Seat swivels, new source?

[Mwilliamshs]

I've been around boats all my life. I've worked at a boat factory a couple of summers as a college kid (the first time around). I've seen lots and lots of marine stuff on expedition portal because it's generally far superior to RV stuff. I've seen seat swivels designed for vans, sprinters, etc on expedition portal and honestly never seen anybody install one and brag on it. They're loose, they bend, they're too tall, they're flimsy, they lose parts (was it Cole's Mercedes part that lost it's wheels?), they're expensive, etc etc etc. Having said all that, why haven't I seen boat seat swivels installed in vans? They come in a couple different classes, notably B and AD (which is Class A, Driver). B is the cheap ones. They don't lock and are designed to be used in passenger positions mostly and even then, only when the boat is trolling at 5mph or less. AD are the good ones. They must (by regulation) lock, specifically with a "mechanical interference device" and they lock positively, not just spring-loaded round pin in a round hole type deal. Some even have two locks and lots of them lock in multiple positions (like 12 @ 30* increments). There are still differing levels of quality in this class depending on manufacturer (bushing vs bearing, etc). They must all (by regulation) withstand 150 ft lbs of torque without unlocking. They can be occupied at any speed and are what you find under swiveling driver's seats in boats. The 100 mph bass boats use ADs. A boat has no brakes, some can go much much faster than I want to drive my 8k lb van (I'll never again go over 60 mph on water if I can help it) and the US Coast Guard's regulations make DOT rule books look like polite suggestions from your kindygarten teacher. I ride motorcycles, have jumped from planes, swam in sharky water...and I'm not gonna lie, 93 mph on water is spooky. I was sweating and it wasn't from the heat but my seat swivel never ever gave me pause. I said all that to say this, I'm going to check them out in person next time I'm in the old man's bass boat (yeah it's pretty fast lol) and see what I think. Opinions?

less than $35 for Garelick (a top name brand) stainless steel seat swivel!

 

[boardrider247]

I believe most people are looking for a bolt in solution hence more RV sourced swivels being installed.
That is good info on the different classes of boat available parts. Honestly all of them I have come across locally must be the class B stuff because it's all so cheezy there is no way I would use it in a road going vehicle.

 

[iridewheelies]

Doing a custom swivel with this part might be easier than getting the "bolt in" swivel from discountvantruck to work right. One challenge would be how to route the seat wiring without a hollow center bolt. It might be easy to replace the center rivet with a hollow one.

 

[Mwilliamshs]

1989 van ******! No seat wiring. You modern guys let me know what works in case I add seat heaters

 

[flightcancled]

This would also be genius for a tilting solar panel mount.


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