ainley53
Well-known member
I wrote this so that anyone with a similar vehicle may find it useful. Advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Remove all rear passenger seats. You may also remove the front passenger seat, your choice. Start with the second row seats. Remove the floor mats and pull up the plastic floor covers. They just snap out, pull hard. You should see the mounting bolts, 2 front and 2 rear, for each seat. You will want to slide the seat to its forward position and raise the back of the seat cushion to collapse the seat (see owner’s manual). There may be more than 4 bolts total if it’s a 60/40 bench seat but you’ll be able to see them. Remove seats from vehicle. Now remove the storage bin from the rear floor behind the third row seat. It has 2 very large plastic turn knobs, one on either side of the center compartment. There should only be 2 bolts at the rear of the third row seat holding it in place. Take those out and pull the seat towards the rear to unlatch it from the front mounting pins. Remove the third row seat. The seats can be stored somewhere if that’s possible as you may want to replace them if you decide to sell the vehicle. Otherwise you can sell the seats. Google them to get an idea for prices. You can replace the floor coverings, or not, your choice. You can level up the floor with Reflectix and indoor/outdoor carpet remnants or linoleum which can be trimmed to fit. Or whatever else you can think of. This GREATLY INCREASES the usable space!
Now for the measurements.
The front passenger seat is 24” X 24”. If you remove it, that gives you another 4 square feet, or 576 square inches. From the back of the passenger front seat to the dash is 36”. However that may only be 30” of usable space due to the curvature of the dash and to allow easier access to the glove box. From the floor to the top of the door (where the window starts) is at least 26” but you could go a little higher (2”, maybe 4”) depending on how much visibility you need out the front passenger window. Personally I don’t want anything obstructing my view anywhere when I’m driving. There would also be some space below the glove box where the floor both narrows and slopes upward. This space is possibly usable for storing soft compressible bags. You don’t want to completely block the air flow vents in that area. I think storage boxes or even a small chest of drawers would fit here.
The middle floor section where the second seats were mounted is 56” (4’8”) from door to door, 40” (3’4”) from the rear of the driver’s seat and center console to the begging of the rear section and the rear section is 48” (4’) square. The floor of the rear section is 4 ½” inches higher than the middle section due to the ventilation vents mounted in the forward side of the rear section.
The middle section is 43” (3’7”) from floor to ceiling. The rear section is 38” floor to ceiling at the rear hatch. The roof of the rear area tapers downward slightly from front to back.
So the minimum rear area is 48”W x 84”L x 38”H. I realize there is some small additional space available due to the curvature of the interior walls and ceiling.
I plan to use 10 and 18 gallon tote tubs which are 24”L x 16”W and 9” and 16” tall, respectively; milk crates 13”L x 13”W x 11”H and kitty litter buckets 10”W x 13”L x 15”H for storage and organization. I’d line these along the passenger side and use something over them to level it up for a sleeping platform of 2’ x 7’”, possibly a thin sheet of plywood or paneling. I’m 6’2” so I’m not even going to consider trying to fit across the back of the vehicle.
I plan to get a 12 volt deep cycle battery, hopefully a Trojan T31 AGM, and use a continuous duty solenoid to charge it off my starter battery while driving. My plan is to stay in one place only long enough to explore the area on my Harley and then move on. I’m a little concerned that I may not drive the Saturn long enough to charge up the house battery. Just a guess but from one site to another would probably only be 3 or 4 hours. I also plan to get a small Honda or Yamaha portable charger. Shouldn’t that be adequate for a laptop, cell phone, fan and lights. No microwave, TV or fridge/freezer, at least not yet. I’ll take a Luggable Loo, Weber 2 burner stove and a 1 gallon propane tank. I’m still undecided about taking the tent, cot, pop up and heavy canvas tarp.
I’ve attached an Exxcel spreadsheet of what I have and what I plan to get to take with me. And what I hope to get later if I find a deal on a van. I seriously doubt it will all fit in the Saturn.
LET THE SUGGESTIONS BEGIN !!
Remove all rear passenger seats. You may also remove the front passenger seat, your choice. Start with the second row seats. Remove the floor mats and pull up the plastic floor covers. They just snap out, pull hard. You should see the mounting bolts, 2 front and 2 rear, for each seat. You will want to slide the seat to its forward position and raise the back of the seat cushion to collapse the seat (see owner’s manual). There may be more than 4 bolts total if it’s a 60/40 bench seat but you’ll be able to see them. Remove seats from vehicle. Now remove the storage bin from the rear floor behind the third row seat. It has 2 very large plastic turn knobs, one on either side of the center compartment. There should only be 2 bolts at the rear of the third row seat holding it in place. Take those out and pull the seat towards the rear to unlatch it from the front mounting pins. Remove the third row seat. The seats can be stored somewhere if that’s possible as you may want to replace them if you decide to sell the vehicle. Otherwise you can sell the seats. Google them to get an idea for prices. You can replace the floor coverings, or not, your choice. You can level up the floor with Reflectix and indoor/outdoor carpet remnants or linoleum which can be trimmed to fit. Or whatever else you can think of. This GREATLY INCREASES the usable space!
Now for the measurements.
The front passenger seat is 24” X 24”. If you remove it, that gives you another 4 square feet, or 576 square inches. From the back of the passenger front seat to the dash is 36”. However that may only be 30” of usable space due to the curvature of the dash and to allow easier access to the glove box. From the floor to the top of the door (where the window starts) is at least 26” but you could go a little higher (2”, maybe 4”) depending on how much visibility you need out the front passenger window. Personally I don’t want anything obstructing my view anywhere when I’m driving. There would also be some space below the glove box where the floor both narrows and slopes upward. This space is possibly usable for storing soft compressible bags. You don’t want to completely block the air flow vents in that area. I think storage boxes or even a small chest of drawers would fit here.
The middle floor section where the second seats were mounted is 56” (4’8”) from door to door, 40” (3’4”) from the rear of the driver’s seat and center console to the begging of the rear section and the rear section is 48” (4’) square. The floor of the rear section is 4 ½” inches higher than the middle section due to the ventilation vents mounted in the forward side of the rear section.
The middle section is 43” (3’7”) from floor to ceiling. The rear section is 38” floor to ceiling at the rear hatch. The roof of the rear area tapers downward slightly from front to back.
So the minimum rear area is 48”W x 84”L x 38”H. I realize there is some small additional space available due to the curvature of the interior walls and ceiling.
I plan to use 10 and 18 gallon tote tubs which are 24”L x 16”W and 9” and 16” tall, respectively; milk crates 13”L x 13”W x 11”H and kitty litter buckets 10”W x 13”L x 15”H for storage and organization. I’d line these along the passenger side and use something over them to level it up for a sleeping platform of 2’ x 7’”, possibly a thin sheet of plywood or paneling. I’m 6’2” so I’m not even going to consider trying to fit across the back of the vehicle.
I plan to get a 12 volt deep cycle battery, hopefully a Trojan T31 AGM, and use a continuous duty solenoid to charge it off my starter battery while driving. My plan is to stay in one place only long enough to explore the area on my Harley and then move on. I’m a little concerned that I may not drive the Saturn long enough to charge up the house battery. Just a guess but from one site to another would probably only be 3 or 4 hours. I also plan to get a small Honda or Yamaha portable charger. Shouldn’t that be adequate for a laptop, cell phone, fan and lights. No microwave, TV or fridge/freezer, at least not yet. I’ll take a Luggable Loo, Weber 2 burner stove and a 1 gallon propane tank. I’m still undecided about taking the tent, cot, pop up and heavy canvas tarp.
I’ve attached an Exxcel spreadsheet of what I have and what I plan to get to take with me. And what I hope to get later if I find a deal on a van. I seriously doubt it will all fit in the Saturn.
LET THE SUGGESTIONS BEGIN !!
