3rd Row Pics/Info Request (1 Viewer)

[Heckraiser]

Can someone take photos of their 3rd row seats folded down, specifically the area where the seat latches into the floor? How much clearance is there around that area (i.e. how close does the bottom of the seat come to the floor, are there any plastic doohickies hanging off the seat and generally what does it look like?

I did search, and I'm a little shocked there aren't many good photos of the 3rd row setup out there. I've got an idea kicking around in my head, but don't actually have the seats to determine feasibility. I'm thinking about removing my 2nd row permanently and installing a full-length platform (5/8" plywood or something along those lines) that sits flat on the floor. Picture the goose gear seat delete platform, only with holes cut in it around the floor brackets so the 3rd row seats can still be used when needed. Just want to make sure there's enough room under and around the seats for some lumber.

Please and thank you!

 

[White Stripe]

Their is a good inch or 2 of clearance under the seat. But the area between the two floor anchors needs to be clear because the bracket on the seat is flat between the two latches.

 

[Heckraiser]

Helpful, but an image would be even more helpful

Maybe I could make a piece that just drops in to fill that area when the seats are up.

 

[rolliges]

Trying to create an off-road prisoner transport?

 

[bhsdriller]

no one here still has 3rd row....I can take some tonight if no one else has

 

[Mountainpassing]

3rd row in these 80 series are incredibly killer. so nice....sad to chuck all that crap immediately upon buying my rig but uh, needed that cavernous space.

 

[Heckraiser]

I've never had the 3rd row, but I've never liked the way the 2nd row folds up compared to the 60 series--a lot of dead space taken up by the seats means you can't really lay down in the back without removing them altogether. I also don't like the sleeping platforms that raise you a foot off the floor because there's no longer any room to sit upright.

Most trips are just me and my wife (occasionally an 11 pound dog), but I don't want to completely remove the possibility of picking up a friend or hitchiker (backcountry skier). I also like the idea of climbing into the far back row to get my boots on in a cavernous luxurious boot fitting room In most cases, I would only sleep back there solo. Wife makes me drag the camper along if she's coming.

 

[Navyator]

I'll get you a few pics when I get home from work and update this post.

Edit:

Here’s three pics I took to show how the clearance looks. Let me know if you need more.

 

[Heckraiser]

Awesome, thanks! So basically, I'd have to cut out the area in red at a minimum. How about the little metal rod--do you think a piece of plywood would fit between that and the carpet, or no dice?

 

[White Stripe]

I would say about 1/2" of clearance from the metal rod to floor

 

[KWalkerM]

You dont need the metal rod. Mine are cut off. They just help kick the folding latch part outward so you dont have to manually line up anything when dropping them.

 

[Comet]

Very intriguing. @Heckraiser I would really like to see whats going to come from this. I camp solo with my 65 pound dog in the truck and was thinking about an additional passenger rear seat. I will have a refrigerator (el' cheapo) and second battery hardware in the rear. My thoughts were to delete the third row and keep one of the second row seats if I need to pick up a friend in need. A roof rack will house all my light weight stuff and the kitchen will be fit in a platform. The platform idea is great but loosing headroom makes my old bones hurt. Please follow this thought through so I can learn from your experience.

 

[Heckraiser]

No guarantees... I have a habit of starting projects and never finishing them, but I will try! The most important thing will be a tie-down for a laundry basket or the like right behind the center console because that's where my wife keeps her "stuff she wants to reach" on a long trip.

 

[cahill]

What about making something like the forward half of the platform pictured above that lays level with the bed of the truck. This would keep the rear half of the bed stock and the seats would sit just fine without any modifications. In order for it to be comforatable the carpet would still need to be there. If you were planning to run without the carpet that would be something that would need a solution and the modding the full platform would probably be the way to go.

 

[Heckraiser]

I did think of that too, basically just making some sort of flat tool box that fills in the 2nd row footwell to make it level with the rest of the deck. The reason I liked the platform idea more than anything is covering the whole thing in some sort of rubber bedliner mat so I don't have to worry about soaking nasties into the carpet, and have a more consistent surface to slide things around on when loading. But I suppose it's possible to do some sort of rubbery coating back there either way.

 

[White Stripe]

Sounds like a really good idea.

 

[Heckraiser]

Here's a picture of the goose gear forward section. Would make a nice tool box for tow straps, tire kit and whatnot, and like the goose gear picture below, it doesn't necessarily need a "bottom"