Renault Trafic Crew Vans

Just started thinking about a van-type thing and there seem to be a few of these around with a weird bulkhead in place.

Anybody know if these are easy to remove and replace with a second row of seats which can be folded or removed?

Any other feedback on these?

Vivaro
Sure I have seen short wheelbase version of this with only 1 row of seats

cant say im an expert but my mate johnny had one and it was complete shite, He prob got a bit of a dud but… they apparently suffer with gear box issues. my opinion is to avoid them

can check with mate, using them for AA vans, replacing his VW

I think the gearbox issues are sorted out on the later vans.My mate has one for his business. He has the long wheelbase with the same seats as in the photo. He can get 2 motocross bikes in the back diagonally across the space. One is his lads so might be tight getting two large mtx bikes in. He's had 3 so far and runs them till they have 200K on and has had no problems.

Instead of paying a premium for a crewcab and then ripping out the bulkhead and spending a fortune on an extra row of seats, you might as well just look for a minibus version. Check your license as you may be limited to driving vehicles with a maximum 8 passenger seats.

Bulkheads are sometimes intrinsic to the strength of the vehicle – think load bearing wall rather than stud partition. Not sure about these models tho.

No, the bulkhead's just plastic on these vans. They're nice to drive, also worth checking the Vauxhall Vivaro and the Nissan equivalent – they're all built in the Vauxhall plant in Luton, so they're all the same apart from the badges. 9 Seater minibus probably an easier vehicle to do what you want as Spooky said – and there are plenty of those about too.

We have one as pool vehicle at work. It drives really nicely (almost like a car) and is not too big to make it difficult to get in car parks etc.

A minibus is an alternative, but they tend to have been driven with more weight in and so the drive trains on similar aged, similar mileaged vehicles tend not to be as good.

I've fitted (proper installation with spreader plates etc) a set of transit seats with integrated 3 point seatbelts which forms part of a double bed in the back of my Ducato, which works well. But its a fair bit bigger than the Renault.

EDIT: If there were only 3 of us, I'd forgo the seats in the back, buy a van and fit a rock and roll bed instead.

Have run several Trafics (and Masters) commercially running up mileages approaching 200k. No major mechanicals – just service items / wear and tear / couple of minor warranty issues. Can't speak highly enough of them tbh.

We looked at that model for our most recent van however, the bulkhead is not easily removable. This makes it very inflexible if you need to chop and change from full van back to 5 seats & vice versa. My advice would be to purchase a LWB high roof version then have a type approved triple seat conversion installed by one of the professional firms offering this service. Not expensive…

Our second row of seats is a 2 plus 1 with integral diagonal belts – giving you the option of 1, 2 or 3 seats installed. They go in and out in minutes and lock in place aircraft seat style with turnbuckles into the structural floor. We also spec'd the van with twin sliding doors / windows for ultimate flexibility. This van would come with a removable steel bulkhead up to the height of the shelf forming the roof over the front seats. There's circa 12 bolts holding this, it's easily removable and non structural. We just run it with the bulkhead off for weekends away as its far more sociable for those in the back.

It would be fairly simple to have a steel fabricator tack on an extension to this so you could locate it behind the second row of seats per the arrangement in your pic. They'd need to make up locating points / threaded inserts in the roof and floor obviously. Again, we haven't bothered tho it would be quieter with such an arrangement as there is a bit of road noise off the rear wheels.

LWB High roof would make a far better / bigger camper base vehicle than the VW thing folk on here go on about endlessly.

have you considered getting a panel van and having the seats & windows fitted? there can be quite a premium to pay for a 9 seater or crew cab due to the lower number on the second hand market.

equally i bought the vauxhall instead as they are cheaper for the same thing – i've not understood why people pay the extra for the badge on a van?

depending where you are, this is where i got my windows fitted. vansport.co.uk

The Trafic / Vivaro etc crew van is actually a really good seat / bulkhead factory conversion. You can also get them aftermarket for a wide range of vehicles http://www.doublecabin.co.uk/index.htm

If you look, the seat is actually a good way further forward than the minibus, gaining a useful amount more luggage space (and bulkhead is much safer for passengers with a pile of bikes etc behind them). The seat cushion also lifts and there are a few access hatches so you can still occasionally carry long things. The bulkhead itself is made of plastic but there is a lot of steel reinforcement joining the belt anchorage points to the pillar behind the sliding door (so bulkhead as a whole is VERY structural).

I've run a van with a seat conversion and now a factory build combi. I've also done a lot of seat strength tests at work on converted vehicles / aftermarket seats. Lets just say there is good and bad stuff out there, and most integral seat / belt conversions need MUCH more than a few spreader plates under the floor.

I'm not even sure the real price premium is that big (factory vs conversion). Individual fixed M1 seats and belts (google Rescroft) are about £250 each (so £750 for a row of 3). You can make them removable by fitting to tracking but that is more ££ and the installation is CRITICAL (badly supported / secured tracking may rip in a crash). There aren't many legal fold up seats with 3 integral belts (google Scotseats – probably has the biggest range). The full Vivaro crew van conversion is over £2000 aftermarket.

Now I'm strapping our kids in the back I will happily pay the premium for factory fit seats, massively improved safety and no hassles with insurance etc. Some combis also come registered as cars so you get regular speed limits. Some van conversions can be re-registered as dual purpose vehicles which also gets you regular speed limits.

I bought the LWB Crew Cab Renault Trafic last week and took me, 3 mates, 4 bikes and luggage to Glentress and it is just perfect.

Drives well, cruises well on the motorway, just bungee the bikes to the sides, bags in the middle and hit the road.

I did Wakefield to Chester, Chester to Glentress for 2 days there, Glentress to Whinlatter and back to Chester on one tank of fuel.

Great piece of kit, so far so good 🙂

I run a Trafic minibus for the guiding business here in Tenerife. It’s not the most powerful thing in the world, but that’s down to me picking up an 80hp model rather than a 110hp. But it manages. I run it with the 3rd row of seats removed and this way I can seat 6 people including the driver and fit 6 bikes in the back (with front wheels removed) comfortably. I have had 6 people and 9 bikes in there, but it was a bit tight.

I’ve heard stories of problems with the 6 Speed box on the DCi130/140 models from a couple of clients who either had one or had worked on them. But mine has covered about 150k now and (touch wood) is still going strong.

Don’t know if that helps, answer your question.

Geoffj – What makes you say that the minibus will have had more weight in it?? Surely a crew cab is more likely to have done some proper load lugging?

Mine had been a hotel courtesy bus, so had obviously done a few airport runs in it’s time. It has had far more abuse in the last 4 years lugging bikes and sweaty bikers around 😆

We’ve got the 9-seat Trafic. Pretty pleased with it. It’s now approaching 200,000km and we’ve had no major hassles (new clutch has been the biggest mechanical).

The back row of seats folds up pretty well, but the middle row is pretty-much fixed.

Apparently there’s a version where the rear 2 rows of seats fold together to make a bed. That would be awesome!

pre-2004 models suffered from gearbox failures, but post that have held up fine

@stevomcd

I found that you can remove the middle row of seats and replace it with what was the back row. That way you can fold up the “middle row” for extra space when needed 😆

Don’t know if that works on all models / years but it did for me.