I have a writeup and pictures on how to install the seat rails in a westy
somewhere if you need them.

Jim

On Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 12:28 AM, pickle vanagon <greenvanagon@gmail.com>wrote:

> Regarding adding a 5th seat to a westy...
>
> supposedly these 5th seats really exist.  Gary even has a photo of one on
> his website, just to prove that they do:
> http://www.telusplanet.net/public/gary2a/rack/5thseat/5thseat.htm
>
> Notice how it folds up.  Neat!
>
> Some questions:
> 1) Occasionally 5th seats pop up on the samba for large amounts of money.
> But these appear to have a storage compartment, and it seems like they may
> not flip up.  What's up with the ones that flip up?  Are they really
> different from the ones with the storage compartment?  Are they even rarer?
>
> 2) Our van has the old green/brown/tan seats (these:
> http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=850174) and I have to
> say we really like them (I know some people hate them!).  I'm guessing the
> 5th was never made with this fabric.  Is it possible to take one of these
> green/brown/tan seats, which are relatively cheap online, and disassemble
> it
> and attach it to one of the 5th seat brackets?
>
> 3) I guess the other option for adding seating to a westy is the 2 seat
> bench in the back, on tracks.  Presumably these don't come in our choice of
> fabric but we could re-upholster it if we were really determined.  I'm not
> as excited about this option because I imagine it is more of an impediment
> to camping, even though it can be easily slid in and out.  Anybody want to
> comment on how the 2-person bench affects access to the camping stuff while
> its installed?  (I'm guessing people that have this just sit it outside
> under plastic while in a campsite.)
>
> Thanks for any help!!
> Wes
>