Hi all, I’m looking at buying a Toyota Hiace commuter van with 14 seats and reduce the seating capacity to 5.
Do I need an engineering certificate to register it in VIC?
Yes, I can do it myself and unbolt and remove the seats, but I am after the legality and looking for tips from someone who might have done it.
Cheers.
My understanding is that you can ‘temporarily’ remove seats but need to leave seatbelts in place. You would also then need to reinstall them for any roadworthy inspection.
If you want it permanent you’d need to get it engineered.
Quite possible I’m wrong, but lots of people do remove extra seats, especially third row seats in 4wds so I’m sure there are real rules about it.
..14 seats and reduce the seating capacity to 5.
I'm not an engineer, but I can't imagine that "removing" seats would require a certificate. Seats are not structural or anything. "Adding" seats, on the other hand, would most likely require it because they'll need to be secured properly etc and able to withstand collisions.
Thanks @Bargainitis, i just called Vicroads, and they told me that if manufacturer says it can be removed then just bring the van to vicroads for inspection and with the removed seats and they will record it on their system. I was told its for legal purposes.
It's probably also worth asking what the process to "put the seats back" in will be in case you want to put them back later. If they're going to make you jump through hoops to put them back in, then you could possibly just remove the seats "temporarily". haha
I did ask them, Vicroads said just put back the seat, book an inspection and we will record how many seats you put back.
I also learned a new thing today that even if the van has 10 seating capacity and weighing around 3 tons, as long as its below 4.5tons then a normal car license can be used.
FWIW:
Car licence is: <4.5t (a lot of moving trucks are derated to 4,490kg) and 12 seats (inc driver).
Light Rigid is 4.5t to <8t. Any number of seats as long as it's under 8t.
But for a LR driving test, you need to use something >4.5t.
Hey artxty, did you end up going to VicRoads? How'd it go? Looking at doing the same for a Hiace Commuter… Thanks
Vicroads said only time you need an engineering certificate is that when the seats are fixed, and car manufacturer specifies that they are not removable. Removing a fixed seat will require modification from original car specs.
learnt something new today!
woah… I think this is quite technical and I wouldn't rely on the collective OZB community for a definitive ruling - contact your local authorities.
If I had to guess, I would have thought RMS (VIC equivalent) would need to clear it but looks like subject to size / number of seats. Here's what a quick google search got me.
https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/registration/modify-or-build…