Installing A Foldaway Bench Seat In A 2019 Mercedes Sprinter Camper Van
Installing a bench seat in your camper van conversion can be a great feature if you have kids or plan on having friends occasionally travel with you in your van.
For our latest van conversion (van #3) we needed to install a bench seat for our newest addition to the crew, our 5 month old son, Vance.
Picking the right seat
There are many different options of seats on the market. The most common install on DIY camper vans is the Ford Transit 2 person bench seat. They are easier to find than the Mercedes Sprinter bench seat and more affordable. They are fairly easy to find on your local craigslist for around $300. They do require custom mounting brackets so make sure if you are buying the seat that you get the mounting brackets as well.
There are additional custom seat options you can look into depending on the number of seats you need. A quick Google Search you show you many of the custom (more expensive) options that are on the market.
For our latest build we wanted to be able to maximize the space in the van therefore we opted for a foldaway option. We found a 2- person bench seat from SuburbanSeats.com for about $1,100 after tax and shipping.
Family Van Layout we built for a client with the Ford Transit Bench Seat in a 2018 Mercedes Sprinter 3500 Ext 4x4.
Mounting the seat
DISCLAIMER** We highly recommend you consult with a professional before attempting to mount your own bench seat.
Mounting a seat in a Sprinter Van can be tricky. If you are mounting a seat that requires multiple mounting brackets, you will most likely need to drop the vehicle’s gas tank in order to properly mount the brackets. This is a complicated and tedious project that I would recommend hiring a professional for.
The foldaway bench seat we installed DID NOT require us to drop the gas tank. The single plate mount fit perfectly to a section of the van which was easy to access and made for a fairly quick install.
Supporting the seat
It’s important to think about how the seat will react in an accident. The floor of a Sprinter, Ford Transit or Promaster is made of Sheet metal which will easily sheer or bend with the force of an accident. Because of this it’s important to use additional metal to brace the seat under the floor and if possible, to the frame of the van.
We had an Engineer design and weld custom supports using 3/16” Angle Iron and Flat Iron. We then used 1/2” Grade 8 (Professional Grade) Bolts to mount the seat base and to attach the support brackets to the frame. Before Install we did sand and paint the brackets with multiple coats of spray paint to prevent rust damage.
