Van Conversion
Van Conversion: Installing 2nd Row Bench Seat in Ford…
We finally finished the install of the second row bench seats. We’re using factory Ford Transit bench seats with the removable seat rails. I used 1/8″ cold rolled steel to fabricate some plates under the van to bolt the seat rails to. We used 1/2″ Grade 8 bolts, washers, and nylon locking nuts. Cutting the metal and drilling the holes were the biggest pain, as the metal stock was no joke. These are now nearly indestructible seats and ready for years of abuse.
Material, Tools, Cost & Labor
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[ebs_toggle active=”active” ocicon=”true” title=”Parts & Material” icon=”fa-gears” icontype=”fa” iconcolor=”#ffffff”]• Factory Transit Bench Seat
• 8 – 1-1/2″ x 1/2″ Grade 8 Bolts – http://amzn.to/2FPayz4
• 8 – 1/2″ Nylon Lock Nuts – http://amzn.to/2tKSf98
• 8 – 1″ Grade 8 Washers – http://amzn.to/2HpUReP
• Locktite – http://amzn.to/2GkSeLW
• Silicone – http://amzn.to/2FM0GWE
• Rustoleum Spray Paint – http://amzn.to/2tGatJ1
• Rubberized Undercoating – http://amzn.to/2FMNz7O
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[ebs_toggle active=”active” ocicon=”true” title=”Tools” icon=”fa-wrench” icontype=”fa” iconcolor=”#ffffff”]• Jigsaw – http://amzn.to/2HtmS52
• Socket Wrench
• Hammer
• Step Drill bits – http://amzn.to/2HsY8tJ
• Tape Measure
• Black Marker
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[ebs_toggle active=”active” ocicon=”true” title=”Cost & Labor” icon=”fa-clock-o” icontype=”fa” iconcolor=”#ffffff”]Total Project Cost: $XXX
Installation Time: 6.5 Hours[/ebs_toggle]
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Process
Step 1: Fitting the Seat
First, we placed the bench seat in the van with the seat rails attached. We took some time to move the seat around to find the most forward position, which still provided a good balance of comfortable leg room for passengers and providing the maximum amount of space behind the seat for our floor cabinets.
The seat rails needed to sit in the low area of the floor, and not on top of a rib, in order to align with the thickness of our flooring and floor insulation. With proper alignment, the brackets would be fully hidden when not in use. We also made sure to leave plenty of space on the driver side wall for paneling and a future fold-up counter top.
You’ll want to compare the in-the-van and under-the-van measurements. This will help make sure you know where the bolts will need to be placed underneath. You’ll want to prevent the bolts from aligning with a frame rail or factory rivet lines to protect structural support. After marking where all of the holes for the seat rail would go with a sharpie marker, we pulled the bench seats back out.
We drilled out each hole with a small pilot hole and followed up with a 1/2″ bit to match to our 1/2″ Grade 8 bolts that we would use to bolt the rails down. To prevent future rust, we painted all of the exposed metal using factory touch up paint.
Step 2: Building Seat Backing Plates
To provide additional strength, we built some metal backing plates out of 1/8″ thick x 2″ wide cold rolled steel. You could just use a large washer to provide support to bolt the seat rails in. However, with any significant force, or in an accident, I could easily see the bolts ripping right out of the floor. The backing plates distribute the force across a much larger area and prevent the bolts from tearing out.
From underneath the van, we measured the length needed for each backing plate to allow two bolts to go through each seat rail and plate. We used a hacksaw and eventually a jigsaw with the correct blade to cut the metal backing plates to length. Cutting the metal was a little tough, but doable with a hacksaw. However, the blades wore down after cutting 4 brackets. Drilling the holes became a whole other challenge, probably due to having cheaper bits and only a 20v cordless drill. I drilled small pilot holes and used a couple different step drill bits to make the large holes necessary for the 1/2″ hardware. It took a lot of patience to get all 8 holes drilled.
The brackets were coated in 3 coats of Rustoleum black paint. At this stage, we were ready to install the backing plates and seat rails.
Step 3: Installing the Seat Rails
We bolted the seat rails in using the following order on the mounting bolts: Bolt, washer, seat rail, floor, silicone, bracket, washer, and nylon lock nut. All hardware used was Grade 8 for strength. A generous amount of silicone was used between the seat bracket and the underside of the van floor to keep out moisture. We also used locktite on the threads of the bolt to help prevent the nut from backing off in the future.
After a couple of days, we applied a few coats of rustoleum to the brackets and hardware, followed up with a coat of rubberized undercoating. The undercoating was also applied to most of the large exposed metal panels under the van to help with sound dampening.
Step 4: Final Seat Install
With the rails installed, we moved onto the more tedious task of fitting the insulation and subfloor. We placed the polyiso insulation over the rails and pressed down to make an impression of the rails onto the foam. Then we cut out the outline of the seat rails using a extendable box cutter. Cutting small amounts until the fit was tight.
The plywood subfloor would cover the majority of the seat rails and only have cutouts for the actual connection points. Using the cutout foam as a template I marked the locations of the cross bar mounting locations for the seat. We measured the the seat legs to determine the correct size of the openings needed and cut the appropriate holes.
We used spray foam insulation to fill the seat rails where the seat mounts don’t connect. This would be under the subfloor and never seen but would help provide a small amount of insulation back to the floor. After installing the subfloor, the seat cross bars would sit just below the subfloor height. The vinyl plank flooring would easily cover the seat brackets once installed later.
Our Experience
Installation Process
The installation process was a straight forward project but requires a lot of patience and time. The entire process took much longer then I anticipated, mostly due to the difficulty drilling holes in the fabricated seat brackets and the constant double checking fitment of the seats, floor, insulation, etc. We didn’t need any highly specialized tools but having a drill press would have been really helpful.
Performance
The overall fitment of the seat is extremely sturdy and snug against the flooring. The seat clicks in very securely and we’re confident in the strength of how the seat rails are bolted through the van floor. I believe this to be as secure as the factory installation and don’t have an concerns with additional passengers or small children riding with us (bench seat has the proper car seat/baby carrier mounts already built in).
In Retrospect
The one big thing we would have possibly done differently is to look for a different seat that weighed much less and could have been installed in smaller sections. Moving the factory bench seat requires two fairly strong people to not drag it all over the place and risk damaging the flooring in the van.
Photo Gallery
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40 COMMENTS
Hey, I was planning to do the second row but worried that it will not be “street legal”. SO passangers on that build seats would not be covered as vehickle is modifies and not safety inspected. Any comments on that?
-Val
Can you share your source for the seat backing plates?
Bought the steel bars from Lowe’s locally.
Thank you!
nice video and documentation. Did you find that you still needed to lower the gas tank to mount the driver’s side bracket?
We didn’t have to drop the tank after all. A few socket extensions did the trick to reach the bolts between the tank and frame.
Hi Nick,
Thank you again for sharing this info. We were under our 2018 transit trying to figure this out. This makes me more nervous than the windows we installed.;) In the location near the gas tank, it does look like we can bolt without dropping the tank – though it looks like the *edge* of the floor brace that runs parallel to floor grooves and may get in the way of the metal bracket, do you have any pictures of how you navigated that area? Thanks again
I don’t know if I have a photo of the driver side near the tank since it was hard to get to. Our bolts ran along the right side of the frame rail, directly above the tank. I was able to get my hand and a socket extension in between the tank to bolt the bracket in though. I did some measuring and counting of the ribs to confirm the correct placement before drilling as well. I also advise using a small piece of pipe as a safety device to prevent drilling into the tank (see the install video).
Hi Nick,
So about the that front to back rail above the fuel tank – you had no problem having washers or metal plates or bolts against that rail? Have the van at a shop to do the install (they have never done one). And they are a bit nervous about this…. Thanks!
I have no issue with the plate near the frame rail that the seat track is bolted to. The bolts are no where near the tank or any fuel lines. Only electrical inside wire loom. The tank doesn’t move so it should never rub the bolts. Here are photos of the underside of the rail on the driver side. https://imgur.com/a/vA0xvkv
Ah. Thanks! This is on the left (driver side) of gas tank correct?
Correct. I have two separate plates with two bolts each. They are right against the frame rail directly above the gas tank. There is plenty of clearance above the tank against the rail. It’s just hard to reach the bolts since the tank is also near the frame rail but the tank has curved corners which creates the air pocket for the brackets.
Installed floor brackets today. A couple things helped. Use the spot welds on the van floor to map out the frame rails with a permanent marker. You can clean up when finished with carb cleaner and a rag.
Cut a piece of pipe to go over the drill bit so it hits th drill chuck when the bit pops through and stops it from hitting the tank. Only penetrates 1/2 inch.
I used super glue to stick the nuts to the washers. Then I could work them into place as one piece and a helper could see the alignment from the top and thread the bolts in. On one of them I put thenut and washer on a socket and worked it up into position.
Hi, where did you purchase the seat please? My husband has a ford transit 250 and we would like to install the extra seat for the children. Thank you
We found ours on eBay. Many people will remove all the seats from a ford transit wagon and sell their seats on eBay. Pay close attention to the descriptions as there are cloth, vinyl and leather seats sold online. Predominantly they are vinyl.
Hey Nick, Did the track allow you to slide the 2nd row back an forth at all before you put the plywood around it? Currently wanting to sell my extended 7.3 E350 for one of these. Thanks!
The track doesn’t have any built in sliding mechanism. We took very deliberate measurements and test fitting to determine the ideal spot for adequate leg room of a taller adult before we chose the final mounting location though.
Great, thank you. Mine if I buy will be a moto van, and was thinking for passenger trips without bikes, it would be awesome if it could slide back for more legroom, or forward when no one in them and larger loads in the back.
PS. Love your website, great work.
Our seats do come in and out by pulling a release handle on the back. The majority of the time we leave them out and it gives us way more space.
PS – Not sure if you’ve considered one yet, but having an awning transformed how much I enjoy using the van for camping, moto and mtb trips etc. This one is a Fiamma F45S, and is 3.5m (11.5ft) long.
https://instagram.com/p/BeBIhgtHnqs/
It’s definitely on our list but haven’t got around to it yet.
I just wanted to come back and tell you that I just finished our install yesterday! Thank you so much for taking the time to document your process! Now my e350 Econoline is perfect.
That’s awesome! Congrats!
Can those second row seats also clip in facing rear? Planning on doing the same but would like the option to turn them around.
I’ve honestly never tried. But I think the feet have different widths that might prevent that.
I would also be curious if the seats flip around – if you get a chance to check that would be awesome.
I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t but I’ll have to try it.
love your page! followibg now.
Thanks for all the info and great tips! Just got some brand new seat from ebay at a very reasonable price.
Big suprise is that our seat as 3 sets of rails ? Looking at your photo and video i can imagine you have removed the midle rail ? Was is because the midle rail is hard to acess from the bottom of the van ? I need my set up to use all oem rails to have it certified. Cheers!
HEY, i would also like to put a second row in my conversion, great work! how long was the bench seat in total?
Hi! Nice documentation. I appreciate your attention to detail. I’m in the beginning stages of my build and I’m probably going to pick up either a 2 or 3 seat bench (both Ford Transit) to install in my Promaster…tonight. How does your sink/galley layout accomodate the full 3 seat bench? I’m hoping you might be able to to response soon b/c I’m curious about your choice. I’d be really happy to accomodate a full 3 seat bench but I’m afraid it might not be compatible with the layout I’ve been thinking about – but I’m happy to change based on good ideas.
We have our kitchen cabinet behind where the seats go and right up to the back of the seats. You can checkout our instagram account for some photos of the near finished build.
Hey Scott, how did your seat install come out in the promaster? Do you have a link to pictures?
Ok, am I missing something? Where did you buy the seat from? Could you order it at a ford dealership. I could see no link for this. Great to know this can be done as the Sprinter Crew van is expensive.
We bought ours from eBay. There is usually a number of them available at various price points and materials.
Trying to come up with a layout for a family of four. Seems like there’s no layout that REALLY works when you add in the second row bench seat. even if it’s a flip up. Considering a design where you’d remove the bench seat for additional space/access while camping (maybe it becomes a bench outside the van). You mention the seat you used is heavy, apparently the narrower two-person seat is ~100 lbs. Based on your experience is this a reasonable idea or a total PITA? Thanks.
There are some seat options that actually fold up flat against the wall. For something that will be installed most of the time it would probably be a better solution.
Hi, is there a legal distance that has to be between the front seat and the rear bench seat. As in leg room?
I’m not sure. Finding actual legal guidelines for installing seats is very difficult. It’s best to contact your local DMV.
Hello what a great tutorial about the seat install. I have a 2019 t350 cargo LWB EL Transit and I was thinking about using the 2 seat bench Transit OEM seat and floor brackets behind the drivers seat. . Do you see any issues with that ? Or having to drop gas tank.. Thank you in advance!
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