Captain's Chairs to Bench Swap Questions

[UnorthodoxCreat]

I'm considering buying an '06 Limited to replace my '97 Explorer. It has black leather with captains chairs. It is pretty much everything we are looking for but we would prefer the functionality of a bench over captains chairs. From searching I've read it's certainly possible to swap but I haven't seen many details. Is anything needed to swap other unbolting the seats and console and installing the bench? Are there any extra holes in the carpet from the console or captains chairs that would not be covered by the bench?

I'm hoping that if we buy this I can get lucky and find someone that would trade me straight, their bench for the captains chairs and console since many people prefer them.

 

[Explorer_PL]

To check the hole pattern in the carpet, I'd just stop by any used car lot with an explorer from 06-10....and take some pictures.

Or maybe someone here has pictures already.

Just a thought.

 

[Jacob Linder]

I have a 2006 Eddie Bauer with bench, however what color is your is your interior?

 

[Explorer_PL]

It reads that the one he wants to buy has black interior.

 

[Jacob Linder]

It reads that the one he wants to buy has black interior.

I completely skipped over that part to be 100% honest. Thanks for the correction!

 

[Explorer_PL]

 

[UnorthodoxCreat]

To check the hole pattern in the carpet, I'd just stop by any used car lot with an explorer from 06-10....and take some pictures.

Or maybe someone here has pictures already.

Just a thought.

My parents have a 2010 Explorer with a second row bench so I took pictures of how the seats mount to compare when I went a looked at the 2006 Limited. I don't know how easy the swap would be hardware wise but you would need to replace the carpet if you didn't want unneeded holes in your carpet. The captains chairs have several extra mounts into the floor and who knows what is under the center console. Anyways, everything else about the Explorer was pretty nice so we bought it. I'll post some pictures when we get some decent weather but it will be a nice upgrade over my '97 Explorer that is nearing 185,000 miles and has become quite rusty.

 

[1996EB]

If you end up doing the buckets and console swap to bench there is something else that you need to keep in mind. With buckets and console, you will have a 3rd row of seats. In 3 row vehicles the 2nd row of seats has an additional function. These seats not only fold flat, but also "tumble" for easier access to the 3rd row. If you get a 2nd row bench from a 2 row vehicle, you won't have that feature. You need a 2nd row bench from a 7-seater vehicle.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Wow, 1996EB. Never thought about that. Not that I am swapping anything but that's a very interesting observation.

 

[1996EB]

Wow, 1996EB. Never thought about that. Not that I am swapping anything but that's a very interesting observation.

Yes, it's also a good idea for anyone adding a 3rd row- get both rows when doing the conversion. Otherwise people will doing belly flops to get to get to the 3rd row! LOL.