Westy rear seat storage latch delete modification

[Sodo]

Just in case some newer Westy owners are interested in this easy modification.

I found it useful to delete the seat storage "unlatch" step.
Lots of people have done this mod.
I searched for it and didn't find it mentioned as a "mod"... so here it is 😉.

You can reassemble it easily if there's something you don't like about the mod.

Opening the seat storage requires that you set your item(s) down to unlatch the seat storage with your other hand.
With the "latch delete" you can be carrying something in one hand, and lift the seat with the other hand.

Notes from the pic:

Sorry I don't have a pic of the knob that was deleted.
Maybe someone else has a pic of the knob (and the parts).
My pic just shows the hole, (which I'd like to plug with a (VW) round head bolt.

Also there are two "catches" on the far left and far right....and the loop in the middle. I don't know if deleting the loop in the middle is good or bad. I noticed (just today) that my driver side outboard catch faces forward to engage a hole in the horizontal seat support. But my passenger side catch faces rearward, and does not engage. I suspect these catches are a safety feature to hold the seat down in an accident.

----> Public Service Announcement: there's a 'HOLDER' to keep the storage area open.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[SCM]

[Sodo]

Setting items down to unlatch the seat is neither enjoyable, nor painful. And I'm always carrying 2 or 3 items, so that adds up to something like 6 wasted motions.

It's simply wasted motion that can be 'deleted' easily.

There are many wasted motions that I enjoy. Grinding my coffee by hand while the water is heating, for example.

I don't notice any noise but it's been 15 years. I "imagine" that if the latch were tight enough to prevent rattling, that to unlatch it would require two motions:
Weighting the seat with one hand while un-latching with the other.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Steve M.]

As I keep heavy items in the storage I prefer to have the locking mechanism to keep them in there in case there is an unplanned stop on the while driving on the highways.
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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[ledogboy]

[snwbrdr435]

You can just take the loop off and leave everything else. Did it for years but just recently reinstalled it because I'd like the seat to stay shut in case of an accident/ sliding off the road...

[dhaavers]

This reminds me, I've been meaning to create a lever to open that latch by pushing rather than pulling,
also putting the end of the lever closer to the slider door for easier operation while standing outside
the van...maybe this'll inspire me to actually do the install & post it up here...???



- Dave
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[danfromsyr]

as the owner of a once rolled over camper,
What do you keep under your bench? that's the question.
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[E1]

As same, agree with your wonder.

We have a large house battery secured with two seat belts.

Sodo, does this help?

_________________
‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[Steve M.]

[Sodo]

Yes ruined days.vs.completely ruined days.

And interspersed among those can be “days enjoyed”.
Some of the days I enjoy are those where I put in the time, effort, images etc post a suggestion how someone might enjoy their Vanagon. Always hoping the benefits outweigh the problems. You can’t have it all, gotta look at all the angles.

Would be nice if someone who uses the underseat often weighs in, but it seems like my underseat usage ain’t the norm. My brother would agree with me, he took his knob off first and berated me for my wasted motions (15years ago) in a brotherly jousting way.

Securing your batteries wherever they are - is important for fire-safety.

Those who have filled the underseat storage with “seldom-removed items” won’t realize any benefit. One could suggest that the latch has impeded access just enough that the underseat storage never got “quick-access status” despite being right next to the celebrated “Vanagon Slider Door”.

This is basically for those who get in & out of the rear seat storage often.

I keep my small bag of hand tools in there; hatchet, folding saw, ropes, straps, tarps, water hose, ratchet set, spare fuel pump, compressor. It stratifies. Quick access stuff ontop, longer term storage is deeper. Lug wrench & jack are at the bottom. By far, the most times its opened is for the Vanagon hand tools bag and ratchet set.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Sodo]

[jimf909]

I'm less concerned with extra motion (although I appreciate the Lean concern for waste) as I am with alleviating the PITA when the latch gets jammed and requires fiddling to release.

Who has installed an easy-to-release-latch-with-gas-springs to make lifting the seat a one-finger action? Draw latch, gas springs...voila!
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- Jim

[levi]

The left side shows an arrow to the middle pointing to a pin with (holder?).
Don't know what that is, or how it could be a catch.

Bottom left is an arm which levers up under the top left arrow with question marks, although on my (1985) it isn't curved like that.
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[ZsZ]

Could be funny when the seat folds down by itself riding on a bumpstop or hitting a pothole
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008

[campism]

[danfromsyr]

personally i've been lusting at transforming the whole storage area to 1 or 2 large drawers/bins.

they had a front 'door' in the early 80-81 campers that I used for stowing my cookstove (non-westy kitchen) that way we don't have to undo the bed just to get the morning breakfast going.

alot more variation to the rear storage in this thread.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=388768
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[fxr]

[Sodo]

[fxr]