Is Perentie Bench Seating Doable in QLD?

[mbamf5]

Hi all
I am looking into buying a perentie 110 with my father sometime soon, however before we can commit to buying one I need to find out if it would be possible to fit bench seating for 8 people in the back of one, in Queensland with the current regulations.
I have done research and looked at all the forums and so far from what I understand to have bench seating in the back with lap belts, it needs to have had it previously installed, however the cars I am inspecting and could afford all don't have bench seating currently installed in the back, but have had it in the past when used in the military.
Also would it be possible/ simple for a beginner to cars to get it registered as a 10 seater if it was only registered as a 2-3 seater, but had a history of seating 10 people as such:
1989 Land Rover 110 - Pickles (https://www.pickles.com.au/trucks/item/-/details/CP-07-89--Land-Rover--110--4x4-Cargo--2-Seats--2-Doors/1090010881)
(sorry I don't know how to upload single picture so you'll have to scroll backwards through them to see the back)
If there is any advice you can give us on if it is possible or how we could do it, it would be much appreciated.
Having a Military Perentie 110 would be a dream come true to me.
Thank you

[DazzaTD5]

The short answer my guess would be no.
Gov Dept being Gov Dept, they would look at the VIN plate and see it as a 2 seat.

Beyond that I would suggest its a long dark path to go down for "engineering approval" and from things I have looked at in times gone past a requirement was additional seats must face forward.

A life time ago I fitted extra seats into a toyota hiace van in QLD, I was required to have engineered approved plates under the floor, but didnt require seat belt mounts as the seats were from a bus that had the belts integrated in the seats. So the seats themselves had an Australian standards mark on them.

[mbamf5]

The short answer my guess would be no.
Gov Dept being Gov Dept, they would look at the VIN plate and see it as a 2 seat.

Would it be possible to have it registered and given roadworthy if it had been registered before as a 10 seater but again doesn't have any seats in the back?

[Bigbjorn]

A couple of things come to mind. Has it ever had civilian registration? Does the compliance plate show the number of seats? If no to the first then you are a good show of just registering it with the number of seats on the compliance plate as no record exists on TMR data base. If the plate does not show number of seats then you can tell TMR anything you like.

[DazzaTD5]

Would it be possible to have it registered and given roadworthy if it had been registered before as a 10 seater but again doesn't have any seats in the back?

the problem is when it was a active army vehicle they were never "registered" as a 10 seater. Same as a Unimog, seat a whole section of diggers in the back but the compliance plate would have likely be stamped as a 2 seater.

correct me if I'm wrong.

[Killer]

There was someone in Rockhampton who fitted seatbelts to an FFR recently, and had it engineered, keeping the side facing seats.

Cheers,
Mick.

[mbamf5]

the problem is when it was a active army vehicle they were never "registered" as a 10 seater. Same as a Unimog, seat a whole section of diggers in the back but the compliance plate would have likely be stamped as a 2 seater.

correct me if I'm wrong.

So for a perentie 110 like this one:
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/1988-Land-Rover-110-County-Manual-4x4/SSE-AD-4157640?pageSource=details&id=SSE-AD-4157640
where it says it is registered as a 10 seater, but doesn't say anything about the compliance plate, it is probably just 2-3 seats on the plate. If the majority of these cars are like that, do you know how some people are able to get it so that it is roadworthy, have they just done it before all these laws came along? Or do they just go down that long dark path of getting "engineering approval"?

[101RRS]

It also says it is a County Wagon not a Perentie which it is - be wary of Carsales description/specs - that is file information.

[mbamf5]

There was someone in Rockhampton who fitted seatbelts to an FFR recently, and had it engineered, keeping the side facing seats.

Cheers,
Mick.

Was it just the two seats that come in the FFR or was it bench seating do you know, either way do you have any information on how they did it?

[W&KO]

Hop onto the perentie Facebook page,there is a post about this very question.

Matt Cook has approved and plated a couple of perenties as either 8 or 10 seaters, he is on the sunny coast.

He also plated my defer for rear air.

[mbamf5]

Hop onto the perentie Facebook page,there is a post about this very question.

Matt Cook has approved and plated a couple of perenties as either 8 or 10 seaters, he is on the sunny coast.
Had a quick search for the Facebook post but couldn't find it, do you mind posting a link to it and where can I get in contact with Matt Cook?

[W&KO]

Had a quick search for the Facebook post but couldn't find it, do you mind posting a link to it and where can I get in contact with Matt Cook?

Er whoops it’s the perentie FB Page

[mark2]

When I had the QLD mod plate fitted to my Perentie for the turbo and axle replacements, the 'engineer' asked if I also wanted a mod code/seating capacity amendment for the rear bench seats. It wasn't a priority as I'd have needed to fit belts (got the impression that lap belts were ok). The seating capacity listed on the compliance plate is not an issue at its superseded by the mod plate.

While it would be handy at times to use them legally, side facing seating is more dangerous than forward facing in the event of accident because of the increased risks of passenger's heads colliding and spinal injuries. In the case of a soft top, there are risk factors from objects penetrating the interior also.