Hello! Log in or Register   |  Help  |  Donate  |  Buy Shirts See all banner ads | Advertise on TheSamba.com  
TheSamba.com
 
What Do I Need To Mount This Z Bed??
Forum Index -> Vanagon Share: Facebook Twitter
Reply to topic
Print View
Quick sort: Show newest posts on top | Show oldest posts on top View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
scottz
Samba Member


Joined: April 13, 2008
Posts: 477
Location: Bellingham, WA
scottz is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 11:00 pm    Post subject: What Do I Need To Mount This Z Bed?? Reply with quote

Hello Everyone,

I have a 1984 Vanagon 7 passenger van with a fixed rear seat (folds forward but not a Z bed). I wish to install the Z bed pictured below.

All that I have are the parts that you see (just the Z bed itself).

What do I need to mount this Z bed to my Van?

I believe the Z bed is from an earlier van but I am not sure. It was not in a van when I got it. There are no headrests. Anyone know what year(s) the Z bed could be?

Will I have to move the rear posts to accommodate the seat back? I have seen this done several ways. That would not be a problem.

What about under the seat? Is there a bracket that I need? Is it easy to fab or should I look for the factory part? Ideas?

Also the legs of the Z bed are bent inward slightly, is this normal?

One last question (for now) I would like to fit a weekender pop up table as well. I know that Z bed is narrower by about 3 inches to accommodate the thicker plastic panels.
If the only plastic panel that I added was the table panel, do you think I could get the Z bed pictured to all work together??

Thanks for any help you can offer! Very Happy

My current seat back.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The bottom of my current seat.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


My new Z bed. Do the legs look bent? They are not at 90 degrees from the bottom of the seat.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
goskiracer
Samba Member


Joined: January 15, 2009
Posts: 339
Location: Oslo, Norway
goskiracer is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 2:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

legs should be angled to fit the interior angle of the van.
You'll need 4 (7/16-20 UNF pitch thread, almost 100% sure) bolts.
And two strikers for the seat back.
Pop your interior panles off and you'll get your answer on what holes to use.

enjoy the z-bed!
_________________
86' Syncro 2.2 Vanistan, WBXhaust, ski-pole shifter for +11hp
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
zak99B5
Samba Member


Joined: December 21, 2014
Posts: 471
Location: Albany, NY
zak99B5 is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That z-bed won't allow you to install the left-side plastic with table wall from a weekender/Carat.

I installed a homemade table using the bracket from the Carat table (PO put that in).

I notched the table where the bracket fits for the hinge. This way, I can swing the table all the way up for when I pull out the bed.

I can get pics if you want them.
_________________
1991 Tintop GL Manual tranny, EJ22
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
scottz
Samba Member


Joined: April 13, 2008
Posts: 477
Location: Bellingham, WA
scottz is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the replies guys!

zak99B5, yes I would love pictures of your table setup.

Are you saying, even if you omit the plastic panel and install your own flip up table, that table would have to be in the "up" position open the Zbed?

See this quote from another thread, (Thanks SteveM)!

Steve M. wrote:
Rather then swap out the wall and later model Z-bed I cut out the panel section for the table and covered the edges with door trim. Cut out the area of the original wall panel to fit the table frame onto the wall.
Fit very well. Able to use the bed with no problem.
Took the center seats and turned them around as shown. The seat track will still bolt to the front of the seats to hold them in place
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.



Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.



I am still not sure how to mount the Zbed. I do understand the backrest latches but not how the seat base mounts. Am I missing a bracket or something?

Thanks again for the replies!!!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
crazyvwvanman
Samba Member


Joined: January 28, 2008
Posts: 9895
Location: Orbiting San Diego
crazyvwvanman is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The blue corduroy bed in that photo is a rare 84 Wolfy wooden bench/bed, so not as wide as your metal one. The side table works with full width wooden bed/bench seats.


Yours isn't a true Z-bed, it is a factory weekender style bed from an 87+ hardtop van. Those are not really legs on it, just brackets for the lower kick-panel to screw to. They don't touch the floor when the seat is in place.

What you need are 4 bolts to bolt it to the walls and it hangs off those. Then of course you need the 2 pins for the latching seatback, not the type you already have.

Mark
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
scottz
Samba Member


Joined: April 13, 2008
Posts: 477
Location: Bellingham, WA
scottz is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

crazyvwvanman wrote:
The blue corduroy bed in that photo is a rare 84 Wolfy wooden bench/bed, so not as wide as your metal one. The side table works with full width wooden bed/bench seats.


Yours isn't a true Z-bed, it is a factory weekender style bed from an 87+ hardtop van. Those are not really legs on it, just brackets for the lower kick-panel to screw to. They don't touch the floor when the seat is in place.

What you need are 4 bolts to bolt it to the walls and it hangs off those. Then of course you need the 2 pins for the latching seatback, not the type you already have.

Mark


Mark,

Thanks very much for this reply! Without another bed for reference, I wasn't sure how it mounted.

I still welcome any tips or insight for this conversion.

Thanks!! Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
vw4wd
Samba Member


Joined: April 03, 2011
Posts: 161
Location: Somerset, UK
vw4wd is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

These rock & roll rear seats were made in two different widths depending on whether they were going into a Caravelle or similar van (with plain board trim panels) or into the Multivan variant. The Multivan has the pastic side panels, including the fold up table opposite the sliding door, and for this the seat was narrower by about 3 to 4 inches.

As goskiracer says above, the wider Caravelle seat mounts using the 7/16" bolts (standard seat belt thread) into threaded spigots welded to the body shell. These may or may not be present in your vehicle.

The narrower Multivan version fixes in the same way but has spacers behind the plastic side panels which effectively move the mounting points inwards by nearly two inches per side. This is my home made version:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


It is 50mm square tube with 2mm wall with holes drilled centrally on two opposite sides. It is bolted out to the left, through 4mm ply (still to be trimmed) into the body mount. To the right, a bolt is fitted through the seat mount with the nut inside the the spacer. The factory spacers have the left side bolt and the right side nut welded to the tube. There are four of these mounts in total, where the tubular bosses are welded to the side frame of the seat.

If your shell does not have these mounts, you can weld a nut to a small piece of 3mm steel strip, slip this in behind the panel and hold it there with pop rivets. Once the seat is bolted up tight there should be minimal load on these rivets. This has certainly worked well for me.

To avoid any confusion, my seat is mounted at least 3 inches further forward than standard to give me a longer bed. The mount shown is fitted into the front flange of the C post. Normally they are approximately central in the C post.
_________________
Garyd

1990 Transporter syncro camper with 2 litre AGG 'GTi' engine
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
t3 kopf
Samba Member


Joined: October 22, 2012
Posts: 1114
Location: over by 'der
t3 kopf is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You will have to fabricate the brackets to bring the backrest pins 4 inches forward. My 84 did not have a second threaded hole and I would bet that yours doesn't either.
_________________
'90 Carat w/ '95 phase 1 EJ22 OBD2 conversion
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
scottz
Samba Member


Joined: April 13, 2008
Posts: 477
Location: Bellingham, WA
scottz is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

goskiracer wrote:
legs should be angled to fit the interior angle of the van.
You'll need 4 (7/16-20 UNF pitch thread, almost 100% sure) bolts.
And two strikers for the seat back.
Pop your interior panles off and you'll get your answer on what holes to use.

enjoy the z-bed!


Ahhh, I see. Most of my answers were in the first post. I didn't understand that the base mounted at the sides. Now I get it. I haven't pulled off the panels to look yet. Thanks again!


t3 kopf wrote:
You will have to fabricate the brackets to bring the backrest pins 4 inches forward. My 84 did not have a second threaded hole and I would bet that yours doesn't either.


Got it! Thanks! Very Happy

crazyvwvanman wrote:
The blue corduroy bed in that photo is a rare 84 Wolfy wooden bench/bed, so not as wide as your metal one. The side table works with full width wooden bed/bench seats.


Yours isn't a true Z-bed, it is a factory weekender style bed from an 87+ hardtop van. Those are not really legs on it, just brackets for the lower kick-panel to screw to. They don't touch the floor when the seat is in place.

What you need are 4 bolts to bolt it to the walls and it hangs off those. Then of course you need the 2 pins for the latching seatback, not the type you already have.

Mark


This is the post that brought it all together for me. Idea Idea Explained very well and informative about the rear bed types.

Thank you very much!! Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
zak99B5
Samba Member


Joined: December 21, 2014
Posts: 471
Location: Albany, NY
zak99B5 is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Table deployed:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Table stowed:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Close up of hinges:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Table flipped up to allow bed to fold out:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I have a leg that I screw into the end of the underside of the table to hold it up, a little like how my old 72 bay window Westy table was configured (though that leg screwed into the floor).

I originally wanted to get the bracket from a Carat table, but the price of one here in the classifieds was just too much. Plus the leg provides more support.
_________________
1991 Tintop GL Manual tranny, EJ22
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
zak99B5
Samba Member


Joined: December 21, 2014
Posts: 471
Location: Albany, NY
zak99B5 is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dupicate post
_________________
1991 Tintop GL Manual tranny, EJ22
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
scottz
Samba Member


Joined: April 13, 2008
Posts: 477
Location: Bellingham, WA
scottz is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

^^^ Thanks for the photos!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Forum Index -> Vanagon All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

About | Help! | Advertise | Donate | Premium Membership | Privacy/Terms of Use | Contact Us | Site Map
Copyright © 1996-2023, Everett Barnes. All Rights Reserved.
Not affiliated with or sponsored by Volkswagen of America | Forum powered by phpBB
Links to eBay or other vendor sites may be affiliate links where the site receives compensation.