Fitting None Land Rover forward facing rear seats

cornish rattler · Sep 26, 2016

Hi guys
I have been thinking for a long time now about fitting a pair of rear forward facing seats in the back of my 1988 90 and although the prices of the XS style rear seats I was originally thinking about have come down in price they are still quite expensive even without the fixing brackets and belts, so I have started thinking about fitting a pair of front seats either like the Mazda rx8 seats we have fitted in the front or something else like those bucket seats you see at the shows obviously they will be a fixed seat and obviously would need seat belts, think fixing the seats in place is quite straight forward but thinking about the seatbelt fixings, how would I go about fitting them.
All advise greatly appreciated

300bhp/ton · Sep 26, 2016

Do you actually have a 'real' need or use for forward facing rear seats?

TBH, not really a fan. There just isn't sufficient room in any dimension to make them comfortable to use. They always look odd and would be a complete and utter PITA to actually get in and out of. And somehow always look wrong.

I think the factory ones also used different seat boxes, in a failed attempt to make them more habitable. Not too mention you'd loose all your load area too.

cornish rattler · Sep 26, 2016

300bhp/ton said:
Do you actually have a 'real' need or use for forward facing rear seats?

TBH, not really a fan. There just isn't sufficient room in any dimension to make them comfortable to use. They always look odd and would be a complete and utter PITA to actually get in and out of. And somehow always look wrong.

I think the factory ones also used different seat boxes, in a failed attempt to make them more habitable. Not too mention you'd loose all your load area too.

Yeah the 90 was originally a county with 4 x side facing rear seats but they was very uncumfy so I removed them when I had the tub off replacing the chassis earlier this year but I don't really need the 4 seats in the back just 2 so thought I would fit 2 forward facing seats instead as they would be better for when off roading with 2 peeps in the back plus we plan to fit the glass side panels at some point aswell, folding seats would be better but as I have said tooooooo pricey

FlyingPete · Sep 26, 2016

300bhp/ton said:
Do you actually have a 'real' need or use for forward facing rear seats?

TBH, not really a fan. There just isn't sufficient room in any dimension to make them comfortable to use. They always look odd and would be a complete and utter PITA to actually get in and out of. And somehow always look wrong.

I think the factory ones also used different seat boxes, in a failed attempt to make them more habitable. Not too mention you'd loose all your load area too.

Agreed. They really don't fit well at all. Retrofitted into an earlier model they end up very close together and virtually impossible to get in and out of via the back door- often you have to fold one of them up to get through. The usual reason given for fitting them is the need to carry smaller children, so I fail to see how this is a safer option for them.

The seating capacity is reduced from four to two and they take up far too much room when folded up. Rear facing would be significantly better for access and could be positioned with the backs against the bulkhead But ultimately, it was designed for side-facing seats and these just fit better. If the standard ones aren't too comfortable (personally I find them fine for short trips) there are alternatives available with taller backrests etc.

cornish rattler · Sep 28, 2016

Yeah mine is an original 90 county and I still have all the rear side facing and front seats but I don't carry peeps in the back much and when I do its normally just 2 so would prefer to remove the side facing rear seats and fit 2 forward facing seats instead as they seem more cumfy aswell, and I don't mind folding one up to get in and out the back.
I have also been looking at the Trekker forward facing seats aswell as they are a lot cheaper and do the same job

bankz5152 · Sep 28, 2016

Ive got forward facing seats in the back of mine, low back, folding ones, similar to what flying pete posted. So they only take up 2/3rds of the wheel arch and fold away nicely when not in use.

While they are much more comfortable to travel in it is a squeeze for anyone over 6ft, not to mention when down, even with someone sitting in them they jump like crazy over speed bumps and the like.

They are a pain to get in and out of as well. You have to fold down one seat, tell both people to get in and stand, then fold down the other seat. Once youre in youre in kind of thing! They do also take up the whole load space, to the point i had to buy a roof rack and now swapping to a 110....

Given the chance would I fit them again? No. I would buy some more comfortable side facing seats...

300bhp/ton · Sep 28, 2016

bankz5152 said:
They are a pain to get in and out of as well. You have to fold down one seat, tell both people to get in and stand, then fold down the other seat. Once youre in youre in kind of thing!

I would imagine there is also a safety concern here too, in the event of an accident or something happening, there may be need to exit the vehicle quickly and easily.

bankz5152 · Sep 28, 2016

No chance. You simply cannot get out of the back without outside help if both seats are down.

Oldfogey · Sep 29, 2016

Would it be possible to fit "tilt & slide" front seats, as per a 2 door car, to give access to the rear seats that way?

GATSO · Sep 29, 2016

im going to fit 2 rear facing seats. use if poss the original front seatbelt mounts just bolt to them ,,,plenty of leg room still get stuff in the back when not in use ,,and if base is fold able even more carry space

FlyingPete · Sep 29, 2016

IMO seats from which you can't rapidly vacate the vehicle (i.e most forward-facing retrofits) are actually dangerous in case of an accident. Unless you're fitting just the one seat, I'd consider side or rear-facing only. Those sold as forward-facing should fit facing backwards in the same way and would fold up against the sides. Alternatively some sort of tip-up bench would work well against the bulkhead- slightly shorter but wider load space when folded.

If you only want 2 seats, have you considered just fitting the side-facers on one side of the car? It's a reasonable compromise between load space and seating, and you can actually get in and out of them unaided. For occasional use then the standard tip-ups should be fine, or you could fit the later ones with a higher backrest. If you're fitting seatbelts to them (not a legal requirement but also handy for off road use) then fit lap belts only on this type of seat. Mine has grab handles above the door which rear passengers can hang on to, and something similar could be installed on the middle bulkhead for those sat closest to the front.

cornish rattler · Sep 30, 2016

Yeah I really want to fit forward facing seats, I do see what you are all saying about access getting in and out but the seats will only be used every once and a while for the odd off road / show trip so folding one up to allow peeps to get in really isn't a problem, I am more concerned about fitting the seat belts in than the seats them selves and I am leaning more towards the Trekker seats now than the XS seats

Fitting None Land Rover forward facing rear seats

cornish rattler

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300bhp/ton

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cornish rattler

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FlyingPete

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cornish rattler

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bankz5152

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300bhp/ton

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bankz5152

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Oldfogey

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GATSO

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FlyingPete

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cornish rattler

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