I was fortunate enough to find an Aerostar in my local u-pul-it uard that had a set of seat/bed benches that were not only in decent condition but also matching color to my van's interior. It was a short bed van.

I can't remember now, but I am almost certain that when I laid both benches down into the bed form, they formed a continuous bed. But when I installed them into my extended van, there is a 2" gap between the leading edge of the rear bench and the rear edge (back rest) of the front bench.

Doea anyone here have an extended van with the seat/bed benches? Do they have a gap between them when you lay them down?

 

On mine, they come together with no gap at all. IIRC (I have captains chairs in at the moment), the rear seat back simply lays backwards, whereas the middle seat cushions actually move forward some in the process of the laying out. But the result is a continuous, unbroken flat surface. Maybe there's a difference in the short and long body seat spacing?

 

I have one but I can't run out and check. I pulled the middle one and moved the rear one up. There is a difference between the middle and rear. Rear is wider. Love the cargo space and I can always put it back in. I don't remember any gap though.

 

Hey guys I just bought a set at an almost-local U-Pull-It yard for $10 each (they were having a weekend special!) and they match my existing upholstery. Yes there is a gap between mine when laid flat -- I own a 1992 XLT extended in great shape, with the 4L V6.

 

Thanks Modman. Do you know if the seats you got were from a shorty or an extended van? Also, $10 each is a really cheap price. I don't remember exactly how much I paid for mine, but I'm sure it was a lot more, and they charged me for each of the seat belts. Also, they were pretty dirty, so I had to "steam" clean them.

 

They came out of an extended van, but common sense would tell us that Ford did not make a different set of bed seats for the bobtail than for the extended van. And I suspect without checking mine, that the extra slots are also there in the floor for if I wanted to pop in the 2nd row captain's chairs from the -- what did they call it? Command seating option?

It's a darned shame that Ford isn't making the Aerostar or a more up to date rear drive small van platform with the same flexibility as the extended Aerostar. It's all most people really need when you think about it, and has to be better mileage than the Econolines -- just think of that with gas, diesel, flex-fuel, hybrid, all-electric and/or hydrogen options, in 2W or 4W configurations. I bet they could be as clever as VW used to be with a basic campmobile option too. My major complaints are the front end styling, the style and positioning of the switches and door handle in the front doors, and awkward left foot positioning (can't find a comfortable spot). Other than that I am still a happy camper with mine.
P.S. think about a pickup spinoff from the same platform too, just like the spiritual ancestors -- the original Econolines from the 60s!

 

My '93 XLT ext seats fold down with no gap.

Modman, you are not alone. The Aero has been called the "dustbuster on wheels". It's a great vehicle though!

 

I thought the Pontiac Transport was the "Dust `buster on Wheels"?

 

Hey, not a bad idea, Aerostar pickup.....what a unique vehile that would be .....would want it to have AWD tho'

 

Aerostar makes the best mid size camper van in the world
throw out the seats and leave at home

put in a queen size camper blow up bed and a 12v air pump for same
works great in back of EXT van and then in tent for longer stays.

curtains on velcro for the windows.
far safer in an Aero when a bear comes with the bread munchies in the middle of the night.
our camping machine for years.
kids in tent on thin pads, Dad and Mom on SOFT air mattress inside Aero where it's warm

body got too old and wore out for tight quarters and night time flashlight run to camp ground bathroom.
Aero AWD still a young spring chicken ready to hit the camp grounds at 20 mpg, sun rain or snow on the ground.

 

I have the bed seats, from an EXT 93, there was a gap, 1 1/2 maybe.
Transferred them to the '90, and the gap remained. I have slept in the thing,
when doing the skibum thing with son...you don't really notice it when laying down,
within a sleeping bag or 2, anyway. However, there is a real weight penalty,
I think the difference between 90 standards and the 93 bedseats was 50 lbs,
should have wrote those numbers down! Your BACK will tell you so when pulling them out!

 

You mean your son's back?

 

Ha, no, I have always done the grunt work. He just turned 15, so last year that would be a bit much for him ( I think the rear seat is 118 lbs.)
I buckle the lap belt, cinch it up tight, and use that as the "handle".
But i have 2 others, 21 and 19 now...they have helped with the middle seat,
as it was slid out side door...

 

Ha ha I know what you mean I cringe everytime I need to remove the seats to haul an appliance or whatnot.

At least I save on the delivery fee though and get it the same day .

The sales jockeys ask me if my vans big enough of course it is it's an Aero .

Those seats are very decieving they don't look too heavy at first glance but when you lift them is another story. Luckily for me I only have the bench seats I don't want to know how much the captain chairs weigh.

 

The captain's chair behind the driver's seat is pretty light, but the other one (because of the extra hardware that allows it to pivot to the front for rear access) is a real bear to handle. Not only that, but throwing the little levers under the seat to secure it makes for skinned knuckles sometimes.

As far as the fold down bench goes, I moved mine from my EB to my XLT (both extended) and no gap in either van.