2nd Row Seat Removal

[ben322]

The swivel pedestal is a standard RV part and utilizes a seat belt bar so the the belts will move with the seat. Even if one were to cut off the bar, any lower seat height without addressing the distance between the seat and the black tank enclosure would essentially render the swivel useless. I'm looking at using a 4" pedestal with longer arms to give the track more forward distance so it will still swivel 90-degrees left or right when not reclined.

[wayneskid]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Now that you describe it that way, I think mine might be the same. Going on the basis of memory I thought the seat swivel was directly on top of the black tank cover, but my memory has been wrong before, and the black tank enclosure might not extend all the way under the seat as I believed.

And as they say, when the memory goes, you can just forget it!

This is clearly a case of the blind leading the blind! I also had a major brain lapse. I think I should get a free pass though because I don't get to see my Interstate but 2 or 3 times a year. But Protagonist is correct. After further digging into the dark recesses of my failing mind, I now remember that the box covering the black tank does not have the 2nd row seat on top of it. The seat is just forward of the front face of the box. I'm pretty certain this is how it is set up but I will confirm next week when I pay my visit to OR and my Interstate. If I can remember where I left it

[73shark]

Originally Posted by wayneskid

This is clearly a case of the blind leading the blind! I also had a major brain lapse. I think I should get a free pass though because I don't get to see my Interstate but 2 or 3 times a year. But Protagonist is correct. After further digging into the dark recesses of my failing mind, I now remember that the box covering the black tank does not have the 2nd row seat on top of it. The seat is just forward of the front face of the box. I'm pretty certain this is how it is set up but I will confirm next week when I pay my visit to OR and my Interstate. If I can remember where I left it

In the non-extended lounge model, the curb side 2nd row seat is bolted to the floor. The black water tank is above the floor and extends almost to the base of the seat.

[russ240]

Not that this changes anything and I expect it is fully above the floor in all designs otherwise it would require a heater, but I seem to recall that the black tank was changed sometime during the 2012 model year. I believe this had to do with clearance for the change from 2-point seat belts to 3-point seat belts on the 2nd row (and the different seats that incorporate them) during that time.

[MILATV]

You can see the pup found a way to try and sprawl out, going to have to get him up in the bed, old bones (his) don't like jumping up or down.

[K9CarCrate]

I just bought a 2014 extended and removed the 2nd row seats. The bolts are captive, but they can slide an get lost between the floor. I'm getting shorter bolts so the nuts stay in place, covering the area behind the first row of seats to the "hallway" with a custom cut/ beveled Southern States heavy rubber "stall mat"
And then installing custom stackable dog crates on the driver side for my two German Shepherds. I will use the front tie down behind the driver seat and one of the second row seat bolts to secure the crates. I'll update with pictures when I finish. ( I make custom, secure dog crates as a hobby out of aluminum tubing, HD polyethylene, and lots of rivets).

[K9CarCrate]

I've found shorter (1") screws at Advanced Auto parts so that I can secure the captive nuts an prevent rattling. The next step is to cut the rubber stall mat to cover the are.

[MILATV]

That's cool but I'm a bit confused, if the nuts were 'captive' wouldn't that imply they were welded to floor? What rattles?

My van has studs coming up through base with nuts holding the seat base down, did yours have bolts through the seat base into the floor?

[73shark]

By the way he described them, I assume that they were captive cage nuts. When the bolt is removed, the nuts are retained loosely in the cage that is welded to the bottom of the floor. At least that's one possibility.

[K9CarCrate]

Sorry I wasn't more precise. Yes, they are captive, but they are loose in some type of guide track that runs parallel to the length of the van. It appears that there are different designs because the screws are bolting into the floor.

[ben322]

That appears clearly different than the ones in 2009 where two of the nuts/washers are clearly visible on the RH side perpendicular to the length of the van and the other two on that side could be inside what appears to be factory bracing. Forget the LH side above the fuel tank. I'm glad to see AS might have learned enough to make the nuts captive. I would suggest that if you're not using that particular nut, put a bolt in it so it doesn't slide into an unusable position.

[PSchw]

Airstream must have change it from 2013 to 2014 as mine (2013) clearly has no captive nuts. I wish it had. I left the set mount in and took it of on the turn bracket.
Peter

[K9CarCrate]

So today I cut the heavy rubber stall mat that I am using to cover the second seat row area. It took some time and careful measuring, but was able to get a good fit. This will help to cushion the dog crates that will get stacked and they will be located behind the driver's seat. In addition, this is a very durable and stable surface. The second picture is a cardboard mockup on the positioning of the lower crate with the side angled at 75 degrees. I put the driver's seat all the way back and angled back further than I would ever drive in that position. The dimensions of the lower crate is 45"x 30" x 28"h. There will be a door facing the side entry. I'll post an update when I have the first one built.

[K9CarCrate]

With the crate mockup...

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by K9CarCrate

So today I cut the heavy rubber stall mat that I am using to cover the second seat row area. It took some time and careful measuring, but was able to get a good fit. This will help to cushion the dog crates that will get stacked and they will be located behind the driver's seat. In addition, this is a very durable and stable surface. The second picture is a cardboard mockup on the positioning of the lower crate with the side angled at 75 degrees. I put the driver's seat all the way back and angled back further than I would ever drive in that position. The dimensions of the lower crate is 45"x 30" x 28"h. There will be a door facing the side entry. I'll post an update when I have the first one built.

Are you going to relocate the switches/outlets that will be obscured by the crates?

Off-topic: You might want to reorient your fire extinguisher bracket to a vertical orientation. Mine was originally horizontal as yours is, until I hit one too many New Orleans potholes and the plastic bracket broke. It's not really designed to support the weight of the fire extinguisher horizontally. After I bought a new bracket, I installed it so the extinguisher is vertical (with the base resting on that ledge) and have not experienced any trouble with it since.

[K9CarCrate]

Protagonist, thanks for the suggestion on the fire extinguisher. I have read some of your comments and your mods are very helpful! I will definitely change that fire extinguisher configuration. If you have a source/suggestion of replacement brackets that would be helpful. With regard to the switch outlet that the crates are blocking, for now I am going to leave it alone. If I need to, there's still room to plug in to the switch as the crates are not flush against the wall-- admittedly, not the easiest to get to with the crate there...I'm starting to build the crates tomorrow, and hopefully finish within the next two weeks.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by K9CarCrate

Protagonist, thanks for the suggestion on the fire extinguisher. I have read some of your comments and your mods are very helpful! I will definitely change that fire extinguisher configuration. If you have a source/suggestion of replacement brackets that would be helpful.

This one.
First Alert Fire Extinguisher Bracket - Amazon.com
Best of all, it's metal, unlike the plastic one that Airstream installed.

[K9CarCrate]

As promised, I finished the first dog crate and installed it in place of the driver's side second row seat. I still have the second crate to finish that will get placed on top of this crate and secured. I will post the final set up in a dog/pet thread. I'm very happy with the stall mat overlay. The bolts that held the second row seats have been tightened in place with shorter bolts and there is no rattling.

[k9jackie]

Has anyone else removed the second row for standard crates? I want to do this.

[73shark]

There's a couple of posts in this forum section about removing the second row. Might try the search function although I've had mixed results w/ it here and on other forums.