4th Row the Right Way

[ScottyBoy]

it can be done, but it is not legal now, it is a fed offense to mod seat belt mounting which you will need to do for upper mounts. the tahoe and sub seats are different, the sub seat would be a easier mount as 1 piece, also I would not do rear facing due to making seat belts work in a accident

On the Suburban/Yukon XL third row bench seat, the seat belt is built into the seat. So no modifications to the seatbelts are needed, just SECURELY bolt in the seat and he should be good.

 

[blown240]

UPDATE:

So Yesterday I went and did my best to cut the floor out of a Suburban. The back and sides cut out fine, but when I got to the front part of the floor, where it drops down into the footwells, I ran into trouble. There are at least 3-4 layers of steel there, and some of them are inches apart. It was nearly impossible to get the sawmill blade thru all of them, and as I am cutting, I realize how much of the trucks structure needed to be cut. The only other option would have been to drill out dozens of spot welds to only get the upper layer of sheet metal, but that would have caused other problems. What I ended up getting was 6 of the bolt in bars that the seat clips to. I will make my own steel buckets from angle iron, and recess them into my floor. Then I will make some structural braces under the tuck to tie them all together.

The more I think about it, my new plan will be better and stronger in the long run. I have lots of experience welding and doing frame modifications on classic cars.

 

[Rocket Man]

UPDATE:

So Yesterday I went and did my best to cut the floor out of a Suburban. The back and sides cut out fine, but when I got to the front part of the floor, where it drops down into the footwells, I ran into trouble. There are at least 3-4 layers of steel there, and some of them are inches apart. It was nearly impossible to get the sawmill blade thru all of them, and as I am cutting, I realize how much of the trucks structure needed to be cut. The only other option would have been to drill out dozens of spot welds to only get the upper layer of sheet metal, but that would have caused other problems. What I ended up getting was 6 of the bolt in bars that the seat clips to. I will make my own steel buckets from angle iron, and recess them into my floor. Then I will make some structural braces under the tuck to tie them all together.

The more I think about it, my new plan will be better and stronger in the long run. I have lots of experience welding and doing frame modifications on classic cars.

What are you using to cut with? You said "sawmill blade" but did you mean sawzall? I would think a 4 1/2" angle grinder with metal cut-off blades would have cut right through that. But anyway we need pictures!!!

 

[about20ninj45]

Im not sure if I will do frontwards or backwards. Im leaning towards forwards since, but I will have to play with the extra seat to see what works better. I have a feeling that forwards will have better leg room, but obviously backwards will give easier access.

It will only be small kids in the 4th row, so if they have to crawl over the 3rd, its probably no big deal. It will probably only be a couple times a year that I even use the 4th row, but I like the idea of it, and I can't leave any vehicle alone...

Do all 00-06 Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon have the same 3rd row mounts?

Yes and no

 

[about20ninj45]

it can be done, but it is not legal now, it is a fed offense to mod seat belt mounting which you will need to do for upper mounts. the tahoe and sub seats are different, the sub seat would be a easier mount as 1 piece, also I would not do rear facing due to making seat belts work in a accident

The seatbelts are in the seat itself and not the pillar

 

[about20ninj45]

UPDATE:

So Yesterday I went and did my best to cut the floor out of a Suburban. The back and sides cut out fine, but when I got to the front part of the floor, where it drops down into the footwells, I ran into trouble. There are at least 3-4 layers of steel there, and some of them are inches apart. It was nearly impossible to get the sawmill blade thru all of them, and as I am cutting, I realize how much of the trucks structure needed to be cut. The only other option would have been to drill out dozens of spot welds to only get the upper layer of sheet metal, but that would have caused other problems. What I ended up getting was 6 of the bolt in bars that the seat clips to. I will make my own steel buckets from angle iron, and recess them into my floor. Then I will make some structural braces under the tuck to tie them all together.

The more I think about it, my new plan will be better and stronger in the long run. I have lots of experience welding and doing frame modifications on classic cars.

I used the seats out of a newer Yukon Denali XL (07) for my fourth row. I elevated my brackets off the floor by 2 inches to give me more legroom for the kids in the back. My seat doesn't touch the glass at least to my knowledge

 

[blown240]

What are you using to cut with? You said "sawmill blade" but did you mean sawzall? I would think a 4 1/2" angle grinder with metal cut-off blades would have cut right through that. But anyway we need pictures!!!

Ya, Sawsall is what I meant. Autocorrect changed it. The yard I was at doesn't allow grinders, so all I could use was a sawzall and a hole saw to get started. I was so frustrated at the yard that I didn't get pics....

I used the seats out of a newer Yukon Denali XL (07) for my fourth row. I elevated my brackets off the floor by 2 inches to give me more legroom for the kids in the back. My seat doesn't touch the glass at least to my knowledge

Do you have any pics or a thread here? I must have missed it....

 

[about20ninj45]

Nope never put up pictures but I can take some if you want. I had some brackets made up (like these just taller)

 

[blown240]

Nope never put up pictures but I can take some if you want. I had some brackets made up (like these just taller)

Sending you a PM>. Thanks!!

 

[blown240]

Here are some random pics that I took when I was testing how the seat would be if it was just setting on the floor. From these pics its clear that rear facing won't work...