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Transit minibus
swanny - 19/3/19 at 09:51 AM

hello

does anyone on here run a new ish (17 onwards) transit minibus?

we are hirinjg onje for le mans this year and i wanted to check how easy it will be the remove a row or two of the seats to free up more space for bikes etc.

Cheers

paul


cliftyhanger - 19/3/19 at 11:32 AM

Watch out for the rules on minibuses in the UK and Europe.
If you share the costs, it is (or used to be treated) as commercial, and a tacho etc required.
If over 3500kg max weight, the driver, even in the UK, needs D1 entitlement. Often not noticed...

Do some digging.... The easiest solution is a 8+1 driver sized vehicle. Not all hire places understand the rules


swanny - 19/3/19 at 11:53 AM

luckily we are all old and have D1 on the licences!

I'll check the other stuff though, thanks


trextr7monkey - 20/3/19 at 05:26 PM

We had a couple of minibuses at the school I worked at they were pretty new, we used to remove back seats to load up with wood and sheets of stuff, just some spring loaded catches quick to take in and out. Biggest problem was finding somewhere safe to keep seats when out of the bus
Atb
Mike


PAUL FISHER - 21/3/19 at 07:54 AM

They are just bolt in, you can just unbolt a couple of rows of seats, although there are quite a few bolts for each seat, as they have the seat belts built into the frame of the seats, but a hours work should easily see the rear two rows removed.

[Edited on 21/3/19 by PAUL FISHER]


trextr7monkey - 21/3/19 at 09:49 AM

No spanners involved on ours


owelly - 21/3/19 at 12:24 PM

Just a heads-up: many hire companies stipulate that you can't alter or modify their vehicle without their permission. Perhaps ask them to remove the seats before you collect?


swanny - 21/3/19 at 01:35 PM

hi Owelly,

I did ask them about it and they were cool with it. they've offered to take out the removable back row for us before we collect but were happy for us to take the others out. I don't know whether it helped that we found them via a mutual friend of the MD but I was a bit surprised at how ok they were with it.

paul


owelly - 21/3/19 at 04:28 PM

Some say it's better to seek forgiveness, than to seek permission... I usually agree unless it costs me money. Great that you found an amicable hire company.


nick205 - 22/3/19 at 12:18 PM

quote:
Originally posted by owelly
Some say it's better to seek forgiveness, than to seek permission... I usually agree unless it costs me money. Great that you found an amicable hire company.



I've been told the same - "seek forgiveness and not permission".

All well and good, but be careful of legalities and costs along the way!