I just picked up a set of 2 Row Captains Chairs on eBay and was pretty excited about my find. Since I bought my X early this year, I have been searching for a set thinking that they would be the hot setup. Tonight I was taking a look at installing them and learned something about our second row bench seats. I had no idea that they slid forward the way they do. For almost a year now, I have been folding the seat forward and making my third row passangers climb over the seat and frame. Now I'm not sure if having a set of captains chairs is really that superior to having the bench. Any input guys????

 

personally, i love the capt chairs. you have the center aisle to get to the rear. i had a 98 expedition, and although the jump seat would fold out of the way, it was not near as good as the buckets. buckets were my main criteria for an Excursion, along with the Ltd package. v-10 or diesel, i didn't care. i have seen threads with people going the other way, replacing the buckets with a bench!!! to each his own...

 

The 2nd row seats have instruction labels on them.

Did you overlook these?

Hey, I did too until my daughter taught me how to use them!

I would prefer the captain seats too, but you do lose one seating position. Losing one seating position would never be a problem for my application of the Excursion though.

 

It's gonna come down to your application and use, if you are thinking you will miss the "extra" seat in overall capacity, then stick with the bench. If not then try the captain chairs, especially if you already bought them. You could switch back, right?

I wanted the capt chairs was for 2 main reasons: 1) improved access to 3rd row without folding anything. I did know the second row fold/slide for access, but I have 2 carseats in the back seat (for several more years), so to slide the 2nd row like you describe, I'd have to pull a car seat. Same scenario w/ our old Burb so when I traded I wanted the reat seats to walk between w/ car seats in place. 2) All my road trips are with 2 dogs, they can either get to the 3rd row or lay on the floor between the chairs, makes life easier on me and them. The dogs were here before my kids afterall.

Also, consider the person being stuck in the 3rd row. With the captain chair arrangement you feel less separated from the rest of the car, and the center portion of the 3rd row becomes a great place to sit -- unlimited leg room and great for viewing DVDs if you have a player!

 

I have the captains chairs, and also have 2 child seats there.The open aisle gives access to the 3rd row without taking out the seat. At first when I go it, I wanted the bench, but after having if for a year now and numerous long trips, I would not give up the buckets. Plus, on those few times that we've had 4 adults in the truck, the rear buckets are nearly as comfortable as the front, and more comfortable than in most smaller vehicles.

 

I'm interested in doing the same and wonder if they bolt up to existing mounts or if you have to modify to make them work.

 

Buckets in mine (leather), ride just as comfortable as the front ones. great for watching movies on trips.

 

I am told that they bolt right up. After buying them I did a little more research (I know, I should have done that before I bought them) and learned they became an option for the 2002 model year. The guy I bought them from said that the hole are already there for the bolts so you just have to unbolt the bench and bolt the captains in. The only thing that you have to do is cut the carpet to expose the holes and deal with the 2 holes you don't use anymore. He gave me rubber plugs that he used.

I have a 2000 though and expect that I will not have the holes since this wasn't an option until 2 years later. Maybe I'll get lucky and Ford was thinking ahead, but I'm not that optimistic. So it looks like I will have to drill two new holes to install these. I'll keep you updated.

Here are the seats I bought by the way:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...2040125&rd=1,1

The guy I bought them from works at a Ford dealership and said that he paid $800 for each seat and was only able to get that deal because he worked at the dealership. According to him the only way to get these from Ford is to buy all the components separately and assemble them yourself. He was able to buy a complete set and have it picked off of the assembly line and shipped to the dealership. I figured at $375 I couldn't go wrong and could probably sell them again if I didn't like them.

 

rush, There's much info in here regarding the seat swap. It's not too complicated at all, just have to find that previous thread.