seats in bed


twitch

twitch

15+ Year Member

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vancouver,wa
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any ideas or opinions on how or what to do.

my idea is to get a third row out of a van or suv and use the old brackets to mount it so i can take tehm out.
 
Would just bolt to the bed with nuts,washers and bolts,might need to modify somewhat. Check your local laws, some places do not allow riders in the bed on the highway.
 
If it hasn't been crash tested, IT ISN'T SAFE.

There is NO safe way to mount seats in the bed. Even if they are solidly mounted, how do they behave in a rollover? How about side impact? Mounting the seats to the frame will dramatically increase the forces the seat sees in an impact.

Don't go there. If you want a vehicle with a 3rd row seat, buy one.

That the bed is "only" sheet metal is beside the point. the body is, as well, with reinforcements (cab seats do not mount to the frame).
 
I think a nice set of buckets facing aft would be nice for going to a drive-in movie or the like. Mount a beer cooler in between...

lol
 
lil_Blue_Ford said:
I think a nice set of buckets facing aft would be nice for going to a drive-in movie or the like. Mount a beer cooler in between...

lol
Click to expand...

If you want to do that, haul a secondhand loveseat in the bed. BTDT.

A Coke cooler is nice, but beer is a bad idea.
 
What MAKG said.

lil_Blue_Ford said:
I think a nice set of buckets facing aft would be nice for going to a drive-in movie or the like. Mount a beer cooler in between...
Click to expand...

Well, I mean that's what folding chairs are for. Or see if you can find a Subaru Brat that hasn't rusted out yet.

seats in bed
 
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JohnnyO said:
What MAKG said.



Well, I mean that's what folding chairs are for. Or see if you can find a Subaru Brat that hasn't rusted out yet.

seats in bed
Click to expand...

I saw one of these in Charleston IL last week. still looked good, only a little bit of rust around the rear wheel wells.

another option for the drive in is to get the folding director's chairs with the cupholders int he arm rest. I even got a pair of them that have a built in ottoman so your feet can be propped up if you want. I think I paid 7 dollars apiece at the local Big Lots.

AJ
 
back in the day i begged my mom to trade in her car for one of those so me and my brother could ride in back lmao
 
I think something like Johnny O is talking about is a great idea.

Since I have a long bed, it would be even cooler to put four jumper seats in each corner (mounted on spinners) so that I could have a group of friends play cards or spin them all to face a drive in movie.

I would mount them on a frame that is then mounted to the truck frame with good hardware. In any case you would want them to be easily removeable for hauling junk in the bed.

I would let people ride in them while I drive. I'm not an offroader, so the question of rolling is non existent. I also will not take them on the highway.. only for quick trips a mile or so long.
 
So, you think rollovers only occur offroad?

Then you should turn in your drivers license. Seriously. Awareness of the risks is EXTREMELY important for being a competent driver.

And most accidents happen within a mile of home, so you're fooling yourself. This thing will be an absolute deathtrap. And almost certainly illegal almost everywhere. There is no way you'll be able to mount seatbelts on a rig like that. Nor can you estimate the risks when you don't know what direction the seats will face.

How will you live with yourself if you kill a passenger the first time you get a fender-bender?
 
MAKG said:
So, you think rollovers only occur offroad?

Then you should turn in your drivers license. Seriously. Awareness of the risks is EXTREMELY important for being a competent driver.

And most accidents happen within a mile of home, so you're fooling yourself. This thing will be an absolute deathtrap. And almost certainly illegal almost everywhere. There is no way you'll be able to mount seatbelts on a rig like that. Nor can you estimate the risks when you don't know what direction the seats will face.

How will you live with yourself if you kill a passenger the first time you get a fender-bender?
Click to expand...


Exactly!! there was a wreck here in Zephyrhills,Fl about 9 years ago, it is still going through the courts because the driver of the truck does not see himself in the wrong. He had his son and 3 friends riding in the back of his truck, when he went to turn he went into the path of a passing car (it was a passing lane), the car struck right between the cab and bed sending of the of kids out of the bed landing on his head killing him.
This is why you should never haul friends in the bed of your truck!!!
 
How many vehicles have been roll-over tested? I think it's a recent thing. I don't know the history of such testing but I'd be suprised if our little trucks have had any. In just about any state it is legal to ride in a pickup camper. In Indiana they passed a seatbelt law for small trucks, but the state prosecuter send a memo around to police departments that he recommended not enforcing it for passengers in an open bed because the wording of the law didn't specifically prohibit people under 18 years of age from riding in the back.

Seat belts aren't in there with titanium mounts--just reinforced sheet metal strips on the body. A real cage made of whatever tubing the racing industry uses, with a reasonable amount of triangulation so it doesn't just fold flat like most car roofs in the back bolted to the frame with racing belts should be reasonably safe.

Another thing to remember is that when you are doing something like that you hopefully keep in mind you have people in the back and drive accordingly. For instance, if your sainted mother was wearing roller skates and riding on the hood while holding your newborn baby in a glass fishbowl with a vial of nitroglycerin balanced on her head you would probably drive with a good bit of awareness. Most people have their head up their ass in their 5-star rated Volvo and are talking on their cellphone while messing with the lid on their white-hot cup of cappucino trying to figure out if Starbucks screwed them at the drivethrough.

EDIT: Found this link at NHTSA. I don't know where else to look for such things. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx
 
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