Vito Dualiner 2013 I want a single rear seat!

[116CDI]

Hello all,

Does anyone know if it is possible to have only a single rear seat in the Dualiner? I would like to know if the single units from any of the Merc vans/models i.e. Viano would fit because it looks like none of the Dualiner configurations will allow a single rear seat.

REASON! I have just purchased a 2013 Dualiner and want to load up to 10' boards up the middle between the front captains seats (I have 2 seats not 3 in front).

The problem is I can have 2 or 3 seats in the rear only, because the single unit requires the double to be in place to be used.

oh and the seats are folding quick release/removable type

Many thanks guys.

 

[BTB 500]

I think you're right i.e. the single locks on to the double. We run ours with just the double unit in the back. Anything is possible with modifications to the mountings but I'm 99% sure a Viano etc. seat wouldn't drop straight in.

As an aside, you realise that if you only have one rear seat it would no longer qualify as a Dual Purpose Vehicle and normal van speed limits would apply?

 

[Harveyj09]

Viano single seats will fit in standard vito Dualiner runners. I have had them in mine.

 

[116CDI]

UPDATE & FYI. Finally found a Viano seat which I really liked thanks guys. Now I can fit baby seat in back and still slide 10' surfboards or paddleboards down the middle of the van.....

Before = Dualiner 2+1 setup (cant have single seat or fit 10' boards in the van);

Now;

 

[BTB 500]

Looks good, but as mentioned don't get stopped for speeding (limit with only one back seat is 50 on single carriageway and 60 on dual carriageway)!

 

[116CDI]

Funny you should say that I did get an auto NIP for 73mph on a dual carraigeway with all the seats in. I spoke to the central ticket office and emailed all the photos off. Dorset Police replied stating

"I can confirm we have received your photographic evidence regarding the modification to your vehicle. The offence has now been suspended for you to contact the DVLA re the classification of your vehicle. Once the classification has been corrected with the DVLA please forward to us documentary evidence to confirm the update and the matter will be reviewed".

For the record I never mentioned any modification of any sort! I said it was a dualiner i.e. dual purpose vehicle as referred to by the .gov speed guidance website.

From the previous threads I have read with alot of useful contribution I gather I stand zero chance of DVLA doing anything, im sure I read that the DVLA does not have a 'dual purpose' classification for the V5C documentation?

Anyway since this is ongoing should I commence a new thread with all the info - I intend contesting it but more importantly figuring out how to stop it happening again.


FYI the single seat config is for local surf trips entailing A roads average speed 30 mph
the 2+1 goes back in for all other times to bring granny!

 

[BTB 500]

My Dualiner is registered on the V5C as "Van/Side Windows", which would obviously be the case even with no seats in the back

Many of my friends have Dualiners or equivalent (Kombi, Crewvan, etc) and quite a few have been stopped for exceeding 50 or 60 on unrestricted roads, as if they were standard panel vans. But IIRC they've all managed to get it overturned. Just refer them to the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986

I was very careful with the options on our Vito to make sure the unladen weight stayed below the 2040kg allowed for a DPV. The V6 is heavier, so it would have been quite possible to go over that.

 

[116CDI]

Thanks for the info which I will be referencing - from the factory mine complies with DPV. interesting since Van/Side Windows is not the same as 'dual-purpose vehicle' like you say. Do car speed limits apply to Van/Side Windows body type on the V5C?!

I was looking for a list of the possible body type classifications for section 4 D.5 BODY TYPE on the V5C and found a VW T4 owner who had managed to change from panel van to 'MPV'. He had applied to change to dual purpose vehicle and they gave him MPV and since car speed limits applied he was happy. This leads me to conclude DPV does not exist as a body type classification on V5C (I never did find a list of classifications).

It is ironic that I recently changed from a 250BHP Subaru Forester, was nearly always going silly fast but maintained a clean licence then bought a van which I enjoy driving very sedately and get nipped within months. I still seriously enjoy the van though.

 

[James5969]

Looks good, but as mentioned don't get stopped for speeding (limit with only one back seat is 50 on single carriageway and 60 on dual carriageway)!

Is this because there is now a total of only three seats? If he had three in the front and one in the back, totalling four seats, would it still be restricted to 50+60? Or does there need to be more than one seat in the rear, regardless of seats up front?

 

[BTB 500]

Is this because there is now a total of only three seats? If he had three in the front and one in the back, totalling four seats, would it still be restricted to 50+60? Or does there need to be more than one seat in the rear, regardless of seats up front?

The latter - you need at least 2 seats in the centre (regardless of how many there are in the front). The full definition is:

a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage both of passengers and of goods or burden of any description, being a vehicle of which the unladen weight does not exceed 2040 kg, and which either—

(i)
is so constructed or adapted that the driving power of the engine is, or by the appropriate use of the controls of the vehicle can be, transmitted to all the wheels of the vehicle; or
(ii)
satisfies the following conditions as to construction, namely—
(a)
the vehicle must be permanently fitted with a rigid roof, with or without a sliding panel;
(b)
the area of the vehicle to the rear of the driver's seat must—
(i)
be permanently fitted with at least one row of transverse seats (fixed or folding) for two or more passengers and those seats must be properly sprung or cushioned and provided with upholstered back-rests, attached either to the seats or to a side or the floor of the vehicle; and
(ii)
be lit on each side and at the rear by a window or windows of glass or other transparent material having an area or aggregate area of not less than 1850 square centimetres on each side and not less than 770 square centimetres at the rear; and
(c)
the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the back-rests of the row of transverse seats satisfying the requirements specified in head (i) of sub-paragraph (b) (or, if there is more than one such row of seats, the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the back-rests of the rearmost such row) must, when the seats are ready for use, be not less than one-third of the distance between the rearmost part of the steering wheel and the rearmost part of the floor of the vehicle.

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986

www.legislation.gov.uk