Swivel Seats in Chevy 4500... (Redux)

[brucemc]

In thread http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...evy-75062.html (That I cannot reply to as it's too old):


I'm preparing to order a swivel for our 2016 Sunseeker on Chevy. The only thing I can find on either Shop4Seats . com or DiscountVanTruck . com is D111614, P111615 or 111614 (Driver) 111615 (Passenger). The model number quoted by RVBill3 doesn't seem to exist at this date...
There's an offset when facing forward & backward, so the swivel is not in the center of the seat. I'll report back with photos and results....

[markangie24]

Please let us know how it turns out. I am very interested in the same for our 2013 Chevy 4500. Good luck.

[Total Loss]

I would caution on the driver seat.
The plates lift and move the seat and will put you offcenter to the steering wheel and controls.
I did the passenger side first and like it- but I do not think the driver side would work well so I did not do that one.
I bought mine from discountvantruck.

[brucemc]

Correct - I didn't state that in my original post, but we are doing this mod only in the passenger seat. The drivers seat would be useless in the swiveled position as the dinette seats are directly behind the driver. And, Total Loss, the points you state would certainly be an issue!

[brucemc]

Well folks, this is not looking good.

I ordered & received the swivel plate for 96+ GMC/Chevy seats - 111615.
Finally yesterday, I started the installation, but have encountered some issues:

When swiveling the base w/o the seat with the door closed, the corners of the base run into the door pocket:



With the seat mounted on the base, the door cannot be closed as the seat belt housing hits the door pockets between the small and large pockets in the image above. If it's swiveled to a very specific spot, the door can be closed, but it compresses the side panel on the door:



And it raises the seat up enough that it cannot recline, even with the seat slid all the way forward:



A minor issue - one bolt hole does not align - this is not a big deal, and can be rectified with a bit of filing:



While researching swivel seat bases, this was the only one I found for GM while using the factory seats.

I understand there was another part number for 2004+ GM, 111611, but I was unable to find that number on their online store, nor any other source. As GM changed the exterior and interior of the Express vans in 2004, I can understand why this might not work in the 2004-current Express.

For those of you considering doing this mod on the GM chassis, knowing what I know now, I'd find something else. While I have the ability to make this work, perhaps by crafting a complete new base, it's going to take some fabrication work to make it usable.

I've submitted this information to the customer support at Shop4Seats; I'll follow up with their responses, if any.

I can see why others may have had issues if they ordered this particular part number. There's got to be other options, but so far, I haven't been able to locate them.

[Total Loss]

I do have to move the seat to the forward and full upright position before I swivel it.
Makes it easier with the cab door open.

[brucemc]

After some rework, the swivel has been installed & works pretty well. The seat can now be swiveled without opening the door & has plenty of room to move back and forth as well as some rotation.

Details:

I moved the swivel inboard on the base by about 3/4":



Likewise, I moved the base on the floor by 1/2" inboard and about 1/2" aft. I covered the old holes with large fender washers:



This allowed the swivel to rotate without touching the closed door:



Now, the seat sets about an inch away from the door, allowing it to swivel without having to open the door:



With the base move to the aft, and re-positioning the sunvisor, the tall seatback now clears the headliner:



Even with the seat slid all the way forward, it can only be leaned back to about 30 degrees. Given the good lumbar support in GM seats, they are not comfortable while leaned back in a recliner position. (The ford seats in the old Four Winds killed my back because there was no lumbar support - but they would have been good as recliners...)



[img]https://a4.pbase.com/o12/88/791988/1/168915749.LirGPTsU.IMG_7044.jpg[img]

As others mentioned in previous threads, the latch pin is way too long - this would catch an ankle:



(next post: refinement & installation details)

[brucemc]

I trimmed 3/4" off the inside edge of the swivel, and trimmed the corners:




and trimmed the latch pin down to a couple inches:



Finished/painted:



Rails bolted to swivel:



I never received a response to my request to shop4seats a couple of weeks ago, I guess they have no support after the sale much like the other swivel supplier (discountvantruck) that another forum member had experienced, so I guess there's no difference in that respect. The price was $200 + $29 shipping on shop4seats, it was $40-50 more on discountvantruck for the same product.

If you are considering this project, you'll need to have the skills and equipment to make similar changes to the base and the swivel plate. All it takes is an angle grinder with a cut-off disk and a half-inch drill.

I hope this info is helpful to those considering this modification.

[TSman]

Thank you for the detailed post on installing the swivel. I have been thinking of doing this on my 2014 Chevy 2500TS and this will make me do it.

A couple of questions:
When you moved the base, did you just enlarge the holes in the base or drill new ones ? It was not clear to me.
Also, how much higher is the seat after the installation? I have seen 1 5/8 or 3/4 of an inch difference mentioned.

Thanks again for the great post.

[brucemc]

Welcome!



I drilled new holes in the base. Some ended up key-holing to the original, which is why I used the large fender washers. This adds strength and covers the old holes. I was looking for a clean install appearance with the aft two holes. The front two are pretty well hidden, so they didn't need the additional washers.


The height had me concerned as well. This plate raised the seat by nearly 1 3/4", and when I sit in that spot in the forward facing position, my head touches the side bulge of the headliner and I my sight-line is near the top of the windshield. Note that I'm about 6' tall.

Both my wife and our friend are about 5'5. Both have tested the seat, and both say it's fine for them.
We'll do some road testing in the up-coming weeks.


I was considering cutting the base down by an inch+, and may still do so. I can separate it just under the top lip by removing an inch of material all the way around, then fit the top on the shortened base. This will require a bit of welding with my arc setup. Obviously, this is not something many folks cannot do, or are unwilling to do, but a good metal fab shop could knock out in an hour.



If I actually do undertake this task, I'll follow up & will post pics of the process.

[TSman]

Thanks for the additional information. Very useful.
My concern about the height is my wife is 5.0' and barely reaches the floor. May have to build something to raise the floor but she may enjoy the higher vantage point.

[Total Loss]

Originally Posted by TSman

Thanks for the additional information. Very useful.
My concern about the height is my wife is 5.0' and barely reaches the floor. May have to build something to raise the floor but she may enjoy the higher vantage point.

My wife definitely likes the higher profile. She is 5'5

[brucemc]

I'd considered modding the base to reset the seat height back to near-factory, and with feedback from my wife and our friend, it's on my list. They like the height, but their feet don't quite set on the floor...


I'll post info and pics once I've completed the mod.