Crazy Idea, Need Suggestions

[RhainyC]

Ok so I had a crazy idea…I want to figure out what it would take to install a seat in the bed of my Ranger…yeah I know it’s a strange idea.

The truck has buckets right now. But even if she had a bench, the three folks in my family, would be very hard pressed to ride in the cab. So I thought that with a seat installed in the bed that a person can sit and be belted into, would be a whole lot safer than just sitting loose in the back end. I have windows that open between the canopy and cab.

What I was thinking is one of those aluminum racing style seats, bolted to the frame, and in the center of the bed (at the cab end).

Any ideas if this would work, or has anyone done something similar???

Thanks in advance for ideas, suggestions and so forth, for a crazy old lady’s idea.

 

[corkey]

get one of those ones off ebay, bolt it to the floor,, and call it good,, just not great in the rain or snow,,
oh yeah ,. add a seatbelt,,

 

[CHEESYPOOFS]

well hmm..... i guess u could try bolting this up

http://www.explorerexpress.com/seatingthird-9194-explorer-vinyl-fabric-match-factory-p-639.html

its for a first gen explorer so who knows lol

 

[Willard]

I would get a seat out of some sort of van or something that is easily removable. That way if you need to remove it to haul something you can. And you can keep it out of the elements when it's not in use as well.

If you can't do that, I imagine it wouldn't be hard to fabricate some sort of quick release seat either.

I see you have a cap on the bed, so it wouldn't be too bad back there, just a little more windy. I think it's a perfectly feasible thing, you might check with the local law enforcement to see what it would take to make it a legal passenger seat or if it's legal at all. You wouldn't want to be in a wreck and not get covered by insurance or get pulled over and get in trouble for it.

 

[carlson1038]

seats

You could try to find a set of seats from the bed of a Subaru Brat. They put removable seats in the bed to call it a car when they imported it.

A more available option would be the back seat out of a CJ. They mount to a flat surface and have the belts attached. When I owned a one(yah, I know) I had it set up for quick removal with hitch pins.

 

[RhainyC]

Actually in our state it is legal to ride in the bed of a pickup...with a weird caveat. The caveat is that if the *other* passenger (not the driver) is an adult, they have to ride in the bed, and minors have to ride in the cab.

So legally yes I can have riders in the bed of the truck. Which is why I wanted to do the seat, to be sure it's as safe as possible. The canopy does not come off the bed, I prefer to haul my stuff under cover out of the weather.

 

[Willard]

Here is a seating system made for this exact purpose:

http://www.bedryder.com/

Not cheap though, but does help with some ideas.

 

[atlranger]

I used to have the Brat seats in an old truck back in high school and they worked great, never got any crap from the 50. You could also use a Jeep fold and tumble seat, they are cheap and easy to find at junk yards.

Here is a set I found on Flea-Bay,

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Rear-Jump-Seats-for-Subaru-Brat-RARE-Hard-to-find_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem310112806456QQitemZ310112806456QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Then all you have to do is fab up a mounting bracket

 

[RhainyC]

Thanks Everyone for the great ideas. The Brat seats are probably going to be the cheapest...or maybe the Jeep version from a junkyard.

This at least gives me something to start working with. Boy was hubby pissed when I first bought my lil' gal...*It only seats TWO?* was the first thing out of his mouth when he realized...when I bought her, we were separated and planning on divorcing...I only Needed two seats. (Thankfully things have been reconciled for the most part..still working on that but...)