Bench seat - making a 3-seater into a 2-seater

OffroadHamster

Well-known member
Almost there. Just need to do some sewing. I seamed mine at the original panel interface rather than in the middle of the center hump. Also moved the cut line for the lower foam off-center to have a larger glue surface.





annnddddddd......DONE!




Now thats what I call seating choices
 
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IPT

Active member
This a great thread! After reading the entire thing I only a 4 > 2 person conversion mentioned about 3 times. My take was it can be done, but is a little more work. Is my take on that correct? I have a 4 person bench I don't need/want, but a 2 person would be sweet. Living in Alaska there is not exactly a surplus of people to swap with with. Shipping would be nuts to.

On another note, are any of you guys (personally or aware of someone who is) selling already converted seats if I can sell my 4 seat locally?
 

kysprinter

New member
JJOLLS- Would you be interested in tackling another one of these? I live in Lexington and could bring it up there. I sent you a PM, may not have went through due to the site changing a bit though. If so, call me at 859-227-820 zero. Great thread here, thanks.
 

OffroadHamster

Well-known member
This a great thread! After reading the entire thing I only a 4 > 2 person conversion mentioned about 3 times. My take was it can be done, but is a little more work. Is my take on that correct? I have a 4 person bench I don't need/want, but a 2 person would be sweet. Living in Alaska there is not exactly a surplus of people to swap with with. Shipping would be nuts to.

On another note, are any of you guys (personally or aware of someone who is) selling already converted seats if I can sell my 4 seat locally?
The seats are pretty cookie cutter in terms of structure. It should be a matter of an additional set of welds and cuts if anything. I no longer have my 4 person bench or I would peel it back and have a looksie. That said, wont take you but 45 minutes to take the covers off and look at it.

Once you get everything off, it will all be clear what you need to do. If you decide you dont want to tackle it, you can just put it back together.

If you can operate a sawzall, a welder, a bread knife and a ruler, you should be good to go. Even better if you can sew as well.
 
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IPT

Active member
If you can operate a sawzall, a welder, a bread knife and a ruler, you should be good to go. Even better if you can sew as well.
Sawzall, check.
Welder, no dice....but I have friends who can and do.
Bread knife and ruler, check.
Can't sew, but the wife can.

Wish I could find a local trade for a 3 seat bench. Might need to dive in anyway. Guess I'll need to really scour this thread again because the idea of it all sure seems intimidating.
 

OffroadHamster

Well-known member
Sawzall, check.
Welder, no dice....but I have friends who can and do.
Bread knife and ruler, check.
Can't sew, but the wife can.

Wish I could find a local trade for a 3 seat bench. Might need to dive in anyway. Guess I'll need to really scour this thread again because the idea of it all sure seems intimidating.
I know, and I looked at this thread for a long time and spent even more time searching the internet for a 2 seat solution. I finally decided, well if I ruin it, bench seats are a time a dozen. Its not a quarter as daunting as it seems. Im not even a particularly accomplished welder. The good news is its steel so if you cut it too short you can always fix it with the welder and some tube/bar stock.

Its a lot easier than it looks. I started it because I was antsy and figure why not. Super glad I did. Loving the 2 seater.
 

full metal racket

2012 144" High Roof
Has anybody done this with a T1N 3 person bench? I have one and want to just lop the last third off (rather than cutting the middle section out).
 
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JJolls

'14 170 4cyl Crew
Cacaw:
Any chance you took some pics of the process with the reclining seats?
I'd be curious to see how they're different. Thanks!
 

IPT

Active member
Looks like I scored a local seat. I'm a little confused about part of this process, specifically the reinforcing. Is there a bar within the tube that can be tapped from the side and pushed over to use for keeping the chair strong or is it required the use a separate "rod" or "tube" to insert into the cut factory one(s) to strengthen the modified chair?
 

IPT

Active member


I threw together a simple scrap wood jig to make the process easy and repeatable.

The tracks are there to make alignment easy and then supports under the bench make it trivial to hold pieces in place.

I also switched to internal sleeves all around as it speeds up the cutting and welding. You can be off a couple mm's and not a big deal.

Even if you are only doing one seat the wooden jig helps a ton.


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Hey Paul - haven't taken my seat apart yet but I am intrigued by your jig. Can you provide a few more details about it? Looks like you just put the buttresses on the bottom so it replicates the same on center spacing as the floor mounts in the van, yes? Then a few uprights to keep the chairs level and upright when you butt them together? Did you use this to just tack them up, or did you still do that in the van?

I need to review the cutting to size process, but is this jog of any help regarding that? I gonna dive into this but want to wrap my head around it and get as much info from you all who've done it before I do!
 

sprinterPaul

Well-known member
Hey Paul - haven't taken my seat apart yet but I am intrigued by your jig. Can you provide a few more details about it? Looks like you just put the buttresses on the bottom so it replicates the same on center spacing as the floor mounts in the van, yes? Then a few uprights to keep the chairs level and upright when you butt them together? Did you use this to just tack them up, or did you still do that in the van?

I need to review the cutting to size process, but is this jog of any help regarding that? I gonna dive into this but want to wrap my head around it and get as much info from you all who've done it before I do!
I don't put them in the van anymore... Just make sure the spacing is exact as you mentioned. They drop right into place everytime. takes me 20 minutes to strip and cut a bench these days...takes longer to clean up/weld it back together and do the upholstery...

the internal sleeves on the tubes are a big time saver as your cuts don't have to be perfect. I posted the sizes you need several posts ago.
 
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IPT

Active member
I don't put them in the van anymore... Just make sure the spacing is exact as you mentioned. They drop right into place everytime. takes me 20 minutes to strip and cut a bench these days...takes longer to clean up/weld it back together and do the upholstery...

the internal sleeves on the tubes are a big time saver as your cuts don't have to be perfect. I posted the sizes you need several posts ago.
Cool, yeah I saw that. So are the sleeves more for buffer and wiggle room than anything else? it'll cost me a bunch to ship them to AK, but I'll do if need be. Any tips on measuring for the cuts other than what's been posted? I still need to go back and re-read the instruction but I figure it will make more sense once I have the seat stripped down? Was it you that recommended using a cutoff wheel vs the sawzall?
 
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sprinterPaul

Well-known member
Cool, yeah I saw that. So are the sleeves more for buffer and wiggle room than anything else? it'll cost me a bunch to ship them to AK, but I'll do if need be. Any tips on measuring for the cuts other than what's been posted? I still need to go back and re-read the instruction but I figure it will make more sense once I have the seat stripped down? Was it you that recommended using a cutoff wheel vs the sawzall?
I add the sleeves for reinforcement and wiggle room.

you could aways check a local metal supply.

I use a sawzall now. Faster.
 

IPT

Active member
I add the sleeves for reinforcement and wiggle room.

you could aways check a local metal supply.

I use a sawzall now. Faster.
Thanks Paul - I'm not a welder so i'll have that part done. What i am thinking about is prep for the welder. Do you leave a tiny gap (so cut a tad short) for room to weld the inner pipe in there, or do you cut as close to the perfect length as possible so the original tubes of the frame butt up against one another? I imagine if you weld the inner pipe to the outer one there needs to be some space for the weld to reside when you mate the two parts and the other outer pipe slips over the inner pipe welded to the other part, or maybe I am not picturing it correctly. Any pics of the area on a completed one?
 
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Rocksnsalt

There Can Be Only ONE
I add the sleeves for reinforcement and wiggle room.

you could aways check a local metal supply.

I use a sawzall now. Faster.
Hello sprinterPaul, nice work!
if you do the 3 to 2 seat conversions I’d like my 2019 3 seat converted. I’m thinking you’re in the SD area - I’m down there regularly and will be this weekend as well. Let me know.
Thanks
 

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