Passenger Swivel Bases for Sale

[SportsBoy]

FYI, my seat brackets look to be factory, and don't appear to have adapters.
One thing I'm curious about, is there a way to make the seat slide further forward? My plans for having it rotate is to then tilt back and have almost a recliner, but I think I saw in another thread somewhere you couldn't recline the back very much.
PS, click the pic and it's upright, and I'm curious what the rest of that sold by tag says...

IMG_20201210_150347936.jpg

I believe forum member silverbullet extended the rails on his passenger seat so there was more legroom - maybe give that a look.

[AstroOafAdventurer]

FYI, my seat brackets look to be factory, and don't appear to have adapters.
One thing I'm curious about, is there a way to make the seat slide further forward? My plans for having it rotate is to then tilt back and have almost a recliner, but I think I saw in another thread somewhere you couldn't recline the back very much.
PS, click the pic and it's upright, and I'm curious what the rest of that sold by tag says...

IMG_20201210_150347936.jpg

I believe forum member silverbullet extended the rails on his passenger seat so there was more legroom - maybe give that a look.

Yes, i think you mean this one:
https://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=21642

I want to say I saw one where the guy set the front mount holes on the rear bolts and added new rear bolts?

Either way I was hoping for something that kept a stock look.
Can you double the sliders up?
I know that probably has to violate something somewhere, but I'm solo and no plans to pick up hitch hikers, and if someone really needs a ride they can get in the back lol.

[WinnieVan]

Honestly -- I can offset the unit bearing to the rear -- which would move the seat more forward in the rearward position -- and thus would provide a bit more clearance to recline.

I'll fiddle with that idea -- I don't have much room to work with given the rather strange design of the Astro seat rails and the fact I have to offset the bearing towards the center to allow for swivelling without opening the passenger door.

FWIW -- if you slide it all the way forward -- you can recline a fair amount. Not enough to sleep -- but it is comfortable to rest there.

[AstroOafAdventurer]

Really, I've never sat in the passenger seat, let alone swiveled around backwards so no idea how much it reclines.
I'm curious though, the green plate in your illustrations has two pieces that are bent up front and rear of the unit bearing, what role do they play?
I can't quite see what they're there for, but if it wasn't for those it looks like you could just about have two mounting positions in the base for the unit bearing to allow people to mount it more rearward or more stock.
But again, never experienced the swiveled seat, I am 6'4 but not looking to go down for sleeping, maybe more like a "reading nook".
Appreciate the effort you're putting in on this!

[Rod's Trucks]

I would guess that is a mounting point for the locking mechanism ( to keep from rotating ).
Rod J

[WinnieVan]

Bingo -- check out the pictures on this post:
https://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.p ... 2#p1570168

Those are bent and necessary for the locking mechanism to function. The spring-loaded pin will "ride-up" the angled sections and "snap" into a hole in the flat section. I'm prototyping this right now and I'm getting good -- aka firm and secure -- results! I'm pretty happy with it thus far -- I'm glad too -- since using a brake rotor for this purpose was pretty time intensive and not very scalable.

Also -- if someone has their van handy and could measure the following parallelogram that be awesome:

Mostly need:
- the length of the top and bottom parts
- the vertical distance between the two
- (bonus) angles of the front and rear!

Nothing needs to be down to the .001 -- I just want to make sure I have enough vertical clearance for my base as I'm hoping to get a prototype bent up next week and I'm away from my van for the next 3 or 4 weeks!! I'm pretty sure I am golden -- but I want to "build" that parallelogram into my model and make sure nothing is going to interfere:

[AstroWill]

I can measure the hump for you tomorrow if you haven't gotten the measurements already.

[AstroOafAdventurer]

Bingo -- check out the pictures on this post:
https://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.p ... 2#p1570168

Well then, there you go. Clearly I looked but didn't see!
Hey, on a side note, your designing them in a CAD program, can you then animate it to see how it's move and any issues in it's movement?
I myself am trying to do something to test out some measurements for a plan I'm working on.

[WinnieVan]

Sort of -- I have two "configurations" -- locked and unlocked. Basically only differ by either the lock pin is all the way in or all the way out.

Then I can test for "interference" in any position I like... I think there are add-ons to my software (Alibre Design) that allow animation, etc. but I'm not sure how they work to dynamically test the design.

For example -- I had to make sure the lock pin wouldn't stick out too far as to not ride up the wings of the lock mechanism -- for that I put the configuration in at "locked" (i.e. pin fully extended forward) and made sure it wouldn't hit the side of the wing.

I'm by no means an expert in 3DCAD -- but I'm sure you can design moving assemblies and check for clearance, etc.

[AstroWill]

So, 7-3/4 across the top, 9-1/8 across the bottom, and 1" between the two for the door side of the passenger seat on my 03.
Now of course there could be a little bit of variation depending on the carpet and padding/insulation and how much it's matted/compressed. But that gives you a general idea.

I don't know how much of a difference it makes to anyone, but I think it would look better if you came to the outside of the seat mounting studs for the vertical part of the base plate, it would hide the studs and nuts on the inside of the base.

Also, for the lower plate, I would try to get it as low as possible and make up any needed difference in height with the upper plate. Are you planning on shipping them assembled or disassembled? How well will they nest together when disassembled?

[WinnieVan]

Thank you Will! Appreciate that big time.

I don't know how much of a difference it makes to anyone, but I think it would look better if you came to the outside of the seat mounting studs for the vertical part of the base plate, it would hide the studs and nuts on the inside of the base.

I've fiddled with the idea and stuck with this for the time being -- I have a design kicking around with this configuration but went for this one for the time being as it makes the unfolded piece smaller and thus cheaper to manufacture.

Also, for the lower plate, I would try to get it as low as possible and make up any needed difference in height with the upper plate. Are you planning on shipping them assembled or disassembled? How well will they nest together when disassembled?

Plan is to ship assembled -- I imagine the binding constraint for shipping will be weight not dimension -- but if it turns out to be way cheaper as a "assemble yourself" product -- we can definitely do it that way.

[WinnieVan]

As a general update -- I've basically finalized the prototype on the computer -- just need to make a few final measurements and then it's off to get lasered and bent.

Not sure how long it'll take to get the parts back -- but I'm hoping before xmas so I can use some time over the holiday to machine the locking mechanism and get this prototype working!

Stay tuned folks..

[AstroWill]

I've fiddled with the idea and stuck with this for the time being -- I have a design kicking around with this configuration but went for this one for the time being as it makes the unfolded piece smaller and thus cheaper to manufacture.

Definitely would add to the size and weight, though depending on how close you are to using the full width/length of the sheet, may not make a real difference in cost.

Plan is to ship assembled -- I imagine the binding constraint for shipping will be weight not dimension -- but if it turns out to be way cheaper as a "assemble yourself" product -- we can definitely do it that way.

Planning on doing a video of it being cut/bent?

[WinnieVan]

I've fiddled with the idea and stuck with this for the time being -- I have a design kicking around with this configuration but went for this one for the time being as it makes the unfolded piece smaller and thus cheaper to manufacture.

Definitely would add to the size and weight, though depending on how close you are to using the full width/length of the sheet, may not make a real difference in cost.

Yeah -- I'll probably quote both variants and see what the actual difference is -- I agree that covering the studs would look better -- but then I should probably make the top that shape too -- although that's more hidden.

Plan is to ship assembled -- I imagine the binding constraint for shipping will be weight not dimension -- but if it turns out to be way cheaper as a "assemble yourself" product -- we can definitely do it that way.

Planning on doing a video of it being cut/bent?

Boy I wish but the shop floor is closed to visitors right now -- but I will ask the guy if he'd snap a photo/video or two -- it is so cool to watch.

[AstroWill]

but then I should probably make the top that shape too -- although that's more hidden.
I don't think the top will matter near as much.

Boy I wish but the shop floor is closed to visitors right now -- but I will ask the guy if he'd snap a photo/video or two -- it is so cool to watch.

Agreed! Would be awesome to watch.

[WinnieVan]

Well I sent the design off last week -- but it is unlikely I'll get the prototype back until 1st or 2nd week of Jan. I'll work on machining the other parts in the meantime so hopefully it can be a quick turn-around...

Agreed! Would be awesome to watch.

And for you AstroWill -- sometimes technology can offer a pretty good consolation:



Stay tuned folks -- won't be long before this pig can fly!!

[sixsix]

Whew!
Thanks... I was picturing an old middle easterner sweating over a vise with her ball peen and channel locks.

[markmitch]

Not sure if this was mentioned but if you could make an option of the seat being further back like an inch or two for us tall folks that would possibly make them more sellable for some of us. I know my wife is shorter then I am and she really wishes her passenger seat went back a bit more so if on a long trip she can stretch out a bit more.
Overall I really like where you are going with this though. Just a thought, Mark

[Rod's Trucks]

That is one 'slick' video.
I have a VERY CRUDE version of that tool, built to use with my hydraulic press; but it will not handle that gauge of metal nor that width or with that accuracy. I use it for bending 1/8" or 3/16" flat bar
I guess I need to build some better jigs!
Too many ideas and too little time!
Rod J

[WinnieVan]

Not sure if this was mentioned but if you could make an option of the seat being further back like an inch or two for us tall folks that would possibly make them more sellable for some of us. I know my wife is shorter then I am and she really wishes her passenger seat went back a bit more so if on a long trip she can stretch out a bit more.
Overall I really like where you are going with this though. Just a thought, Mark

I actually hear there a lot -- this shouldn't be too hard to integrate --

As it stands -- there is 1/2" of adjustment built in to the current design based on the slotting of the upper mounting holes. I could make the slots longer -- but I don't want them to be too long.

I'm thinking of adding a second set of slotted mounts 1.5" further back -- but the curvature of the rails may be a deciding factor. That definitely complicates things a bit.

Why o why couldn't they just make them flat like in the Savana? No one will ever know.