Third row seats in a pig

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Jon in NC

Jon in NC

Joined
Jul 19, 2005
Threads
39
Messages
249
Location
Southeast of disorder
I started this thread in the 40 & 55's tech section, but thought I'd cross-post it here. I know the trend is to chop the rear overhang to increase departure angle, but I was wondering if anyone with a large family (i.e. 4 kids) has ever added a third row seat in the back of a FJ-55? Is there enough room for 2 kids ages 10 and 14? The stock back seat will have to hold kids 4 and 8 years old. Anyone have any pics?
 
call Lance at IPOR, he made a 3rd row seat for our fj60....fold and tumble type, now the wife has taken the fj60 as the kiddie hauler<4 from 13 to 2 1/2 years old>..I refuse to put a third row seat in the pig although it would fit very well as the wife likes it too much and might just begin borrowing it ;)

Lou
 
I'm in the process of doing this on my '72. I got third row split seats out of a 2007 Escalade. I did a lot of researching/measuring of different seats and for me I saw four choices, all of which have integrated seat belts.
1-The little passenger seats: Pretty hefty price wise. I believe the style used for 60 series fits best. The advantage is plug and play. http://www.littlepassengerseats.com/
2-Late model 3rd row Trailblazer seats: I couldn't find any of these to get a good measurement of, the EXT model is not too common around here but based on size I think these would have been my first choice.
3-Late model 3rd row Yukon seats
4-Late model Escalade/Suburban 3rd row seats

3 and 4 are the same size but there are two styles, a split bench and single bench. Off hand I want to say width is around 45-47" which if it's not split would be a bitch to get in and out of the truck. 2007 and later models have shoulder belts for all three positions where earlier ones have a lap in the middle. The belts also don't go above the seat so it gives a cleaner look and though the same size they are more square looking which I think makes them more natural looking in the truck.
2nd major difference between Yukon/Escalade is the seat height. My reference is a 2000 Yukon XL. Where the seat hooks into the floor at the front the bracket is raised about 4". I'm just shy of 6' and when I sat in the Yukon seat in the Pig, my head wasn't quite touching the headliner but if I had more hair it would be.
So I ended up with the 2007 Escalade seat. They have no lift at the front so they are about 1" off the floor. The seats fit fine, when it's about an inch off the tailgate there's about 8-10" between the front of that seat and the back of the second row. Because the seat sits lower though, the floor is getting cut out and dropped there to accomodate feet. This means maybe moving the gas tank and the frame brace that the shocks bolt to. I plan on owning this for a LOOOONG time so I want it to fit the kids when they're not kids anymore. If you're looking to put under 5'8" back there, the Yukon style should suit you fine. The only issue I have with it right now is when they are in the upright position. They fold right up to the edge of the wheelwells before they are fully upright. I think my fix to that will be to add another row of brackets at the front right behind the lead ones which will bring the seat back far enough to stand upright. The other option is to cut into the wheelwells about 4" square to give me the needed space. Also since the sheet metal is pretty thin back there, I'm going to add plates underneath to make sure the seats are in solid. Here's one photo to show you some of the challenges. I've got a few more I can send if you want from different angles.

One other thing. I'm changing to a split bench in the second row so it's easier for them to get in and out. The seats are from a early 90's Pathfinder. Amazingly close fit but I haven't starting bolting it up yet.
72 2nd and 3rd Row Seats 004 for Web.webp
 
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Seats in FJ55

I test drove a 55 in Victoria Australia which was ex fire department - it had two seater seats running either side in the boot, giving a total seating capacity of 11. It looked that good at the time i thought it was original, but perhaps it was modified for use with the fire crews. anyway it was a ripper and i wish i'd bought it, didn't have the dough.
 
The third row of an 80 series requires very straight seat backs and almost no height above the floor. I would think this would be at least that bad in a 55. There is no room to lower the floor at all with the fuel tank and live axle.

It would be for short legged carpet monsters only. They couldn't be too young, because they would have to scramble back there themselves over the back seat, or you would have to go through the ritual of folding the back seat up every time.

The rear facing seat would help with that, although it's not the easiest thing to drop a 55 tailgate, nor would it be easy to lean over that tail gate to strap in somebody.
 
wouldnt it be easier to raise the roof like in the RR discovery's? At the same time you can reinforce the roof, put in a cage maybe since safety seems to be most important for the passengers. I would also want an easy way to exit the vehicle for the rear passengers, nothing too cumbersome, especially if its for small passengers (kids).
 
Thanks for all the replies and info. Very usefull stuff.


RHINO said:
this right here is the #1 reason i'm not mormon,, i mean, i really want the secret underwear but i just dont want more than the two kids i have,, and i barely want them sometimes:doh:
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I only have my 2 right now (6 & 8), but I'm marrying into 2 more (2 & 12). The things we do for love.
 
Gumby said:
There is no room to lower the floor at all with the fuel tank and live axle..
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This is a challenge to say the least and the reason why the floor is still intact. Mine at least won't be a hard-core wheeler but will have about a 4" lift which I'm hoping will help offset that problem somewhat. The biggest challenge is whether or not I can cut it wide enough for the seat. As it gets close to the wheelwells inside the cab I also get close to the frame underneath. The fuel tank won't need to be moved because I'm not cutting that far back, I'm just going to the rear crossmember where the shocks bolt up.

Gumby said:
It would be for short legged carpet monsters only. They couldn't be too young, because they would have to scramble back there themselves over the back seat, or you would have to go through the ritual of folding the back seat up every time..
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I'm hoping to solve this issue with the split 2nd row seat from the Pathfinder. I'll still need to fold down one seat everytime but that's no different than most SUV's out there with 3 rows.

Gumby said:
The rear facing seat would help with that, although it's not the easiest thing to drop a 55 tailgate, nor would it be easy to lean over that tail gate to strap in somebody.
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I don't know about you but I did the rear facing seat for awhile as a kid in my parent's stationwagon and it SUCKS!

rsrai said:
wouldnt it be easier to raise the roof like in the RR discovery's? At the same time you can reinforce the roof, put in a cage maybe since safety seems to be most important for the passengers. I would also want an easy way to exit the vehicle for the rear passengers, nothing too cumbersome, especially if its for small passengers (kids).
Click to expand...
I honestly never thought of that and will need to do some measuring. Off hand I'd say it would need to be raised 2-3" but with that option you could use the Yukon type seats with the raised front. hmmmm....... Thanks for the idea, maybe it's back to the drawing board for this one. What I really need is an old rusted out one that I can hack away it with all these ideas and see what looks good!
 
I honestly never thought of that and will need to do some measuring. Off hand I'd say it would need to be raised 2-3" but with that option you could use the Yukon type seats with the raised front. hmmmm....... Thanks for the idea, maybe it's back to the drawing board for this one. What I really need is an old rusted out one that I can hack away it with all these ideas and see what looks good!
Click to expand...

I got the idea a few months back trying to think of creative, cheap ways to remove and replace all the rust on my roofline. I figured if it was cut out and you could put those little windows the disco's have it would be kinda cool. I have also been thinking and trying to identify other vehicles with similar roof lines to replace the roof corner pieces which are also rusted out. good luck in your trials, I will be interested in the results.
 
our kids love the rear facing third seat and fight over which one gets it to make faces at passing motorists(everyone on the road) but then they have a lot of electronic equipment they also play with listen and look at ..........8 & 5 years old get the back"third row"13 and 2 year old the middle seat and mom and dad up front....it works for us.........lance also provides the seat belts:D

Lou
 
I would consider using half a row in the back. My 2.5 yr old can scramble back to his seat fairly easy and do all the motions, all we need to do it fasten the belt. All of which can be done reaching from the back seat.

To have a full row, you need to have split seats in the middle to fold forward for easy entry, or climb over the back of the seat.

Rear facing on the thrid row gives good leg room for bigger kids. Use headrests and good 3 point seat belts.

Side seating is dangerous IMOP. Looks cool and fits nicely in the back but a collision from the back or front would rip them apart.

I plan to use one half of my 80 seat in my 60. I have 3 kids. When they are big enough to climb in and out, I will just put them 3 across.
 
I have so many found memories of family trips as I usually rode in the rear seat of our station wagon back in the 70s...

the only downside is lowering the window as described above...

bk
 
brownbear said:
I plan to use one half of my 80 seat in my 60. I have 3 kids. When they are big enough to climb in and out, I will just put them 3 across.
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What's your plan for seat belts. I had looked at using the 80 style for my Pig but couldn't decide on a good location to mount the shoulder belts. Don't the 80 style seats side mount since they fold off to the side vs. forward?
 
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