John Welsh said:
For seats with arm rests, I'd look toward second row seats in conversion vans and minivans. The reason for second row is because they will have fold down arm rests for each arm. The front rows only have one fold down armrest and use the door for the other arm rest.
Avoid the Chrysler stow and go seats but maybe look for a VW Routon which is a Chrysler without stow and go. The second row on these very much look like repurposed front rows.
You have to fab a mount but be mindful of how the brands seats move fore and aft. Some use rails in the van floor for movement. That won't work w/o floor modifications to your truck. The VWs should have a integrated fore aft that would work well.
Great information, thanks so much! That will speed up the process!
I looked up on car-part and around me, Routon 2nd row seats are $50-$100 each. This link takes you to a car-part post that has detailed pictures of the undersides. The VW seats are adapted to mount to the Chrysler stow and go mounting points but they do not hide-a-way; they are too big. You'll have to study the car to see how they really mount.
The Routon. A Chrysler minivan rebadge to VW
Dodge/Chrysler stow-n-go second row seats are actually quite easy to swap, nice flat mounting points on the sliders once you toss the fold and tumble base.
John Welsh said:
I looked up on car-part and around me, Routon 2nd row seats are $50-$100 each. This link takes you to a car-part post that has detailed pictures of the undersides. The VW seats are adapted to mount to the Chrysler stow and go mounting points but they do not hide-a-way; they are too big. You'll have to study the car to see how they really mount.
The Routon. A Chrysler minivan rebadge to VW
Those middle seats look like they would do the job. The seat base that is in the van currently is a heavy gauge square steel post with a flat platform on top, much like a floorboard. It has a simple 4 bolt pattern and a seat belt mount. Hopefully, I can remove some of the attachment mechanisms from the minivan seats, re-drill my base and add whatever spacers are needed to adapt the new seats. Thanks for all the information, these will be a huge improvement!
newrider3 said:
Dodge/Chrysler stow-n-go second row seats are actually quite easy to swap, nice flat mounting points on the sliders once you toss the fold and tumble base.
Good to know and good to have options, thanks!
Installed the Washing machine drain today. The W/D will be elevated and mounted 24" higher than shown here. The machine does not pump out the water but instead relies on gravity. After I relocate it higher, I will add an extension at Y, to better fit the drain hose. Also going to modify a cap at the end of the pipe ext. with a tight fit around the hose to help prevent water from sloshing up out of the tank while the van is in motion . The vertical vent pipe will allow the water to drain. This tank will only hold water from the washing machine and the shower.
Also installing the shower liner panels for the last time.
In reply to Ben_Modified :
Chev Astro second row buckets have two armrests and so do the first row seats on some earlier model years. I had two Astros and found the seats to be quite comfortable for highway cruising.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Thank you!
egoman
Reader
2/25/23 9:55 a.m.
Please add a tee where the trap dumps into that 90 and use a cheater vent at the very least. That trap will siphon and you will have to live with holding tank odors in your unit forever. Any other plumbers here would look at that and tell you the same thing. As it sits that trap will always be dry.
Made a small shelf for the W/D with storage below for Tool Box w/drawers.
I see this build remains legendary.
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
Thanks!
I really like that hinge solution. It's so elegantly simple.
In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :
Thank you!
Thanks to everyone for their Seat recommendations! I went to my closest Pick a Part (2.5hr roundtrip) for a set of seats. The best I could find at this location was a pair of Center row captains chairs (with built in folding cup holders!) from a 2006 Honda Odyssey. Total cost $132 !!
They are just mocked up in place for now. Going to head over to a friends place on Monday. He sells steel and lets me use his shear and punch which will make adapter plate fabrication go very quickly.
They both need a small bit of cleaning but overall very nice.
In reply to Ben_Modified :
Yeah, those seats look like they will be very comfortable! A nice price too. Dual armrest!
Looking closely at the passanger side belt latch, it looks like they might be very low (and out of the way.) If they are too low to reasonably reach, something like this might be helpful.
In reply to John Welsh :
That's cool. Never seen one of those before!
I also seem to remember that there are generally 2 types of seat buckles but that these adapters are sort of universal or can accept both types/sizes. So, that MIGHT mean that if your truck belts currently do not attach to the Honda seats, these adapters MIGHT make them work together.
*Buy from somewhere with a good return policy like Amazon
