That’s fine for the van, but the head restraint keeps you from breaking your neck in a severe rear-ender.  30 mph can be severe if you are waiting at a stoplight.  It’s also another reason to make sure the seat bottom latch is in good working order so the seat doesn’t fold down with a passenger in it. It’s a very beefy mechanism for that reason.

 

VW must have used a camper van loophole for the Westy back seat, because head restraints have been required on passenger cars since 1969.   

 

Stuart

 

From: John Rodgers [mailto:jrodgers113@gmail.com] 
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2015 12:16 PM
To: Stuart MacMillan
Cc: Vanagon mailing list; Dennis Haynes
Subject: Re: Rear seat comfort on a Vanagon Westy?

 

A good Dennis Haynes trailer hitch proves some protection in case of being rear-ended.  Not totally, but some. The hitch has a cross bar that mounts to the frame of the Vanagon with three large bolts on each side, very stout. The whole thing will absorb a lot of energy before buckling in the event of an accident. Might be enough to reduce the energy of an impact somewhat before it enters into the body work itself, so repair would be possible, whereas otherwise it would be improbable. Mine has saved my Van a couple of times.

On Feb 25, 2015 10:59 AM, "Stuart MacMillan" <stuartmacm@gmail.com> wrote:

In addition to adding shoulder belts (like Go Westy's) I'm adding head restraints this way: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=303299 <http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=303299&highlight=vwbusshop> &highlight=vwbusshop

I got a couple of trashed seats for $50 for the head restraints and plastic tubes.

The '80s were a different time.  Today, with so many distracted drivers, rear end collisions are on the increase.

Stuart