2nd row bench addition

[GTNator]

3rd row space isn't a problem for me it's the cargo. so If I'm going somewhere and need the cargo area I just remove the 3rd row a d stick 3 kids on the bench.

Right, with the SWB you have to pick one or the other.


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[jsoltren]

I just finished the same swap on my truck. My new to me bench has heated and power seats. My old captains only had heat option. $2k seems very steep considering what i paid ( under $500)

Neat! How did you source your seat?

 

[Mickey_7106]

Junk yard on craigslist that specializes on truck only

Neat! How did you source your seat?

 

[Mr Dan]

I have a 2011 Tahoe with 2nd row leather bench seat. Tan, heated, power fold down. Looking to swap with someone who has tan leather captains chairs. Located in Alabama but willing to drive.

Hi brbtransformin,

We have 2 tan/cashmere leather second row buckets in our 2008 suburban, not heated and manual, but would like to trade, if still available. We are in El Paso, TX .

Dan

 

[brbtransformin]

Hi brbtransformin,

We have 2 tan/cashmere leather second row buckets in our 2008 suburban, not heated and manual, but would like to trade, if still available. We are in El Paso, TX .

Dan

Sorry, I have the short wheelbase Tahoe so the seats won't fit the suburban.

 

[h_pipe]

Bwiggins1985 and I met up today to swap second row seats. He had a 2009 Suburban LT with a tan leather bench. I had a 2013 GMC Yukon XL SLT with premium tan leather bucket seats or captain's chairs. Premium means perforated leather, heated, and power folding.

Mechanically, the swap was straightforward. There are eight studs in the floor of the body where the seats mount. The captain's chairs use four each. The bolts are 18mm hex bolts. A deep socket driver is suggested. Torque to 45 in-lbf. The bench uses two additional 13mm bolts to hold the underbodies together for increased strength. You'll need every single bolt for crashworthiness, so, don't lose them! Our nuts all had captive washers - no free washers to lose.

But, the devil's in the details, or in this case, the carpets. We thought that we could just switch carpets along with the seats and have everything work out perfectly. We were wrong.

See, GM changed the interior spec of the GMT900 Suburban in 2010. So, there are not one but two possibilities for the carpeting that covers the second row seat hardware and the third row footwell area:

- hard plastic covers, or
- a carpet trim piece with sound deadening material.

The trouble is that, with this change, GM changed how the two piece primary interior carpet works. With the hard plastic covers, the two pieces of interior carpet meet right under the second row. The entire floor is carpeted, the seat frames sit on top of the carpet, and the trim piece protects passengers from injuring themselves on studs.

With the move from the hard plastic covers to the carpet trim piece, the two piece carpets are shorter, and the body floor is bare under the second row.

View attachment 222840

The carpet trim piece insulates and covers this from sill plate to sill plate, the full width of the vehicle.

View attachment 222843

View attachment 222841

Bwiggins1985 gave me his hard plastic cover.

View attachment 222844

It left a gap in the carpet on each side. For now, I've filled that gap with a custom cut piece of scrap carpet. Long term, I'll want to either obtain the correct carpet, or, put some insulation under the hard plastic piece. Right now it's just a bare floor under that piece.

I gave Bwiggins1985 my carpet and it added thickness to his carpet at the sill plates. He had a tough time getting the sill plates installed. He's going to order hard plastic covers for his captain's chairs.

View attachment 222842

With the seats being different of course our existing floor mats don't work. We would have gladly swapped but he had black mats and I had tan mats. We each need to modify our existing mats or buy new ones.

I allocated two hours for the swap. That was plenty of time to let us work at a leisurely pace and to research carpet options. 30 minutes for a pro and 60-90 minutes without complications and research is about right.

Really glad I made the change! We have three kids. In every other car we put them three across in row two and open up the back for cargo. Comes in really handy on camping trips. I feel like the buckets are great if you have two or four kids, or bigger kids. But with the buckets we had a bunch of issues:

- daughter had a tough time buckling her booster by herself in row 3. The seat belt buckle is designed to grab the belt when twisted. It's great for installing car seats, but terrible for a little person to do on their own.

- son's rear facing seat was so deep we had to shove the passenger seat really far forward to fit it. Wife didn't have enough leg room.

- not enough cargo space for camping trips.

- can't hear anyone sitting in the third row.

- fights about who sits in the second row.

With these issues solved, we've gladly got three across in the second row.

I did lose power folding and heating in the second row. So what? We'll have car seats in there for at least the next five years. If I'm dead set on a bench with power fold and heat there is one for $2k on eBay two hours away. If I ever want captain's chairs back, I can do another swap, or just buy them. The benches are way harder to find than the buckets.

Hello -
Can I ask how those hard plastic carpet covers came off? I have them around buckets and I dont want to pull really hard if there is a bolt somewhere? Thanks!

 

[wjburken]

Hello -
Can I ask how those hard plastic carpet covers came off? I have them around buckets and I dont want to pull really hard if there is a bolt somewhere? Thanks!
View attachment 236182

They simply pull up on them and they will pop loose. At least on the LWB models, that is how it is. The SWB units might be different.

 

[PPV12HOE]

Hello -
Can I ask how those hard plastic carpet covers came off? I have them around buckets and I dont want to pull really hard if there is a bolt somewhere? Thanks!
View attachment 236182

They use an industrial Velcro tab on both sides, just give it a healthy yank...

 

[h_pipe]

Thank you!
For the bench I want to put in, It looks like there are two ways those came, some with that hard carpet covered plastic and some with thick carpet....I guess it really does not matter which one I replace with...
Thanks again!


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[Cantrepeat]

I had no issue with the swap. The Dealership ordered the wrong seat set up. They did the exchange in an hour. I'm much happier with the bench set up. A proper cup holder in the pull down armrest instead of the door .

I know I'm late to this party.

Like a few of you I wanted some cup holders and storage for the second row. I needed a place for my daughter to put her drinks, DVD remote and headsets, etc...

What I ended up doing was getting a center jump seat out of a 2016 Silverado that was black and matched the rest of my Tahoe's interior. I had to fabricate a couple of brackets and order some USB mini cables but it works well. I also made some covers for the arm rest that I removed from the captains chairs.

A big NOTE: while this is a great way to get some storage, cup holders and nice arm rest put in, you can't use this option for seating. The jump seat isn't mounted in a way that it would hold a passenger in an accident. Which is why I didn't install the seat belt that came with the seat. I got this off of ebay for $200 shipped.