My DIY Alternative Rear Seat Delete

[Kilgore]

After a year of ownership I came to the conclusion the rear seats were useless in my 2 door badlands. They never were used and hampered hauling things in the rear. Plus the dog found them uncomfortable. The rig is used on the farm and getting into the backcountry for camping and hunting trips. The rig is fantastic and sees lots of time doing chores.

For our use, a full flat floor wasn't desired since we make extensive use of the factory rubber mat to contain water, mud and yucky fluids. A half floor was decided on and built to match elevation with the rubber mat.

Construction was with 3/4 inch birch plywood. A rim was added around the front to keep things from rolling off. Original hardware was reused and an aluminum bracket fabricated for the front support. All bolt holes were plugged with Hillman low profile 1-1/4 inch metal snap-in units painted to match. The finished product was painted with Behr porch and floor paint. A design decision I don't regret is not limiting the floor to the 48 inch width of the plywood. Instead the plywood runs from wall to wall giving more floor space.

Kilgore

Sponsored

 

[scotman623]

Looks great my friend

 

[Beach_Bum]

Looks great. I realize it is all assembled, but did you take any close-up photos of the hardware and mounting to the floor? Also, looks like you have caps that hide the hardware in the finished version.

Really nice job.

 

[Kilgore]

Looks great. I realize it is all assembled, but did you take any close-up photos of the hardware and mounting to the floor? Also, looks like you have caps that hide the hardware in the finished version.

Really nice job.

Here are more photos. The mounting hardware were the same bolts and nuts to mount the seats. For the caps I used Hillman 58150 type. Amazon had the best price for a 5 pack. They fit the 1-1/4 counterbore in the plywood perfectly.

The Hillman Group 58150 1-1/4-Inch Metal Hole Plug, 5-Pack https://a.co/d/0NXThIT

The rim at the front was just made from plywood scrap pieces. All the pieces were glued with waterproof Titebond, the fastened with 1-1/4 staples.

After the glue dried, I filled all holes and voids with automotive bondo and sanded smooth. Had thought of using truck bed liner paint, but didn't see the point considering the cost.

Entire project totaled about $110 with most of that being the plywood. But I still have half a sheet for another project.

 

[Scoop]

Very nice job. Good idea on how to hide the bolt heads.

 

[BigSkyBronco]

If the doesn’t approve, it’s got to go!

 

[BigFootie]

Nice job! I agree, the rear seats are completely unnecessary. The ones in my Escape (Which I finally got rid of this weekend) went back up for the first time in many many years.

 

[Donkeygyrl]

It's cool to see how everyone put their own take on the rear seat delete,it proves there is more than one way to skin a cat. Nice work!

 

[Kilgore]

Very nice job. Good idea on how to hide the bolt heads.

Thank you! Was impressed how tightly they grip the hole.

 

[camojeeper]

My rears were out day one. 2 doors 2seats 2butts

Sponsored