van can be taken but they are easily replaced, except of course the steering wheel! *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbow-Chasers Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Many modern vehicles use the wheel to lock the steering as it is deemed strong to lock onto a lug on the wheel rather than a pin off the ignition. Remove the wheel and you have no lock. In these cases mole grips are commonly used to drive away with little effort at all. Having said that, they are a good idea if used in conjunction with the lock mech that fits over the hub. The whole kit costs up to £400, but can be sourced cheaper individually. After market steering wheels are weaker in the event of an accident so insurers are not keen on them, it is quite common for then to mould themselves around the steering coloumn so neatly, it looks like some machine had pressed them round there! Of course the machine is you arms and chest! Like all things, there are pros and cons, it is what best suits you - do declare it as a mod to your insurers, as if you don't and you are involved in an incident, even if it is not your fault, you could find yourself in a situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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