Removal of Middle Seat In Second Row
 

Has anyone removed the middle seat in the second row? I was looking at doing this because we have 4 kids and it would help the older ones getting into the back and not having to step on the folded middle seat all the time. If anyone could come up with some pros and cons it looks pretty easy to take out you just might have some exposed brackets in the floor?

Have you tried taking the plastic covers off of the hardware near the carpet? Probably some T bolts you can remove. shouldn't be too hard.

If you are going to do without one of the seats, why not just leave one of the side seats of the seconds for in the folded forward position?

Yes I took off the covers and your right berry1234 it does look pretty easy I was just wondering if anybody else had done it and what they thought of the setup or if they ran into anything unexpected. rbarbot2 the wife doesn't like the idea of having a 15 month old and a newborn right next to each other, that and getting kids into car seats in the middle are a pain it would be easier for the big kids to walk through an isle in the middle than crawl over that folded down seat. Thanks for the idea's

why dont you just trade it in and get one with Captains chairs.

And take a huge financial hit? Unbolt it and throw a mat down. Good to go.

I would take the one out of my 03 every now and then. Make sure you have a mat to throw down over the holes in the carpet.

It was an easy removal and made it easy(er) to get in the third row. However, the lack of inboard armrests was a drawback but it is anyway... :)

I did this with my 04 excursion and I loved it. I did get some seat frames from a junk yard so I'd have armrests. After I got it uplostered it all looked factory. I cut up some floor mats and put them under the carpet so the holes were less noticable. This set up worked fantastic for our three boys. Oh yea we ordered oue 03 expy with this package and its the envy of all the moms in the neighborhood. Just ordered 08 expy limited with it as well. You may want to take off your seat covers and with any luck you may have bolt holes to bolt on armrest brackets. Hopfully that helps.

Thanks for the info brandon this will be my weekend project. As far as the armrests go I'm not to worried about it there will be kids with car seats in them for at least the next 5 years.

Got any pix of this?

middle seat
 

Great thread!!

Addresses a slight problem I have had in how I would order/ buy an expy (hopefully soon, you know, up to my --- in alligators right now).

I would really like to have 2nd row capt chairs, but will need that 3rd seat occasionally. Any ideas on how that middle seat would fit between 2 capts chairs?

Don't think you'll be able to use the middle seats with factory captain's chairs due to the armrests getting in the way. However, that also depends on how the armrests come off and what is left behind.

I know some Ford trucks (Super Duty) have a metal stop that protrudes after the armrests are removed and that stop is welded to the seat frame.

arm rests
 

TX--

I can see how the arm rests might be a problem. I think that a work around could be done---maybe :)

I sold the excursion, but I think I have a pic from when I sold it on the web. The sec row chairs in the excursion are the 40% section of the bench seat. The 04 even had the factory holes in the floor.(check underneath the truck above the driveline) In the expedition the captains are the same seats as they are when you buy the bench. Just with the center removed and arm rests added. The first year you could get sec row cap in the excursion was 02. Before that I don't think you'll find the bolt holes. I bought my seats from car-part.com from a truck salvage in Sacramento. They ups'd them to utah. All for 630.00. Then I paid 400 to get them reupolstered with the covers off my factory bench. I had an xlt with gray cloth. To buy the parts from ford would be around 3000.00, yes 3 grand. It made it nice when we had a baby while our 2nd boy was still in a seat. I'll look for the pics. I won't be back home til thurs so be patient.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/892154/2row1.JPG

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/892154/2row2.JPG

Standard floor mat for the "captains seat" version.

-- Chuck