Bench Seat Installation Advice- Ford E350 Cargo Van

[Stardown2earth]

Hello wonderful nomads!

I am in the process of installing a bench seat (taken from a 2018 Ford Transit) in my van conversion. I also located the tracks that I need and in the process of acquiring those for the installation. Yay!




I found this video on YouTube of how someone installed a similar seat (prior to installing the insulation, sub floor and flooring) and I was going to have it installed just like that needing first to remove the flooring, sub floor and insulation in that section then rebuild those layers again after.



But someone asked if I could just install the seat on top of the already installed flooring to avoid having to remove it? I figured it wouldn't be stable or secure enough in case of an accident. In a previous van conversions I did in fact install a one seater fold up type co pilot seat on top of the floor but was less concerned with safety in that situation. I used a metal plate in that instance to give it a little more support and had drilled some of the holes on the flooring in advance to make it easier.




Would the seat still be secure installed on top of the flooring? Security is of most importance. I think I know the answer to this question but I just wanted to double check with y'all! Thank you in advance!

 

[tx2sturgis]

I think if you can make sure the bolts are tight, and you are able to 'cinch' them up later as the wood and other materials (rubber mat, insulation, etc) are bound to compress a bit, I think it should be very secure, as far the floor mounting. The bolts that will hold the floor tracks will need to be secured into or UNDER the metal floor. Preferably with a substantial anchoring point, either pre-existing or added during the build.

My question is why do you want to take up valuable floor and interior space for this bench seat? I assume you have in mind that you will be hauling some passengers?

BTW I like that folding jumpseat...did that come out of a stepvan?

 

[Stardown2earth]

I think if you can make sure the bolts are tight, and you are able to 'cinch' them up later as the wood and other materials (rubber mat, insulation, etc) are bound to compress a bit, I think it should be very secure, as far the floor mounting. The bolts that will hold the floor tracks will need to be secured into or UNDER the metal floor. Preferably with a substantial anchoring point, either pre-existing or added during the build.

My question is why do you want to take up valuable floor and interior space for this bench seat? I assume you have in mind that you will be hauling some passengers?

BTW I like that folding jumpseat...did that come out of a stepvan?

Thank you for your comment! I'm seriously considering it as its going to be a pain in the you know what to remove all the layers of flooring.

Yes I will be transporting some VIP's moving forward. This is a must have now. The cool thing is that my floor bed still fits on the other side. I switched from a wood frame bed that took way to much space to a narrow foam mattress with a yoga mat on the floor. I can do my stretches in the morning and fold everything up if needed.

The fold up seat was sweet indeed and was taken out of...a passenger bus if I remember correctly. My previous conversion was also a passenger bus but my traveling days with that "van bus" as I would call it ended after about 2 1/2 years of living and traveling. As they say all good things must come to and end.

Thanks again for your comment and great advice!

I think I would also add the metal plate on top just for more security.