Swivel seat base for suspension seat

[cruizinbiker]

Has anyone specifically installed a swivel seat base for a suspension (air ride) seat base (specifically a National 2000 Series air suspension seat base)? I can only find swivels for Sprinter/Promaster/Chevy/Ford vans and the hole pattern on all these options is way off.

 

[doncobb]

I looked at doing this but eventually opted not to. I purchased this swivel:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224019970706
It certainly has a few mounting hole opitions

Having changed the seats in my bus from factory to aftermarket I can say it was a lot of work and I had to custom fabricate everything. My wife wanted a co-driver's seat so we bought two seat from a parts yard and installed them. I used the above swivel on her seat. On the drivers seat the after market seat combined with the air ride pedestal was a no go because the seat was too high. Although I could have mounted this swivel on the air ride petestal had I retained the orginal seat.

You are probably going to have to do some cobbling if you are trying to make non bus parts fit.

 

[JenniferWillow]

I’m looking at this question myself right now. When we got the bus the air ride seat worked but it was connected to a very loud aftermarket air compressor with a rats nest of wire. During the build we removed the air compressor and stored it in the shop. We finally finished everything else and I reinstalled the compressor. It doesn’t work. Oh, it turns on and produces a small amount of air but the tank never budges from 0 psi when plugged into the seat.
We want the driver’s seat on a swivel and we want air ride so we have two choices:
(1) Fix the current seat with a new compressor, find a swivel that will fit, add a seat cover.
(2) Buy a new seat that incorporates a swivel and a compressor.

Frankly, after looking at all the interfaces (I.e. fitment) it will take a lot of work to get option 1 to work. First you need a new compressor and all the air line connections. Then you need to find a swivel that will work not only with the standard International bolt pattern but with my existing seat. There are several swivel options out there for semi truck swivels (Bostrom makes one) but they often are designed to only fit that manufacturer’s seats. In other words, swivel are easier to find than swivels that will work with your seat.
Theses are the interfaces:
Truck body to swivel base
Swivel top to air-ride seat base
Air compressor to air-ride seat
All of this can be worked out but you might need to create interface plates for any interface that doesn’t fit (e.g., swivel for bostrom seat to interface plate to current seat).

If you want to buy a new seat that incorporates all features (swivel, air-ride) they are available but from high end manufacturers. For example:
Knoedler Air Chief Overstuffed Channeled Seat (choose your options) Knoedler Seat
This is a very nice seat but it’s over $3000.00. The great thing about this seat is that it incorporates both the compressor and the swivel mechanism. I’m still looking for a cheaper option. I could probably find a Bostrom seat that would work with their swivel.
If you’ve read this far thanks for your patience. I’m just trying to work out the best way to finish this up without costing an arm and a leg. I figured at least some of this discussion may be useful to others looking to replace their seat.

 

[Busjamin]

I just bought a bus that has 2x Bostrum air ride seats on swivel bases. Bonafide Shotgun seats. 12ga shell holders not included.

I'm sorry, I don't know a lot about these seats yet, but we're almost certainly going to get rid of both. Do we know if the swivel base can be sold separately?

Wouldn't know where to price them yet, but would let them go cheaply to another skoolier. As far as I can tell they are in good shape and fully functional but I'll do a better inspection for anyone interested.

EDIT: If there are just questions I may be able to answer by going out and looking at these seats, please let me know. Would be a good reason to get to know them better if nothing else.

 

[Ozbozz57]

I got two Bostrom air ride seats that swivel 180 degrees. Bostrom "Wide Ride". I found lots of seats that would swivel 90 degrees, but few that would do 180. The Knoedler Air Chief was one, but way too costly.

 

[JenniferWillow]

I just bought a bus that has 2x Bostrum air ride seats on swivel bases. Bonafide Shotgun seats. 12ga shell holders not included.

I'm sorry, I don't know a lot about these seats yet, but we're almost certainly going to get rid of both. Do we know if the swivel base can be sold separately?

Wouldn't know where to price them yet, but would let them go cheaply to another skoolier. As far as I can tell they are in good shape and fully functional but I'll do a better inspection for anyone interested.

View attachment 1114612

EDIT: If there are just questions I may be able to answer by going out and looking at these seats, please let me know. Would be a good reason to get to know them better if nothing else.

My one question is whether they have their own compressor? That's the combination I'm looking for, SWIVEL + COMPRESSOR. If they do have the compressor I might be interested in buying one?

 

[Busjamin]

My one question is whether they have their own compressor? That's the combination I'm looking for, SWIVEL + COMPRESSOR. If they do have the compressor I might be interested in buying one?

Interesting. I'm sorry I don't have an immediate answer but I'll look into it tomorrow.

Some additional pics are attached; maybe someone else on here will know more in the meantime.

For whatever reason the seatbelt mechanism on mine doesn't swivel with the seat, so it ends up blocking it before you get to 90° as you can see in the last pic

 

[Tejon7]

Seatbelts need a solid connection directly to the vehicle. Any swivel mechanism is going to be a lot weaker in a crash than solid steel, so seat manufacturers and installers have to find a way to have the seatbelt bridge across the lazy Susan bit without restricting the rotation of the seat. @Busjamin 's Pic of the weirdly slacked tethers is one way to do that, I guess. The simplest way in my mind would be to mount the seatbelt directly through the floor and/or wall framing, then just unbuckle when you want to swivel.

 

[cruizinbiker]

Interesting. I'm sorry I don't have an immediate answer but I'll look into it tomorrow.

Some additional pics are attached; maybe someone else on here will know more in the meantime.

For whatever reason the seatbelt mechanism on mine doesn't swivel with the seat, so it ends up blocking it before you get to 90° as you can see in the last pic

Dang! I would take those seats if I were closer to MD.