How to install a drivers seat on the passenger side in a Citroen Relay / Ducato / Boxer / Promaster

In this video I show you how you can modify a drivers seat from a Citroen Relay / Ducato / Boxer / Promaster to use on the passenger side and solve the seat belt problem, making huge savings in the process over purchasing a dedicated passenger seat. this same method can apply to both left hand and right hand drive vehicles.
Disclaimer:
You should check with your local MOT test center or vehicle inspectorate if outside the UK before undertaking this modification to ensure it will be roadworthy and road legal in your country or area and will pass any inspection.
I was happy to carry out this modification to my van and am happy it is road worthy and safe, but if you are in any doubt whatsoever, you should purchase a 'dedicated' passenger seat with the correct factory fitted seat belt mounts.

[@paulsmithy99]

Nice job and creativity. Even though MOT passed it, I would probably replace that bar with a high tensile one. Standard threaded rod does not have shear strength in that direction. Even though the standard bolts are 10mm, they are high tensile, and would be stronger than standard steel 12mm.

[@michellewilliams9743]

so so helpful, you have no idea! thankyou for posting this video, have just purchased all the parts in high tensile steel and will give it a go!

[@kirstybull8452]

Absolute legend. Great video, great explanation. Thank you.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

thank you

[@sligomat]

Great post thanks. I just picked up a drivers seat for €100. Looking forward to following your instructions and fitting tomorrow.👍

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

good luck with your install. glad the video helped.

[@sligomat]

Quick question, I wonder is it possible to reverse the armrest to make it fit on right side of seat?

[@Krafty]

I don't have a Relay myself, I have a Trafic which I'm hoping to do a similar fix on. But I have to say, what a great, informative video. Thanks.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Glad it was helpful!

[@blockchainsociety5146]

Excellent video my friend. Thank you.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Many thanks!

[@skeemtb]

Thank you so much for the information! This saved me a lot of $ buying a driver seat from a UK car as they are expensive in Europe mainland 😄

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Glad it was helpful!

[@peterread7587]

Managed to get a fairly clean drivers seat from a scrap yard in Bristol for £150. Hens Teeth are expensive! Your video very helpful and the whole process completed in very short order.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Great to hear!

[@thunderpants]

Very tempted to try this in my 2017 Dispatch!

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Sure, why not! Only thing I would add now is that one comment mentioned using 'high tensile' rod or bolts so I would investigate that as part of the process.

[@jabberwokky8]

Did you try this? Passenger seats are around £800 at the moment. I was also thinking of giving it a go.

[@anyjimblogs]

Great video. I just discovered your channel and am bing watching all of your videos. This is a great solution for the front passenger seat. I think it would bother me though that the drop down arm rest is on the door side of the seat. You can rest your arm on the door but nothing to rest your arm on in the Centre. Great video non the less 👍

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I too was worried that might not be comfy, but wifey and the kids who alternate between who rides shotgun on our trips have not mentioned it so seem happy so all good.

[@thunderpants]

Thanks for the video :)

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

My pleasure!

[@thenoworriesnomad]

Great job...👍👍

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@bensandwell9641]

Well I’ve just picked up a driver seat on eBay for £180 in good nick, so wish me luck, great video.

[@lawrencereeves5798]

Amazing idea

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@alexdubois6585]

Great idea, I'll buy one from mainland Europe.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@SpeciaIist.]

I've just finished modifying my van seat, and I want to give a shoutout to Wiltshire Custom Camper for their helpful video. I encountered a few hiccups during the process that I'd like to share to make things clearer for others attempting the same project. Firstly, a big mistake I made was forgetting to pass the threaded bolt through both the seat base hole and the seat hole. This oversight caused confusion when the "up and down" mechanism didn't work as expected. Once I corrected this, I still faced issues with the rear "up and down" function. After some troubleshooting, I realised that the seat hole must have the ability to rotate to allow the seat to rise and fall at the back. This meant that the nuts securing the two holes together couldn't be tightened all the way. There needs to be some room for rotation. Also, as mentioned in the video, some black plastic conduit does tidy it up nicely, leaving a professional finish. I hope this tip proves helpful to someone else tackling the same task.

[@jesuscamefromouttaspace9549]

Thanks, that helps

[@willtyers3555]

Great work around for using a drivers seat a real money saver! Only slight problem is the two bolts that are removed are shoulder bolts that allow for up and down movement of the seat ( side levers) (not a problem if you are ok with a fixed height). A solution is two machined bushings 12mm bore x 14 mm outside diameter x 4.5mm wide this allows the threaded rod to be tightened, without compromising seat adjustment.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Good tip!

[@slowmadders]

Hello where could I get these ‘bushings’ from? Not sure what I’m looking for. Thanks!

[@keithcrompton6913]

The clue is in the wording you are looking for a bush.. like a very thick washer but as per dimensions described. Whilst u don't tilt your seat too often this action will eventually wear the threads on your bar. The bush solution will also avoid this. But hey great conversation and I'll follow suit.

[@dexstewart2450]

Excellent

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Thanks

[@susanwoods174]

Hi great vids, love them all, very informative. Question... Do you know what the square compartment with a cover on is to the right the passenger seat on the floor please?

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I do indeed! it is the access hatch to the fuel pump in the top of the fuel tank. ideal if you are fitting a diesel heater and need to access the pump.... regards.

[@Life_In_The_Old_Goat]

Thank you for making this video. It's very helpful. Could I ask though, why the bar between the two bolts? Could you not just replace the one right-hand bolt with a longer high-tensile bolt for the seatbelt attachment?

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I guess I could have, just seemed a good idea at the time to put a threaded bar all the way through. either works i guess.

[@michaelcharlton2708]

Hi great video and work around. Now that the seat is unplugged, do you get a warning light on the dashboard? Thanks again 👍🏻

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Great question. luckily the plug was already disconnected from the original double so I just left well alone.

[@cartes5996]

Hi great idea.Did you use stainless steel.

[@GregVirgoe]

After unpluggin the seat belt temsioners off your original seats that would give you a warning on the dash which looks like an airbag icon because the seat belt tensioners are not plugged in. How did you get around this light being on the dash all the time?

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I was lucky that on the original double seat, the tensioner cables were not even connected and no dash warnings so I just tucked them out the way and left well alone. If yours are connected, would it be possible to remove the parts from the double needed to retain the connection? good luck with it. cheers greg.

[@colourmafia]

Thanks so much for this. A couple of questions: does this mean that the armrest is now against the door and is there a way to switch this? And would a long bolt work fine too or does the threaded rod add some vital strength?

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Hi, thanks for watching the video and your questions. yes the armrest is on the wrong side (door side) when in driving rotation and I could not see anyway to swap this but is small price to pay for the huge savings to be had. I too thought about long bolts but in the end decided on a threaded rod that went all the way across just for 'belt and braces' on it. I guess long bolts may be fine if a greater or same diameter as the ones taken out but your call on that one! good luck with your build.

[@dylantucker7951]

@@wiltshirecustomcamper7203 thanks so much for the reply. Out of curiosity how much were you able to pick up the chair for and where from?

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

@@dylantucker7951 Found it in Facebook Marketplace and was around £100 mark and 30 miles away. Probably will have better luck on Facebook or GUmtree than eBay.

[@serenity_xplorer5176]

Hi I'm goin to do this thanks for the video what size m size and what m size nuts do you use Meany thanks dave

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I used a 12mm threaded bar and went to my local independent motor spares shop for the nylock nuts and flange nuts and washers where I could buy these individually rather than 100 at a time from Screwfix. same local shop is great for all sorts of other things like cable lugs and crimps etc. Just needed 2 more 35mm cable lugs for my inverter, forget eBay, 20p each from same said shop...

[@bob84409]

Pretty neat! Isn't the airbag now on the wrong side of the seat?

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

on the original double seat the airbag electrics are not connected anyway, so it in reality, is no different now to how it comes from the factory. if that makes sense, hopefully?

[@anthonyfernwood8093]

Just one question, wouldn’t a longer bolt have worked just as well instead of a threaded bar .

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

very possibly but I just liked the stability of a threaded bar going right through, thanks for watching.

[@widget2k4]

this is a great idea but im pretty sure seat belt mountings have to be fitted with high tensile steel bolts, it may pass the mot as they may not notice but how would it hold out in a crash ? dont know if high tensile threaded bar is available to buy

[@George8sn]

Hi tensile bolts are ready available at likes of toolstation

[@Adam-ym9ix]

I don't suppose you remember/know the size of torq required for the rear bolts on the seats. The ones with the collar that the seat slides under.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I don't I'm afraid but it is a fairly 'regular' size, if you have a 'mechanics' set that goes up to around T50 or 55 I think you'll be fine. a DIY store special that goes to around T40 wont do it.

[@keano-eh2lw]

Do you have any issus with Airbag and passenger light being on dash mine have come on

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

no, none with mine. guess ive just been lucky. hope you sort it out.

[@martenpettersson7903]

Im getting a warning regarding the airbag when doing this mod. Its on my citroen relay 2009. Do you have any idea why? Shouldnt I plug in any cables to the seat? Thanks.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Hi, On my 2018 Relay the passenger side airbag cables were not connected to the factory fitted double seat, so although the replacement 'drivers' seat had connectors on it, I never connected them up so have not had this issue. i am not going to connect my passenger seat to the airbag system, if the factory fitted double was not then for me, it is OK for the new single seat to be the same. all the best and good luck with it.

[@craster_van_kippers]

Likewise I have not had an issue with warning lights. 2014 relay. You can however fit resistors to put the lights out. They are sold on eBay but of course if you know the resistance then just buy from anywhere. (I don’t know as I thankfully don’t need to)

[@wanderingsofalanandcaz]

Do you have a link for those resistors Craster?

[@gazzaclarke42]

Just done mine all I done was pull longer bolt on side where new seatbelt goes. Don't need threaded bar

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Works equally well for sure. thanks for the comment and glad your seat worked out for you.

[@sineadmulvaney]

Looks great. What did the MOT people say?

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Passed without comment so either did not notice or were quite happy. either way, all is fine.

[@lyndondevereaux4904]

Will this work on 2017 Citroen Relay?

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Dont see why not. mine is a 68 plate so early 2019.

[@claireros8684]

Great idea. Before I go and do the same, did you have to do anything to not affect the MOT and keep the DVLA happy? I looked on the Govt site but only found info on adding seats, nothing on single seat conversion. Grateful for any advice before I start, thanks

[@craster_van_kippers]

I posted an identical but less detailed vid last year. My van has since had two MOT tests and nothing has been said. I’d say go ahead and do it.

[@claireros8684]

Many thanks for your reply. Puts my mind at rest. To save my pennies I'm planning to cut away the middle section of the bench seat, to create a walk way. Looked last night and saw that the yellow multi plug (seatbelt pre tensioner?) is not connected on the passenger side, one less thing to worry about. Thanks again

[@craster_van_kippers]

In mels van world, he cut a sprinter seat in half. To be fair though an unsuspecting scrappy will sell a seat and base for under £100. Mine was pretty ropey but the cheap seat covers did the trick. In fact as time has passed they seem to have shrunk to fit the seats better.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

Mine came from Facebook Marketplace if I remember, they are about for £100 or less, just have to be patient and keep looking but be ready to pounce when one comes up as they aren't around for long..

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I approached this from the 'What's the worst that can happen' standpoint, at that is that the MOT tester fails it for some reason, to which you can appeal or take it elsewhere or 'worst case' buy a proper passenger seat and at least you've had a go to save some wonga..

[@youtubemonitorsyoutubemoni3444]

You could of used two longer bolts with out having to buy that long threaded bar my friend.

[@wiltshirecustomcamper7203]

I did think about that and it is an option for sure. thanks for watching.