SWIVEL SEAT INSTALL: driver and passenger Ford Transit swivel seats - Ep 1

Krysta and I start our build by installing driver and passenger swivel seat brackets from Scopema. It's our first van project and we are learning on the fly!
The build started off with a tragic discovery - our mattress had developed mold while the van was parked during our +900km hike this summer. Bummer! We learned an early (and hard lesson) that vans need to have airflow and humidity control - something we have planned for in our final design.
This install taught us a lot about the process of building a DIY van conversion. We learned that while there are a lot of amazing resources online, you can't always find your exact van. In our case, there was very little information on the Ford Transit 2020 dual-battery electrical setup - even the Ford videos showed a slightly different model from our own. Something as simple as safely disconnecting the battery wasn't very clear!
The Scopema swivel seats seem well designed, however we found that both the passenger and driver brackets needed to have their holes elongated on one side in order to fit onto our factory seat pedestals.
We feel really proud of ourselves for completing this first important step! Stay tuned for our next video when we install our rooftop ventilation.
Thanks for following along!
Krysta + Brian
PARTS WE USED
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Swivel: theswivelshop....
Handbrake relocation kit: theswivelshop....
Shop all swivels (Promaster & Sprinter): theswivelshop....
CONNECT WITH US
INSTAGRAM: / millennialm. .
WEBSITE: millennialmoun...
KRYSTA: / krystanorwick
BRIAN: / brian.norwick
PHYSIOTHERAPY BUSINESS: www.cairnphysiotherapy.ca

[@betty-loucreamer112]

You guys are so great working together! What a Team!💜🥂

[@gdufour1]

For those holes you could use a step drill bit

[@jessicamacneil-mah6481]

Great job guys!! And I must say, I'm digging the coveralls Brian!

[@EllenMcDermott]

Good job but wrong heading as didn’t seem any installation of swivel

[@KrystaNorwick]

Sadly we had footage of actually installing the swivel piece, but it somehow got erased in one of our file transfers 😭. We were still pretty new at this whole making videos thing at that point.

[@aarongarmon3809]

I’m doing the same swivels and I’m having clearance issues with the double battery. You’re the only others Ive seen do this with the double battery option. Any tips? Did you have issues with the battery box being too high?

[@KrystaNorwick]

Hey Aaron! Sorry to hear about the issues. What model year do you have? Brian and I talked, and neither of us recalled having clearance issues with the battery box itself. I learned from a pro van builder that explained that the factory seat bases aren’t always straight/true, and sometimes they need to be forced into the proper shape. Let us know if we can provide any more information! Cheers

[@milca.severo]

Did tou guys have to disconnect the air bags sensors?

[@KrystaNorwick]

Hi Milca! Yes we did have to disconnect them. We followed the ford service manual recommendation of disconnecting the battery before we disconnected the air bag sensor 😊

[@charleswhitaker2878]

Hi guys, I don’t quite understand about your mattress getting moldy while you were hiking? We just received our mattress in the mail and look forward to traveling soon. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep it from molding?

[@KrystaNorwick]

Hey Charles! So sorry it took so long to get back to you, we missed your comment! We had packed our mattress in a plastic bag that was sealed, then we left it for almost six weeks. We went from a moist, humid climate to a hot climate and back, with temperature swings of 20C sometimes! I think the issue was lack of airflow!! With the new mattress now installed in our van, we have it on slats and always ensure there is airflow underneath the bed. After three months, there are no signs of any issues! Hope that helps!! Did you travel since you last wrote us?

[@duanepowell9848]

too bad the hard parts are not shown or talked about! the Brake Cable is too long.... after the clean up...did you really jump to installing the battery?

[@KrystaNorwick]

Duane, are you completing a similar project? How’d it go?

[@ytstephanehenry]

Thanks for the video. There is a "RV prep package" at Ford dealer, it includes a "4-Way Manual Swivel Driver and 4-Way Manual Swivel Passenger Seats", is that similar to the ones showing in your video?

[@KrystaNorwick]

Yes I think they are similar. The Ford installed ones seem to work in pretty much the same way. It's just an additional plate that is added between the seat base and the seat that swivels. Of course, it's a lot less work for you if you get them done by Ford!

[@hahafalseflag5090]

Do you guys have to open doors to swivel seats?

[@BoltRM]

I kept wondering what an ebrake was... Ohhh! 😅

[@KrystaNorwick]

Haha yep! Emergency brake! I think a lot of the new vans now have a relocated emergency brake as a pedal, no longer a handle

[@sachinbharti9634]

Idk why there are 5 dislikes, what's wrong with people

[@KrystaNorwick]

Haha thanks for saying that! Are you doing a van build now as well? Do you have any swivel seat questions?

[@sakuraeimaj]

I assume your van is brand new?:)

[@KrystaNorwick]

Hey Jamie, yes, it was a brand new 2020. Are you also doing a van conversion?

[@sakuraeimaj]

@@KrystaNorwick soon!Saving to buy a brand new van to convert too!Binge watching your videos😅

[@KrystaNorwick]

@@sakuraeimaj ohh awesome!!! This is such a fun van to drive and explore in!!!

[@glenmch4226]

Didnt show us anything that matters dont care about your personality when I came here to see how you made it work as it obviously needs to be modified.

[@KrystaNorwick]

Thanks for the honesty Glen! Since filming this scene we’ve learned a lot about this seat and installation. Are you also installing a Scopema seat into a Ford Transit? It turns out that the culprit of the swivel being difficult to attach to the seat is actually based on how the seat in manufactured. With some heavy duty clamps you can actually warp the seat base and install the scopema seat without having to adjust the holes. I’ll add this to the comments section of the video now. I would highly recommend chatting with The Swivel Shop theswivelshop.com/?ref=kgx8pw0du7 They are very knowledgeable! *the above link is an affiliate link