Ford Transit van seat questions

[farok]

I'm seriously considering Ford Transit van seats for the co-pilot/wife because they have integrated 3-point seat belts. Something like these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2015-Ford-...y-Vinyl-with-3-Legs-Cut-on-Back-/123687590613
https://www.ebay.com/itm/382877106989?ul_noapp=true

For those that have used them, how comfortable or uncomfortable are they to sit in for hours on end?

Also, I'd like to mount the seat about 4-5 inches lower than the legs and rails would typically mount them, as the seat would be at a higher level than the floor space in front of it (and I don't want her legs to be dangling off the floor). How bad would it be to do this with the existing feet, or build new mounting feet?

I've not driven out to see any of these yet (no close-by sales I've found yet), and so if I can figure these out ahead of time and maybe save myself a trip (or make a trip that much more worth-while) that'd be awesome.

Thanks as always!
Chris

 

[dazdconfsd]

I haven't ridden in them yet, but I'm told the ones I put in are pretty good for long days. In the trip west my parents were doing long days and universally said they're comfortable. I did make sure to get the cloth ones that reclined individually to improve comfort.

 

[farok]

Thanks! So far all I've found are the vinyl ones that don't recline, so I'm now fishing for '99-'06 Chevy truck seats. They have the built-in belts, and are wider, and hopefully more comfortable. Should be easier to mount as well - just need 4 bolts.

Chris

 

[musigenesis]

I bought one of the 31" wide two-person seats off Craigslist, haven't installed it yet but I've sat in it with my dad in the other seat. It's more or less like an airplane seat without armrests that doesn't recline. It would be OK for a couple of hours but a full day of riding might be tough, and day after day of it would probably make her start thinking about where to pawn the ring.

There's really no way you can shorten the legs on these seats without being a master fabricator and welder, and you'd be getting into who-knows-if-this-is-safe? territory even then. If her feet are in the stepwell (I assume you're mounting this as far forward as possible) the brackets will be projecting into it as well, so it would be easier to just add a little bit of floor underneath it.

I would only go with one of the Ford Transit Van seats if I wanted to absolutely minimize the space taken up by the passenger seats, and was willing to sacrifice rider comfort (which is the case in my case). For about the same price or a little more, you can get a much more comfortable passenger seat option, although it will take up more space.

 

[dazdconfsd]

Thanks! So far all I've found are the vinyl ones that don't recline, so I'm now fishing for '99-'06 Chevy truck seats. They have the built-in belts, and are wider, and hopefully more comfortable. Should be easier to mount as well - just need 4 bolts.

Chris

Look around a bit more. We found several on ebay that fit our needs, and since they're potentially new take outs, they'll be in better shape than the much older Chevy option.

Replacing the legs on the Transit seats should be doable, since the legs are bolted on and easily removed.