Passenger Seating & Rock & Roll Bed Systems
Passenger Seating
BE-Ge Jany Quick Release Rear Passenger Seats
A certificate is supplied with each seat, referencing your registration number as evidence of compliance, providing it is of a vehicle type the seats have been tested in. This will be necessary to provide evidence to the DVLA when changing your van’s V5 Document to change the number of seats.
In the event of any personal injury to a greater number of passengers than the vehicle is registered to carry, it would invalidate any necessary insurance claim by those additional passengers.
The list of approved body shells includes, but is not limited to: –
VW T4, T5 & Crafter, Ford Transit & Transit Custom, Mercedes Vito & Sprinter, Renault Trafic & Master, Citroen Dispatch & Relay, Peugeot Expert & Boxer, Toyota Hiace, Fiat Ducato, Nissan Primastar, Vauxhall Vivaro etc.
After carrying out extensive research into the different bed types, their approval status, the legislation surrounding seats and seat belt anchorage requirements, I believe they offer excellent quality in terms of fitness for purpose for cost.
The beds are supplied with manufacturer designed installation kits, ensuring they can be safely fitted in line with industry best practice.
The Hitchhikers Guide to Rock & Roll Beds
There are many Rock & Roll beds available these days, some are fully crash tested in vehicle, some are pull tested in vehicle or on a rigid steel frame and many more have no approval testing at all.
One of the most renowned beds for crash testing approval is the RIB Bed, the manufacturers of which have successfully tested them to achieve full M1 type approval including the 20G forward and reverse crash sled test. The fitting kit used for these tests was a substantial steel framework fitted to the interior of the van, which allowed them to gain full type approval for many vehicle variants without having to destroy numerous body shells in the process. Only when RIB Beds are fitted using this framework would they be considered to replicate the conditions of the crash tests from which they gained this approval. This method of fitting would certainly need to be used for installing a RIB Bed into an unregistered new conversion to gain a type approval certificate for the vehicle.
I’m not aware of any aftermarket van conversion companies who use this frame to install RIB Beds, as it covers the majority of the van cargo area, is extremely heavy, and makes it necessary to raise the vans cosmetic flooring considerably. Van converters working on already registered vehicles, generally use underfloor spreader plates on or around at least one of the main chassis members.
If a rock & roll bed is M1 Pull Tested and fitted securely using a suitable grade of M10 bolts and washers (grade 8.8 or better), with substantial spreader plates around vehicle chassis members, you’re on the right track as far as industry best practice goes for aftermarket conversions.
The Legislation
In October 2007, the European type approval scheme for cars known as European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) was amended by the implementation of Directive 2007/46/EC which extended the scheme to cover several vehicle types including but not limited to vehicles originally registered as type M1 & N1 (Passenger Cars & Light Goods Vehicles).
M1 – Passenger Cars & Special Purpose Passenger Cars (No more than 8 passenger seats in addition to the drivers).
N1 – Light Goods Vehicles & Special Purpose Light Goods Vehicles (Under 3500kg)
The implementation Dates for the types listed above have been staggered between the 29thApril 2009 and the 29thOctober 2014 but are now fully applicable across the board.
The type approval scheme requires that vehicles either produced on mass or on an individual basis, meet specified safety, security and environmental standards before they can be used on the road if they have never before been registered in the UK.
There is no legal requirement for seats or seat-beds to meet any specific safety standard when fitted to your M1 or N1 type vehicle afterinitial registration in the UK. However all passenger carrying seats must have available seatbelts which pass an MOT. The MOT inspector will carry out various checks including but not limited to the condition of the seat belts and their anchorage.
NB.Where seat belts are fitted to the seats, the seat to vehicle fixings become part of the seat belt anchorage.
Only newvehicles being converted beforeinitial registration will need to be submitted for a Statutory IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) by law.
Some licencing authorities (Example: If you were applying for a Taxi License) may require evidence of compliance if your vehicle has been modified since initial registration, so where applicable it’s always worth talking to them first before modifications are made so you can ensure you purchase equipment of the required specification. You may be asked to submit your vehicle for a Voluntary IVA to the DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency) who will issue you with a Confirmation of Compliance Notification if satisfied that the modifications meet the inspection guidelines. The full details of the IVA scheme and the relevant Inspection Guidelines can be found on the DVSA website under ’Vehicle Approval’.
Another thing to consider is your V5 document (Section 4, S.1), which may detail the number of seats in your vehicle. Any changes should be submitted to the DVLA and your insurance company notified. In the event of any personal injury to a greater number of passengers than the vehicle is registered to carry, it would invalidate any necessary claim.