Author |
Message |
scottz Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2008 Posts: 477 Location: Bellingham, WA
|
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 11:00 pm Post subject: What Do I Need To Mount This Z Bed?? |
|
|
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!
My current seat back.
The bottom of my current seat.
My new Z bed. Do the legs look bent? They are not at 90 degrees from the bottom of the seat.
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
goskiracer Samba Member
Joined: January 15, 2009 Posts: 339 Location: Oslo, Norway
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 2:52 am Post subject: |
|
|
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 |
|
|
zak99B5 Samba Member
Joined: December 21, 2014 Posts: 471 Location: Albany, NY
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 9:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
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 |
|
|
scottz Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2008 Posts: 477 Location: Bellingham, WA
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:27 am Post subject: |
|
|
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
|
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 |
|
|
crazyvwvanman Samba Member
Joined: January 28, 2008 Posts: 9895 Location: Orbiting San Diego
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
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 |
|
|
scottz Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2008 Posts: 477 Location: Bellingham, WA
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
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!! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
vw4wd Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2011 Posts: 161 Location: Somerset, UK
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
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:
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 |
|
|
t3 kopf Samba Member
Joined: October 22, 2012 Posts: 1114 Location: over by 'der
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 3:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
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 |
|
|
scottz Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2008 Posts: 477 Location: Bellingham, WA
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
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!
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. Explained very well and informative about the rear bed types.
Thank you very much!! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
zak99B5 Samba Member
Joined: December 21, 2014 Posts: 471 Location: Albany, NY
|
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
Table deployed:
Table stowed:
Close up of hinges:
Table flipped up to allow bed to fold out:
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 |
|
|
zak99B5 Samba Member
Joined: December 21, 2014 Posts: 471 Location: Albany, NY
|
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
Dupicate post _________________ 1991 Tintop GL Manual tranny, EJ22 |
|
Back to top |
|
|
scottz Samba Member
Joined: April 13, 2008 Posts: 477 Location: Bellingham, WA
|
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 8:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
^^^ Thanks for the photos! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|