I was wondering if it was possible or even legal to take two middle defender seats fit them behind the front seats facing sideways into the middle (hope that makes sense) and have seat belts fitted of course just so I can use it to take my Partner and her two grandkids on wee camping trips

Don't see why not. I believe you don't need belts for side facing seats either ... I stuck Discovery dickie seats into my 90 and they were perfectly legal even though not as solid as a framed, properly fitted centre seat. Side facing seats have been fitted to Landies for years ...

I fitted retractable lap belts when I put bench seats in the Defender. I'm not sure if you need them legally, I do know you can't use inertia reel belts with side facing seats though.

yeah I know that bench seats in landy's dont normally have seat belts and can totally understand why inertia reel belts cant be used, was really thinking of the safety of grandkids retractable lap belts are defo the answer. So all I need is one more middle seat and two retractable lap belts. Good to know that there is no legal reason why I cannot fit the seats though thanks guys

I done that in my old series , but fitted bucket seats so that on heavy braking they didn't go sideways towards the front , along with a drop down harness type seat belts , bucket seats also had head sides

gstuart said:

I done that in my old series , but fitted bucket seats so that on heavy braking they didn't go sideways towards the front , along with a drop down harness type seat belts , bucket seats also had head sides

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sounds like a brilliant idea but also sounds expensive esp when its just for the very occasional time that we take the grandkids on a wee trip

It's a legal minefield

Children have to be carried in the safest available seat ie front passenger seat. Obviously only one so any extras can bounce about in the back with yer Doris.....not ideal.

3 point belts aren't recommended for side facing seats for anyone because they increase the liklihood of injury and iirc lap belts for children are also not recommended.

If it's safety that's the concern then front facing with retractable belts is the only real option.

John03 said:

sounds like a brilliant idea but also sounds expensive esp when its just for the very occasional time that we take the grandkids on a wee trip

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went to the breakers and if I remember rightly was out of a ford , shampoo and cleaned them thoroughly , was a good 20 years ago , lol

but kept my kids safe , was very cheap , bought the runners as well and made a side frame up , all bolted through the floor so was very strong , used nyloc nuts so nothing came loose

used some square metal lengths that I also picked up from the breakers, painted them all black

with some old ammo boxes for storage

If side-facing is your goal (ergonomically the best for a defender as that's what they were built for) then just get the proper side-facing seats- either a 2-man bench or the individual tip-up ones.

For side-facing seats, seat belts have never been a legal requirement. If you do fit them, lap belts only. Standard fitment was manually-adjusted ones, but retractable ones can be used too and are a bit tidier.

Legally it's a bit of a mess, due to the law not being thought up with old Land Rovers in mind. If they're of the age where they need a booster seat, they have to use it. But since no boosters are approved for use going sideways, they can't travel in a side-facing seat with a seat belt. But if there's no seat belts in the back, they can travel unrestrained. Which is a bit daft really since the side-facing seats are really intended for kids to use, and the lap belt can be adjusted properly to fit (and is surely better than no belt at all) so I don't see why a booster would even be needed.

Front-facing seats never fit particularly well in the back of a defender. They end up too close together and you usually have to fold one of them up to get in and out via the rear door. IMO this is dangerous in the aftermath of a crash or fire, and unacceptable as a solution. Rear-facing can be made to work with the seats up against the bulkhead, which gives good access via the rear door. But this does give minimal load space.

John03 said:

yeah I know that bench seats in landy's dont normally have seat belts and can totally understand why inertia reel belts cant be used, was really thinking of the safety of grandkids retractable lap belts are defo the answer. So all I need is one more middle seat and two retractable lap belts. Good to know that there is no legal reason why I cannot fit the seats though thanks guys

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How old are they?

There are some restrictions if its children. And oddly he restrictions are worse if you have belts fitted. I have a letter from VOSA explaining it. Can post it up if interested.

If its only for kids your better just bunjeeing them to the roof rack. You can throw a tarp over them if its snowing.