I'd like to find a way to safely haul my kids around town (30 MPH max) safely in the bed of my F3. Any ideas? I thought to getting a set of seats and safety belts from the back of a Subaru Brat. If I loved the idea, I'd spring for the cost on ebay or a boneyard, but I wonder if there is a better way. Any ideas?

 

you may want to check with local traffic laws to see if your allowed to
carry passengers in the bed.Here in california its a big no-no
but i have seen on occasion folks using a similar set up to what you mention
with dual bucket seats

 

Better check your local laws about people in the truck bed. Even if it is legal it is still dangerous.

Just my .02

NEWLY

 

Seems to be "dangerous" to do anything these days. I remember riding in the back of my dads Ford truck when I was a kid, and loving it! Seat belt laws, helmet laws, riding in the bed laws. Seems like the law makers are trying to save us from ourselves. Will it ever be illegal to drive anything without four wheel discs, and air safety bags?


hmmmm, just a thought.


55forder

 

I let my kids ride around in the back near home. I live out in the country, just outside a small town. I would never go a long distance in the big city where everyone drives like a nut and don't have the patience for an old truck to puddle around in front of them. You've got to think about all of the goofy things we did when we were kids and we're still here. Better yet, listen to your parents talk when they get together with theire old friends and family member and what they did when they were kids. You just have to use your head and have a little fun.

 

I once had an new 89 F150 with a camper shell and the padded carpet kit. The kids loved to ride in the back so they could play. John

 

In Connecticut, it's against the law, subject to a fine.

Barry

50 F-1

 

A very pleasant memory from my childhood. And clearly dangerous in the event of even the slightest accident. My daughter is thrilled to ride in the back of mine up and down my lane. Not quite the same but it's going to have to do.

 

You know it is amazing any of us grow to adulthood. I used to ride on the flatbed my Dad had. In the summer, hauling hay my cousin and I would ride from the field to the barn on top of the haystack 5,6, or 7 rows high. Wind in our hair, dust in our eyes, hay down our shirts. Personnally, if I had kids they would never ride on the back of the truck at anything above parade speed. Legal or not it would be just to scary for me.

 

Isn't it legal if you have seats and seatbelts? It should be ...

 

I don't see how the NTSB would let Subaru sell them if it wasn't legal.

Because my truck was not originally equipped with seat belts, the law does not require their use. But, I installed seat belts the day I bought the truck and we use them.

I can legally let my children ride in the cab without seatbelts, but not in the box with them?

I have fond memories of my brother and I riding in the box of my father's 1-1/2 ton 40 Ford truck. What will my boys fondly remember? Riding an aluminum scooter on the sidewalk with a helmet, wrist springs, elbow and knee pads?

I played hockey in the era prior to face protection. I had a coach that told me that if your not nicked up, you're not playing hard enough.

 

Stupid laws.......in some states, it is illegal to let dogs sit in the bed, but it is legal for people. In Arizona, a pick up with seats facing backward was called a "Navajo Cadillac" when I taught there. Babbit Ford in Flagstaff would sell them that way...NEW! Don't know if they still do or not.

 

I've thought about doing something along the lines of my Suburban's third seat. It can be removed very easily. The downside is the recessed brackets that stay in the bed.
My dad used to let us ride in the bed as long as we didn't sit on the wheel well. Man, when we were kids we even had a 3 wheeler with no helmet. I only had one mishap when I hit an unseen gopher mound in a field and got thrown off. Of course I was about 50 lbs. lighter then.

 

My parents both talk about playing with mercury from broken thermometers and they're not that old. I wonder if that would explain...

I remember going on camping trips and other trips when we had to take the whole family, 7 of us, and just the 82 F-150. We used to have all of us in the cab when we were small, later us older kids rode in the bed. I'm in my mid-twenties so it was as recent as 1995. The weird thing now is I am not comfortable at any speed without a seatbelt.

If it is legal I think a seat that is bolted or fastened down with seat belts would be safe.

 

About 5 years ago my family went to a cabin 6 hours away. Our '87 Nissan Pathfinder (has 750 000 kms on original engine and tranny) only fit 5 and we have 6 so I got to sit in the back under some towels and blankets. I remember watching a guy fill it up and him not noticing. I think you can ride in the back in Saskatchewan if you have your back firmly against the cab. I've ridded around the yard on a running board holding onto the drip rail.