Illegal to take out passenger seat? Fines, tickets?

[ORANGE]

So I THINK my van is finally mechanically sound enough for Daytripping.  Likely never want to stealth.  Will Daytrip and later will disperse camp for longish periods in the TVA.  Dont ever think this van could survive going to the RTR.  Wouldnt be pleased to puts lots more miles on it, or be big dollar repairs vs walking away and flying home.

A Junkyard is amenable to taking out my backseat and keeping it.  Phyisically I am able to do nothing, so everything must be done by someone else.

But this van would be HUGE for me if I can take out the passenger seat also.

What kind of law would that be a state law?    I seen that Bob Wells lady assistant took out hers.

Also my van smells like goat.  Seriously petting farm goat.  Was like that when I bought it a few years ago.  I think also to have all the carpet ripped out when the seats are torn out.  Might have to be paying some for that.   Then what?  Get a handy man to recarpet?  Someone else?  Forget the carpet and???? do what instead cheap?

I found that it will cost 220 to black out tint the windows. But I want to do so, because all 4 back windows tilt out.  Thought about permanently blacking out/sealing the windows after I find out that you dont have to keep side windows in back as windows?  But seems like 200ish is worth doing?  

2001 Mercury Villager piece of crap.

 

[B and C]

AFAIK, you only have to have extra seats (and seat belts) if someone is riding with you up to the maximum that came in the vehicle. If it will only be you in the van, the driver's seat is the only one required but I would check the laws in your state. Run by an inspection station (or 2-3) and ask if they would inspect it with only a driver's seat. It is the only way to know for sure.

Edit to add: Turning the passenger seat around is great for when you are camping and the floorboard can be used for storage space.

 

[MrNoodly]

I also removed my passenger seat. I don't think there's any law against it. There are laws, though, about riding on something other than a seat with seatbelts. So as long as you don't have a passenger, you're cool.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Agree with MrNoodly.

I traveled for a number of years in a Subaru Forester with the passenger seat out.  Never had a problem.

Most delivery trucks (bread, FedEx, . . .) have only the driver seat.

 

[maki2]

you can get window tinting and put it in yourself. There are people on Ebay who sell the tint. The local auto stores sell the kit for installing it that comes with a cutting blade, spray bottle for water and a squeege blade for smoothing it out. There are a great many youtube videos that show how to apply the tint as a DIY projects. Some of those videos are done by the companies that sell DIY tinting. Other videos are meant to train the employees of window tinting places.

 

[ORANGE]

Thanks guys. I will plead for the junkyard guy to take them out! And I dont want to turn the seat, its not really THAT comfortable. And I can always sit in the drivers seat. The cubic feet space the passenger seat is taking is considerable!

Maki2 That's true, I could actually do something like that myself. And it sure dont have to look that good. If it bubbles in time so be it. I can get the blackest they offer on the back side windows. Thanks for the suggestion.

Oh for my goat van. I can only guess its the carpet. The smell is nothing at all like mold. What is the smell? I dunno. It is a dry van.
Would you do anything at all about it? Or live and let live barnyard van?

 

[ORANGE]

Watched window tint videos. Need a dust free environment. Not over 90 degrees. The back window looks way to challenging to get right.

Dont think I got it in me.

 

[Almost There]

Oh for my goat van.  I can only guess its the carpet.  The smell is nothing at all like mold.  What is the smell?  I dunno.  It is a dry van.
Would you do anything at all about it?  Or live and let live barnyard van?

The goat smell is most likely from whatever is on the floor. If you've got carpet in there, it's a likely suspect but I'd bet that under that carpet is the original rubber floor mat. It  has a underpad that holds water like you wouldn't believe. It's not gone moldy because it's too wet to grow mold.

Even though the rest of my van was perfectly dry, the underpad was soaking wet. Once I  had it ripped out for me (too heavy and awkward for me to  handle), I laid down 3/4" plywood throughout the van. I chose the 3/4" so that I could screw the rest of the woodworking in to the flooring. If you decide to lay down plywood, I can give you instructions in how to do it without breaking your back. Only tool needed is a jigsaw and some cardboard to make a template.

That passenger seat is actually a great seat when turned around backwards. Mine is on a swivel so I can carry a 2nd person if needed but mostly it's used as my dining room/living room/office chair.

 

[MrNoodly]

The goat smell is most likely from whatever is on the floor.

Or it could be in the vents. I once had a dead mouse in my heater. A friend had a squirrel's stash of acorns in the ducts. Or leaves and needles can fall in and start to rot/ferment.

 

[highdesertranger]

on behalf of all goats that can't speak up, I resent the accusation that goats smell like your van. everyone knows goats smell like roses. LOL highdesertranger

 

[ORANGE]

So it CANT be anything dead. Ive had the van 3 years. It gets no worse, it gets no better. 3 years later 3 large goats would have rotted to nothing but bones.

It doesnt matter if van is sitting in the blazing sun, overnight in the frigid winter, it smells the same level of petting farm. It makes no sense to me because it isnt a chemical or moldy smell

Now the underlayment of carpet was a good idear. I can see that it COULD be a rubbery latex sort of smell. 'Cept I did go out this morning and the carpet w/ pad can be lifted up from against the rails and I stuck my hand under to feel if the pad felt moist or what not, but felt only dry. But now I know it isnt glued down I will try to really jack it up little by little to see if I can observe the center, and feel it for moisture.

Later today or manana will check.

 

[ORANGE]

I sure am not gonna spend 200+ bucks for a swivel seat, plus labor.

Maybe I will keep the passenger seat for this Fall and see how the rest of the space works for me when I have the junkyard take out the back seat.
Just that much more allows me twin sized length bed AND ability to go from driver seat to back of van. With that seat folded up I couldnt crawl high up over it. I have to exit and go in through the side door. Not as safe, not as spacious. That I am 100% getting rid of and so I shall.

Thanks gang!

 

[LettingItRollAway]

Also my van smells like goat.  Seriously petting farm goat.  Was like that when I bought it a few years ago.  I think also to have all the carpet ripped out when the seats are torn out.  

Lol!! I can totally relate Orange. I live in NYC so in order to do my rig build, a farmer I know upstate offered me the use of a quonset hut that had power. However, it was also the goat barn and when it rained I was sloshing around in mud 6 inches deep! I still haven't gotten the smell out!! I had a leak around my rear doors that I've now replaced the weatherstripping on, so hopefully it won't rain inside anymore. But the carpet is so soaked and there's some rust too. I think I'm just going to cut it out. Got stuck on getting the back seats out though. I'm planning on going to the Van Build in Parker, NV to get help. That might be helpful for you too.

 

[maki2]

I had the human kids spill some milk in the car. That smelled like goat. I would suggest new floor covering or else a deodorizing steam cleaning.

 

[Stargazer]

I turned my front passenger seat around (not on a swivel) and one year it failed state inspection because the seat belt wouldn't work. Of course it wouldn't, it was backwards. I had them show me the regulation and it did say all seat belts must work.  I took it to a different inspection station and they passed it.  Apparently they didn't know that Texas law.  If it had failed again, I would have just turned the seat back around but that was hard for me to do alone.  Nothing was said about the missing seats in the back.

As for the carpet, I removed it and installed this:

https://bedrug.com/vanrug-cargo-mats

It wasn't difficult to do and it was a great carpet!  Not too expensive either.  I highly recommend this.  The difficult part was removing the old carpet.  I cut it just behind the front seats, installed the new one in the back and used a transition piece like you would use in a house where the new one met the old one.  So the old carpet in the cab area stayed in.  I didn't think I could redo that area under the front seats.  Anyway, I was very happy with it. Oh, and I got the thicker one and laid a nice throw rug on top of it in the main "living area".  I couldn't part with that rug (it was a real oriental type rug).  Very homey.

Best wishes!

 

[eDJ_]

Goat or Cat ?    Cats can smell up carpet in no time. 

The van you are setting up sounds a lot like my first one.  Mine was a delivery van with windows in the front and in the rear doors.  Just pure room and space.

Look at my first website in the signature line below.  You may be able to visit a cabinet shop and find a used cabinet that has been pulled from a remodeling job.  They may be able to find some used counter top to fit it and you would be in business for a kitchenette.  With a bed in the back, some water jugs that you could carry, and plastic storage bins you'd be all fixed.

I can imagine you wanting to get out in the sunshine and outdoors.  Just an old van to do that with would be all you would need.

 

[Extra Terrific]

I just sold my 15 passenger van and removed the rear 4 rows of seats . Totally legal in Arizona.
I just kept them in case I decided to sell the van. Also in my 98 mustang convertible. I turned it into a roadster with a fiberglass kit and had no need for the rear seat.