Breaking the Captains Chairs Barrier (1 Viewer)

[CharlieS]

Or it was a Sequoia and you hopped on the wrong forum this morning.

 

[ExpeditionMan]

With the family growing to 5 kids now, we were really feeling the inconvenience of not having quick pass through to the third row. We had been making due with having the kids in the 3rd row climb over the folded center seat, but add backpacks or anything else to the equation and that becomes a much more tedious task. After looking at parts diagrams it seemed that the center back rest should have an easy enough time coming off and that was validated after about 30 minutes of playing around with disassembling various parts until the whole piece slid out.

View attachment 2730579

Of course why stop there, the bottom panel under the middle row seemed to be a separate piece from the main unit, so a little prying and removal of screws showed that to be true.

View attachment 2730585

The steel structure clearly goes all the way over both the center and outside seat, but the cushion and leather could easily be played with/cut/modified to just cover the outside seat.

View attachment 2730587

So where should I go from here? Retreat and reassemble the bottom and keep the whole bench and just take the added benefit of removing the backrest? Or should I continue the surgery and cut the frame under the middle seat, clean up the exposed areas with some abs plastic and get true walk-through access? Im not worried about losing structural rigidity because there is another large frame piece running north to south in the same direction as the outermost rube (can be seen just under the cushion in the shot above).

I love the idea of keeping full seat functionality with this route (side airbag, tumble forward/back/ slide forward/back), even if its means not necessarily having totally symmetrical seats on each side, but I don't want to end up creating a giant mess either. Thanks in advance for any advice/insights I could use before proceeding any further.

Do you have anymore details on how you disassembled the seat? I want to get at the mounting brackets for the seatbelts to clean up some spilled soda the prior owner left me with. Disassembly as you have done is the only option.

 

[SNBI07]

Do you have anymore details on how you disassembled the seat? I want to get at the mounting brackets for the seatbelts to clean up some spilled soda the prior owner left me with. Disassembly as you have done is the only option.

I recall starting with removing the screws from the hard plastic trim pieces in that area and then disassembling from there but after that I don’t recall the details. Don’t have cruiser anymore to verify…

 

[ExpeditionMan]

I recall starting with removing the screws from the hard plastic trim pieces in that area and then disassembling from there but after that I don’t recall the details. Don’t have cruiser anymore to verify…

Appreciate you commenting regardless.

 

[tirewater]

Do the RHD drive Land Cruisers have the 40/60 split reversed?

If so, you could get the 40 side from a n Australian/Japanese/etc... LC.

Here's a random picture from the internet of an Aus vehicle...looks promising.

 

[04UZJ100]

Do the RHD drive Land Cruisers have the 40/60 split reversed?

If so, you could get the 40 side from a n Australian/Japanese/etc... LC.

Here's a random picture from the internet of an Aus vehicle...looks promising.

View attachment 2824162

What am I looking at? It looks just like my 2020.

 

[SNBI07]

The bolt holes in the second row are not symmetrical from one side to the other so there's no way of bolting a 40 section to 60 section without making your own holes or custom mounting brackets.

 

[marketShark]

GX has 2nd row captains chairs- has anyone compared mounting/ adapting these for a 200?

 

[Lou Gill]

I’d take the 9 secs it takes to fold the seat up, like I did for years in older SUVs. I don’t understand wanting second row buckets, you give up seating?

 

[SNBI07]

I’d take the 9 secs it takes to fold the seat up, like I did for years in older SUVs. I don’t understand wanting second row buckets, you give up seating?

nothing takes 9 seconds when you add kids and attached/latched infant car seats to the mix

 

[tirewater]

What am I looking at? It looks just like my 2020.

The 40 split is on the driver side. If the bolt holes line up, you could conceivably put a 40 split chair (one from LHD lc, and one from RHD lc) on both sides and have an open middle.

 

[bloc]

The 40 split is on the driver side. If the bolt holes line up, you could conceivably put a 40 split chair (one from LHD lc, and one from RHD lc) on both sides and have an open middle.

The rear center loop anchor for the 60-side is offset toward the middle and rear, compared to the equivalent on the 40-side. I haven't yet pulled my carpet to confirm, but given the safety aspects of this system I'm betting they bolt directly to the floor of the body. So a RHD 40-seat will likely not bolt directly in to a LHD chassis, independent of what the front bolt holes and hinges will do.

 

[onemanarmy]

It trips me out how far dudes will go and inconvenience themselves to not drive a far more economical and easy to live with minivan or 3 row crossover when they decide to have kids. Newsflash! You're not cool anymore. Quit trying to fool yourself.

 

[Dunbar]

@onemanarmy ... and you are driving a mini van.

 

[bronc076]

It trips me out how far dudes will go and inconvenience themselves to not drive a far more economical and easy to live with minivan or 3 row crossover when they decide to have kids. Newsflash! You're not cool anymore. Quit trying to fool yourself.

Yes, I agree. Furthermore a LC200 is not a people hauler, it is a large SUV designed for back country and off road use that has been adapted by the manufacture to haul a couple extra people by adding the third row, which most of us remove. Other manufactures have caved to the public’s desires for people haulers and taken away off road capability to make their vehicles people haulers.

There are enough mini vans and crossovers out there for people to get their kids to school and games. If you have a family buy your wife a vehicle that works for hauling kids around. Buy yourself a truck. But don’t force the mother of your children to deal with a SUV they can’t strap children into easily. And don’t encourage another manufacturer to convert a legitimate SUV into a minivan.

Reading this thread OP does not have a land cruiser anymore. I’d be interested to know what he exchanged it for. If I had 5 kids a LC 200 would not be my primary family vehicle.

 

[SNBI07]

Yes, I agree. Furthermore a LC200 is not a people hauler, it is a large SUV designed for back country and off road use that has been adapted by the manufacture to haul a couple extra people by adding the third row, which most of us remove. Other manufactures have caved to the public’s desires for people haulers and taken away off road capability to make their vehicles people haulers.

There are enough mini vans and crossovers out there for people to get their kids to school and games. If you have a family buy your wife a vehicle that works for hauling kids around. Buy yourself a truck. But don’t force the mother of your children to deal with a SUV they can’t strap children into easily. And don’t encourage another manufacturer to convert a legitimate SUV into a minivan.

Reading this thread OP does not have a land cruiser anymore. I’d be interested to know what he exchanged it for. If I had 5 kids a LC 200 would not be my primary family vehicle.

I sold the LC outright and have a Grand Wagoneer being built. I went with the 8 pass. configuration as opposed to the captains chairs since the outboard second row seats tilt/slide forward independently at the push of a button and can keep forward facing car seat attached when sliding forward. The LC was great when we were a family of 3 kids, but I agree with others who have stated that its just too much of a compromise now that we have 5 little ones and that tiny third row was only going to feel smaller and smaller as the kids grew. I thought best to strike while the fire was hot on the used car market. Someone else will get to enjoy the LC now.

 

[Dunbar]

Third row was a must on buying a 200 for me. Needed another vehicle that could haul that many passengers. It's much easier to fit everyone in my Excursion. But one son is at university and daughter goes next year. Then it's off to the ski area in the 200 for other son, wife and I. But we can still put everyone in either vehicle as needed. Excursion 7.3 is a beast and a loud one. The 200 is a nice ride. My 62 does not have a third row but the dog and I prefer it when venturing forth.

 

[onemanarmy]

@onemanarmy ... and you are driving a mini van.

I am?! Since when?!

 

[joyRidaz]

I love the design of the second row of the Ford Explorer, captains chairs that allows entry to the third row but with a very low floor-level center console which has a couple cupholders. Maybe the Sequoia is similar and others too....


View attachment 2732783

Haha I guess Mr Toyota was ahead of his time back in 1984 when he installed a very slow depth one in the fj60 but up front. Super low for easy access to the first row so your kids can unlock the front forts for ya! Sorry this joke may only work with the crowd on the other forum.

 

[JK7]

With the family growing to 5 kids now, we were really feeling the inconvenience of not having quick pass through to the third row. We had been making due with having the kids in the 3rd row climb over the folded center seat, but add backpacks or anything else to the equation and that becomes a much more tedious task. After looking at parts diagrams it seemed that the center back rest should have an easy enough time coming off and that was validated after about 30 minutes of playing around with disassembling various parts until the whole piece slid out.

View attachment 2730579

Of course why stop there, the bottom panel under the middle row seemed to be a separate piece from the main unit, so a little prying and removal of screws showed that to be true.

View attachment 2730585

The steel structure clearly goes all the way over both the center and outside seat, but the cushion and leather could easily be played with/cut/modified to just cover the outside seat.

View attachment 2730587

So where should I go from here? Retreat and reassemble the bottom and keep the whole bench and just take the added benefit of removing the backrest? Or should I continue the surgery and cut the frame under the middle seat, clean up the exposed areas with some abs plastic and get true walk-through access? Im not worried about losing structural rigidity because there is another large frame piece running north to south in the same direction as the outermost rube (can be seen just under the cushion in the shot above).

I love the idea of keeping full seat functionality with this route (side airbag, tumble forward/back/ slide forward/back), even if its means not necessarily having totally symmetrical seats on each side, but I don't want to end up creating a giant mess either. Thanks in advance for any advice/insights I could use before proceeding any further.

Hey - how’s you actually get the middle section out? Do you need to take the entire unit out of the car in order to get the middle section to slide out or can it be done with it still installed in the vehicle?