Updated at: 21-04-2022 - By: Sienna Lewis

If you’re short on room, a swivel seat is the ideal answer. Kitchens and other spaces where you don’t want chairs to be stuck in one place might benefit from this product as well.

Starting with a simple wood type, you can upgrade to a swivel chair that is just as durable and comfy.

Steps on Building a Swivel Seat

The first step is to figure out how broad and deep you want the seat to be.

An optimum dimension for the breadth and depth of a swivel seat is 15 inches wide by 2 inches deep.

Step 2: Cut two 16-inch lengths of 12 in order to construct the real base pieces of wood. Legs will be attached to these. Four 3′′ pieces of 13 will act as uprights for the seat top and bottom, so cut them now (described below).

On your table saw, you may need to cut these pieces down to 2-1/4 inches wide. For the cross supports, cut four 36-inch lengths of 12.

Step 3: Verify that no knots or flaws exist in any of the components. The uprights may require pre-drilling for attachment to the seat top and bottom (see below). After sanding the wood to a flat surface, you can apply any type of finish you like.

Are swivel seats safe?

Children should only utilize swivel seats if they are able to do so safely under the supervision of an adult. There are some horses on which adult riders can safely use the swivel seat (the seat must still be attached at all times). If not properly set, swivel seats can be uncomfortable.

How to build a swivel seat base | Swivel seating, Swivel, Seating

When an adult is available to help, children should practice adjusting their chairs on their own. Before mounting your horse, make sure the swivel seat is a good fit for your body type.

What is a swivel chair?

There’s a clear reason why the swivel chair seat is so popular among riders. With this seat, you don’t need to use stirrups or a horn to ride, and it provides excellent back support for both rider and horse.

The vinyl used to make these seats has a tendency to expand after prolonged use. People will be limited in their ability to use an adjustable seat because of this restriction.

It’s possible that if your youngster is particularly tall, he or she will require some help from a parent or an adult friend when mounting the bike.

However, there are a wide variety of swivel seats on the market, as well as a number of riders who have built their own out of wood, metal, or synthetics.

  1. Upholstered or Vinyl Swivel Seats

If they can discover a reasonably priced adjustable seat, riders with knee problems can benefit greatly. If you’re taller than average, you’ll notice that your feet are a little higher off the ground because these seats adjust the height of both the rear and front legs separately.

Additionally, these seats include padded armrests that enable your arms to swing behind you instead of being confined in one position, which improves circulation and reduces wear and tear on your wrists.

Swivel Seat: Choosing One and Installation in Camper Van Conversion

In order to maximize the amount of interior space in your camper van conversion, you should consider adding a rotating swivel base to one or both front seats. The swivel gives you more seating options and layout versatility in your vehicle.

We chose to add a swivel just to the passenger seat for our specific configuration. For our arrangement, it was unnecessary to move the parking brake to accommodate a swivel in the driver’s seat, therefore we opted against it.

Choosing a Rotating Swivel Seat for a Van

There are only a few van swivel seat bases to be found in the marketplace. Installing any of these alternatives necessitates removing the seat from the vehicle and unbolting it.

Due to the affordable price, acceptable extra height, and relatively simple installation, we chose Discount Van Truck’s Transit Swivel Base. Swivel base is good, but it does require a lot of work to spin around. We’re delighted with it overall.

If you can locate it in stock, the Scopema Swivel is the best alternative!

Choosing the Right Swivel Seat for your Van

Your van’s swivel seat adapter is required. It is common for the manufacturers mentioned above to produce swives for Transit, Promaster, and Sprinter models.. Links to Ford Transit swivels are provided, but make sure you get the correct model for your car!

Best Swivel Seat Options

DiscountVanTruck.com Swivel Base product #116020

  • Of the solutions presented above, this one is the most stable (ie no wobbling).
  • Expect squeaks and other noises when you try to turn!
  • Addition of 1-5/8′′
  • The greatest amount of weight was added (Roughly 40 lbs)
  • During installation, it necessitates additional steps that other swivels do not necessitate.

Scopema Seat Swivel: Pricey and Golden Standard

  • In terms of height, it only adds 7/8″
  • Squeak-free rotation with minimum friction.
  • The most pricey option is available.
  • Due to low supply, this item is frequently out of stock.

Swisstech OKB

  • Rotates smoothly and noisily
  • One-eighth of an inch
  • over rough roads it is possible to hear squeaking.

SwivelsRUs.com Seat Adaptor

  • The heaviest at 22 pounds.
  • Rotates easily and effortlessly
  • Addition of 2-1/8′′ in height (Wow!)

How to build a swivel seat base | Swivel seating, Seating, Swivel

Installation of the Discount Van Truck Passenger Seat Swivel

Adapter Swivel for Passenger’s Seat, Item #116020, was installed by Discount Van Truck “Transit Stock Seat.” You must have the stock Passenger seat to use this swivel.

  • No airbags are required for these seats.
  • Sections S4.2 and S4.3 of FMVSS #207 required seat bases to be assessed for safety.
  • Installing the bolts

This installation requires the use of:

  • Ratchet
  • For Ford Transit bolts, you need a T30 Torx bit.
  • a Soldering Iron,

Step 1

The first step is to begin

Step 2

Remove the bolts that attach the seat to the base with a T30 Torx bit. When we did this, we had to move the seat back so that we could get access to two bolts on the rail’s front. In order to accomplish so, we had to push the seat all the way forward.

*Be aware of the airbag wiring that is located under the seat. Once this is unplugged, you can remove the seat in full.*

This is the third step.

The airbag wiring harness cannot be routed through the little center hole on the DiscountVanTruck swivel. A dismantling and reassembling of the harness is required for this installation. In the event of a short circuit, disconnect the van’s battery.

The Best Way to Do This: Use tweezers to remove the red plastic tabs off the wire carriage. A plastic tab is located inside the carriage and is pressed to disconnect wires from each other. You should do this as a precautionary measure. The wire carriage, on the other hand, is quite small and made of thin plastic, so we were hesitant to remove it and reinstall it.

What We Did: We couldn’t get to the plastic tabs on the carriage to disconnect the cables. Wires running from the floor of the van to the seats of the van were removed as part of the airbag harness installation. There are seven wires in total. Each of the cables had to be severed and reconnected. Soldering the wires back together was the quickest and most reliable method of reattaching them. When it comes to electrical work, it’s best if you’re well-versed in it or have professional electrician working with you.

It’s time for the fourth step.

Reconnect the wires by passing them through the bolt hole in the center of the swivel base, which has been bored out.

This is the final step.

Put a swivel on the seat base and secure it with a bolt. Because the swivel bolt holes match up with the holes in the base of the seat, this is a simple task.

It’s time for the sixth step.

Attach the seat to the swivel by bolting it in place. The seat is heavy, so be ready!

How do you Remove a Chair From the Base?

If your chair wobbles, check to see if there’s anything else wrong with it first. Make sure the legs are securely attached to the base by either tightening them or repositioning them. Repair or replace damaged sections of the leg where it attaches to the seat with wood putty if that isn’t an option.

On to how it feels – are there any areas that are too hard or too weak? Replace any broken pieces and tighten up your screws.

As a last resort, if none of the above options work, remove as much weight as possible from the chair (if you’re one person, your body should suffice) and begin rocking back and forth while tapping down or pushing forward. This will generate a buildup of friction, which will eventually undermine any securing points.

You can use rubbing alcohol and a paintbrush to free the splines of your chair from any rubber that may be stuck in the way. Alternatively, you can drop an ice cube on top of the resin and wait for it to soften before twisting it off with a flat head screwdriver.

🛠Swivel seat💺 DIY for your van !!! DIY vanlife🚐 - YouTube

After trying that, see if sanding down the pressure you apply to each spin position fixes the problem. Sanding down the pressure you apply to each spin point will even out the amount of weight that is transferred into each leg.

FAQs

Can you add a swivel base to a chair?

Swiveling your chair is a simple way to show your chair some love, and I promise you that after you do, you’ll be sitting in your chair a lot more. You will need to mount the swivel base and ring to wood in order to complete the project. There is no one-size-fits-all chair. Look at the bottom of your chair to discover if it’s made of wood.

Can you make a recliner into a swivel?

Swiveling and rocking recliners can be added to a recliner. You can never have too many chairs in the house that can rotate and rock, especially when you have an infant. A Lane recliner, for example, may be adapted to swivel and rock. The recliner must be in good working order in order for the modification to be successful.

Can I add a swivel to my Lazy Boy recliner?

The swivel chair is something you’ve probably never tried. It’s a great time! It is possible to achieve complete reclining comfort with 360° swivel motion by upgrading to a swivel base. Adding a swivel base to any of our La-Z-Boy Recliners costs an additional $100.

What is a swivel seat?

Single-legged swivel, spinny, or revolving chairs allow the seat to rotate 360 degrees in any direction. According to legend, Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence while sitting on a swivel chair he invented.

Do swivel and go seats stow?

To revolutionize the way families interact in their minivans, Chrysler introduced the Swivel ‘n Go seats. To make room for more stuff, drivers who opt for Swivel ‘n Go forgo Chrysler’s Stow ‘n Go seating innovation. This compromise results in a less-than-ideal floor and a smaller trunk.

Is there a way to make a swivel chair stationary?

Then, using a metal drill bit, drill a hole through the top and bottom plates and screw in a screwdriver. As a result, you’ll have a stool that can’t be moved.

When can a baby be forward-facing?

Use a forward-facing car seat until your child reaches the height or weight maximum of their seat, or until they are at least four years old.. The weight of the seat can range from 60 to 100 pounds (27.2 to 45.4 kg).

Can all car seats be rear facing?

Car safety seats should be used for as long as feasible until the child reaches the maximum weight or height permitted by their manufacturer. Children can ride rear-facing for two or more years in most convertible seats.