Ford Transit seat as rear bench??Thoughts/suggestions

[Judger]

Hey all,

So i'm going way down the road for my 40, but when it's road worthy, I'd obviously like to take the kids out. I've looked at fold and tumbles and at the various postings throughout the threads, but I'd like to retain my factory jump seats while still having an option for a rear bench.

My thought is to put in a ford transit rear bench seat w/mounting tracks, which will be either bolted with grade 8 hardware or welded to the tub. I figured that way I could remove the bench seat when wanted, and retain the jump seats otherwise.

Am I thinking this through properly? Thanks

here's a link to a seat configuration/setup I was thinking. I don't have access to the 40 right now and was wondering if someone would know if these would fit dimensionally. They'll only 31" wide, so that's good, but the height is 46" (which seems crazy to me)

Ford Transit seats

 

[bikersmurf]

The seat itself might be ok, but the legs are way too high. I’d want to mount them on the floor or not at all. Price seems a little steep also.

These 2nd row Ford Explorer seats are available locally. New takeouts from police vehicles. Only $200 CDN... I suspect someone in your area will also have them too.

They’d have to be adapted to fit over the inner fenders, but the bottom looks thin enough that the height should still be good.

 

[archie73]

I’ll second the advise above @bikersmurf. I found these locally on CL. They were $25 and I’m told they are fairly comfy offroad. Take outs I believe from a Sprinter(?). As you can see, they are only an couple inches off the floor.

I don’t often have adults back there, but it’s as high as I could go with a 6’ adult. My son(4’) would probably enjoy a little more height, but he’s safer farther in the cage.
I would like to thank you though for giving me one more thing I need to buy. My original idea was some sliders that long, so I could have some cargo room when I don’t have rear passengers. Where did I put that extra money?

 

[bikersmurf]

I’ll second the advise above @bikersmurf. I found these locally on CL. They were $25 and I’m told they are fairly comfy offroad. Take outs I believe from a Sprinter(?). As you can see, they are only an couple inches off the floor.
View attachment 1976025View attachment 1976026
I don’t often have adults back there, but it’s as high as I could go with a 6’ adult. My son(4’) would probably enjoy a little more height, but he’s safer farther in the cage.
I would like to thank you though for giving me one more thing I need to buy. My original idea was some sliders that long, so I could have some cargo room when I don’t have rear passengers. Where did I put that extra money?

You could always mount them rear facing... when not in use you’d have lots of space.

My fantasy seats are ‘third row’ seats that face forward and fold up to the side. I have one set from a Pajero and one wider set. Now I just need to see which I can modify to mount. I think the wider are Toyota... I still need to seat three across the back now and then. If I can figure it out, I’ll either post up how to pull it off... or quit my day job and produce and sell them... since they’ll be the greatest things since sliced bread.

 

[Judger]

My thought was to hook that track up to the floor of the tub, that way I could take them out when I didn't need them (90% of the time).

I like the idea of the third row 100 series seats, that'd be nice.

 

[Bear]

FWIW: I had read when the Ford Transit vans first came out that Ford avoided a major import tax from being made in Turkey if they were brought into the US as a passenger vehicle (that meant with the rear seats). And Ford found it cheaper to toss out the rear seats here upon arrival, rather than pay a higher import duty for a cargo van.

So..............those seats should be pretty cheap and new since nobody wanted them. Somebody here in the US is capitalizing on this.

 

[archie73]

FWIW: I had read when the Ford Transit vans first came out that Ford avoided a major import tax from being made in Turkey if they were brought into the US as a passenger vehicle (that meant with the rear seats). And Ford found it cheaper to toss out the rear seats here upon arrival, rather than pay a higher import duty for a cargo van.

So..............those seats should be pretty cheap and new since nobody wanted them. Somebody here in the US is capitalizing on this.

This thread had me doing some research on the seats and you are probably right. Judging by the amount of google hits I found, they found a niche. Anybody converting a van is clambering for a set. They look nice, but the prices I found are to steep for my cheap butt. I wonder about the fit in a 40, they seem pretty tall (even without the bases) for the back.

You could always mount them rear facing... when not in use you’d have lots of space.

I have a concept using Ltrack in my head, but it’s really low on the list...

 

[Judger]

That's pretty interesting about the tax avoidance.

Are there any transit owners with a seat they'd be willing to pop in the back to see if it would fit?

 

[bikersmurf]

You could always mount them rear facing... when not in use you’d have lots of space.

My fantasy seats are ‘third row’ seats that face forward and fold up to the side. I have one set from a Pajero and one wider set. Now I just need to see which I can modify to mount. I think the wider are Toyota... I still need to seat three across the back now and then. If I can figure it out, I’ll either post up how to pull it off... or quit my day job and produce and sell them... since they’ll be the greatest things since sliced bread.

My thought was to hook that track up to the floor of the tub, that way I could take them out when I didn't need them (90% of the time).

I like the idea of the third row 100 series seats, that'd be nice.

All the pictures I’ve seen would suggest that 80 series seats are too big for the back of a 40... so I’m hesitantly optimistic that I can modify these to fit. I’m not 100% sure what they’re out of, but they appear to be from a early JDM 80.

My latest rear seat install... the kids think the ‘Sofa’ bed is Awesome... was formerly out of a ‘90ish Ford van...

Not a 40... but it does have a similar rounded look to the edge of the roof and ‘Ambulance doors’ in the rear.