Thinking of putting a rear facing bench seat in the bed. With a camper shell. Anyone have any pictures or have done this before? Ive seen the bucket seats, but those arent the style im going for. And yes I live in California where theres a grey area for this topic. Im still gonna do it and weld one down. Pics, hints, and tips?
Bed Seats
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For sitting in while not moving... yup. I get it.
For carrying passengers... You are asking for a problem.
CALIFORNIA CARGO-AREA RIDING LAWS:
Each state has its own laws restricting how passengers may ride in the cargo areas of vehicles,
excluding the 17 states that currently have no relevant laws regarding the subject. In California,
you can ride in the back of a truck if you do it according to our state’s rules and regulations.
California addresses the hazards of riding in cargo areas by restricting all riders, with just a few
exceptions. According to California law, you cannot ride in the bed of a truck unless you comply
with one of these situations:
1) A federal-approved restraint system restrains you while in the bed of the truck.
2) You are riding in a farmer-owned vehicle driven only on farming land or on one mile of highway
between one part of a farm to another.
3) You are in a parade (as long as the vehicle does not drive over eight miles per hour).
4) You have an emergency situation that calls for the need to ride in the bed of a truck.
If your situation does not match one of these four acceptable scenarios, you cannot legally
ride in the bed of a truck in California. When you travel out of state, look up each state’s
restrictions on riding in cargo areas to ensure you do not break state laws. If a police officer
catches you riding in the bed of a truck unlawfully, you will face penalties.
There is a $100 fine for the first offense, $200 for second offense within a year of the first,
and $250 for each subsequent offense.
For carrying passengers... You are asking for a problem.
CALIFORNIA CARGO-AREA RIDING LAWS:
Each state has its own laws restricting how passengers may ride in the cargo areas of vehicles,
excluding the 17 states that currently have no relevant laws regarding the subject. In California,
you can ride in the back of a truck if you do it according to our state’s rules and regulations.
California addresses the hazards of riding in cargo areas by restricting all riders, with just a few
exceptions. According to California law, you cannot ride in the bed of a truck unless you comply
with one of these situations:
1) A federal-approved restraint system restrains you while in the bed of the truck.
2) You are riding in a farmer-owned vehicle driven only on farming land or on one mile of highway
between one part of a farm to another.
3) You are in a parade (as long as the vehicle does not drive over eight miles per hour).
4) You have an emergency situation that calls for the need to ride in the bed of a truck.
If your situation does not match one of these four acceptable scenarios, you cannot legally
ride in the bed of a truck in California. When you travel out of state, look up each state’s
restrictions on riding in cargo areas to ensure you do not break state laws. If a police officer
catches you riding in the bed of a truck unlawfully, you will face penalties.
There is a $100 fine for the first offense, $200 for second offense within a year of the first,
and $250 for each subsequent offense.
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2,778 Posts
If I was going to do this, I would probably weld the seat to utilitrack sliders so that you could just slide it and lock it into place, and take it in and out as needed. You could go a little further and weld the side track sliders to the top of the bed so that it would be locked and stabilized that way as well.
It sounds like a pretty cool project, though not useful to me. I'd love to see pictures if you do it and when you're done.
It sounds like a pretty cool project, though not useful to me. I'd love to see pictures if you do it and when you're done.
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1,298 Posts
Sometimes laws and rules are there to protect us, and adding seats to the back of a pickup (in whatever state you live in) is prohibited for a reason. Despite anybody saying, "it's just there to have someplace to sit while I'm not driving", the reality is someone will likely ride back there at some point.
The ability to properly mount the seats (weld them to the utili track, really?) and provide a stable and safe restraint system would be impossible. Can you imagine if people riding back there were involved in an accident? Just adding seat belts in the bed won't ensure they'll function the way they were designed, particularly if the seat mounts get ripped out in a frontal or side collision. Any ensuing accident could result in horrific injuries or death. and you don't want to think of the legal liability that would ensue or damages involved.
There are plenty of cool things to do with our trucks- this isn't one of them!
The ability to properly mount the seats (weld them to the utili track, really?) and provide a stable and safe restraint system would be impossible. Can you imagine if people riding back there were involved in an accident? Just adding seat belts in the bed won't ensure they'll function the way they were designed, particularly if the seat mounts get ripped out in a frontal or side collision. Any ensuing accident could result in horrific injuries or death. and you don't want to think of the legal liability that would ensue or damages involved.
There are plenty of cool things to do with our trucks- this isn't one of them!
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8,304 Posts
We used to take the rear seat out of my old blazer (it was designed to be removable) and throw it into the back of the truck all the time. It was the perfect setup for hunting old logging roads in Washington. Drove for years and probably thousands of miles, never once did anyone get hurt. Seat belts (and seats) in the front are just bolted in, do it right and your just as safe as driving an older car without airbags.
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281 Posts
Just reading this... is it possible for folks to answer this mans post with "pics,hints or tips" like he asked? Geez... he said he knows the "grey area" and was doing it anyway. I'm pretty sure lecturing him won't sway him but if it makes you guys feel better I guess it's ok.... so much for rules about not posting related or helpful content to a thread.
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8,304 Posts
Unfortunately I don't have pictures of my old setup, it was over 15 years ago. The way my Blazer was set up, it had pins (similar to a hitch pin) coming up through the bottom of the floor. Brackets on the seats (and seatbelts) would slip over the pin and then there was hitch pin clip that slipped through the pin that came up through the floor. We created a bracket that would bolt into the back of the bed (bolted to the frame) that matched the dimensions of the seat so we could bolt the brackets into the truck and use the same hitch pin clip to attach the seat to the bracket.
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2,940 Posts
I failed to see any helpful comments from your post which happens to be the only one in the thread that is actually off topic.
There is no grey area in the state that he lives in (Cali of all places). There are specific laws about putting a seat in the bed. Just because someone is bent on committing suicide/homicide does that mean we can't try to reason with him about it?
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That's a little over reaching don't you think (kind of like a lot of California's laws)? "Bent on committing suicide/homicide" really???
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Meh, possibly. All it takes is one bad driver (not you) to hit you and roll the truck and then no more people sitting in the bed. I've seen too many people that are dead because they were sitting in the bed and were thrown from it in a wreck. Basically the same reason my son will never ride on my motorcycle. Saying you've done it for years and "no one got hurt" doesn't stop the fact that it isn't smart, especially on road where you have to deal with the stupid.
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8,304 Posts
Holy crap you ride a motorcycle?? What are you doing trying to commit suicide? No seatbelt? No protection from a airbag or a roof? Just as stupid as riding in the back of a truck....
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8,304 Posts
Lots of sarcasm in my post, the point is, your chances of getting hurt riding a motorcycle are way better than riding in the back of a truck. I live in a state where there are no laws against people riding in the back of the truck, can't recall ever hearing of anyone injured or killed doing this. However, in the past 6 months (most don't ride in the winter here) there have been many motorcycle fatalities, 8 in August alone, and we are not that populous of a state.
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281 Posts
I will comment no more after this as to not flood this thread anymore with this unhelpful BS. My comment was helpful as it reiterated the original posters request, that had not been answered other than FishnAlaska. You have no idea of the mans intent with his seats. You don't need an idea. You like many others just love the sound of your own qwerty clicking away. Any reason to scold someone or offer an opinion, that is not at all an answer to a post, is reason enough. Those answers are seen as ok to the mods but the brow beating ensues for those that are deemed "inappropriate" or "already been answered" (in 2007? not relevant now, do not completely answer your question or haven't been properly headed and cannot be found easily). I haven't been on this forum for long at all and have learned this much about it. There are few active here but it's a ghost town (compared to other forums) and a handful of those could be said to share the blame for it. If new people or members who, don't know everything like a few here do, weren't chastised then there's a really good possibility that they'd stay, be more active, learn a little, maybe even from you and who knows? They may give money to the forum?
Do u know how many titan owners I see that I've told to come here? Everyone I see at a gas station or pull up to at a red light. Not many know of it but the few that do and other members that are already on here, are not very active bc of this bored, brow beating, know it all, elitist nonsense.
Why can't you just answer the mans damn question? Isn't there a high horse, forum nazi forum for know it alls, helpers and reasoners. If people wanted that they'd consult their parents.
I hope this response doesn't put me in "timeout" or give me the boot. If it does, just know, you have proved my point.
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^^Hey, I think I offered a helpful suggestion (welding utilitrack hardware to the frame). So long as I'm not riding in it, I don't think I care all that much anyway. And putting the seat in doesn't mean it will be used for anything more than just hanging out when tailgating or something similar.
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