Full Rear Seat Removal Pics and Divider

[bight]

I have completely removed the rear seat, including the seat backs in preparation to build a platform to sleep on and to support a durable divider to keep my pups safely in the rear of the FJ.

This removal took about 1 hour due to one of the seatbelt bolts being very difficult to remove. It is important to have a six sided 14 mm socket for this!

The removal began by removing the bolts below the front edge of the rear seat bottom. This is pretty straightforward.



Then I removed the plastic "hump" behind the seat backs. Remove the two bolts and pop up the center plastic keeper. I just gently pulled and it popped out.




Next I removed the two bolts holding the bracket between the two seat back sections.



Then with an open end wrench I removed the bolts on both ends of the seats that are attached to the sides of the passenger compartment. This can be a slow process because it is tough to get much rotation with the wrench. A closed end ratchet metric wrench wold be the thing to use (I didn't have one)



You must at some point remove the bolts holding the seatbelts in place. After doing this last, my suggestion is to do it first to be sure they can be removed. The passenger side belt is in the way during removal of other parts, so get it out of the way first.

Pics of the platform and divider to come.

[bight]

Here are some pics of the rear seat and hump completely removed.

[bight]

I have welded together my platform to create the sleeping area and support for a divider to keep my pups in the back of the FJ. I used 1.5 inch square tubing because it is a good size and was what I had on hand. I attached tabs on the inside edges to allow plywood panels to be inset and sit flush with the top edges of the square tubing.



I utilized the rear tie down points by removing the bolts and tie down rings that were stock in the FJ. Note that I placed in some nylon spacers in the rear point to level up the platform. With the use of 1.5 inch square tubing, I still have full access to the inverter port and the driver side compartment. I also utilized the threaded points where the tie down points were in the "hump" that was removed. There are two threaded points next to each other (though only one of them was used for the original tie down point), and I decided to use both of them on both sides. I placed some thin foam washers (the ones that come with blank CDs and DVDs) thinking it might reduce any possible vibration. All of these points were 6 mm metric bolts, short (about 1/2 inch long) on the front ones and long (about 1.5 inch) for the rear ones with the spacers.

This gave me 6 points to secure the rear portion of the platform.




I created a bracket to go down to where the seat bottoms were bolted to the floor to support the front portion of the platform. This will help in support of the forward area, which when the divider is in will provide for short term seating if needed.




I painted the platform frame with Krylon Hammer Fnish spray paint on all sides except the top which I painted with Dupli Color spray bedliner for more durability. I also sprayed the plywood with the spray bedliner.

Pics with the plywood inserts to come. I am still trying to develop the divider and will be working on cushions.

[Cogen Man]

Nice pics and good instructions bight.

[cruiserlarry]

Nice job on the platform. Are you going to weld on some side rials to prevent stuff from flying forward off the platform, as well as provide tie-down points ?

[bight]

The divider I am working on will provide protection from objects flying forward but is primarily designed to keep my dogs in the back. I will be mounting the stock tie down points I removed to the plywood deck. Pics soon.

[wenzor]

yikes alot of work! i would just invest in a tent and nice sleeping bag! to each his own!

[bight]

In addition the spray bedliner will provide sufficient friction to limit stuff from sliding and all my gear will be stowed in some slick Mountainsmith rubber bottomed Zip Top Totes and Modular Hauling Systems.

Mountainsmith

Mountainsmith

[bight]

wenzor previously said:

yikes alot of work! i would just invest in a tent and nice sleeping bag! to each his own!

Yeah it has been some work but has only cost me a few bucks because I already had the materials. Still there is not that much in materials.

I also have many tents and sleeping bags for every season, but often times for me (I am on a Search and Rescue team) just sleeping in the buggy is way easier. Plus it will provide superior mounting points for almost anything and protect my dogs.

[cruiserlarry]

wenzor previously said:

yikes alot of work! i would just invest in a tent and nice sleeping bag! to each his own!

I think it will be quite a challange for him to keep his dogs in a tent while towing it with his FJ !!!