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bench seat safety

big dan

big dan

1/2 ton status
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Ive been searching for information about truck bench seats but cant seem to find what Im looking for.

Right now I have an 86 k10 that has been chopped up and lots of tube added so I guess you could say it is more of a buggy and currently has no seats. I had a bench seat in it for a while and I liked it, its comfortable, seats three, cheap, and bolts in without any kind of major fabrication.

I took it out because it was in sad shape and am now looking for a replacement but as my rig has become more modified to handle more difficult wheeling I am concerned about the safety of a bench seat.

So my question is; is a bench seat, provided it is safely anchored and I have quality seat belts, safe?

Now I am not trying to cheap out, I will spend the coin on quality seats if need be. I simply like the bench seat in my buggy but safety is my main concern so I will buy quality bucket seats if a bench is not a safe option.
 
Donno why a bench would be any worse than buckets, safely mounted and with good restraints.

I'm actually gonna switch from buckets to a bench in my K5 one of these days. The bucket will be mounted to the cage, as will the harnesses.

-- A
 
I plan on mounting the seats to the cage, whatever they may be, as well as 5 point harnesses.
 
From what I understand, when switching out seats and going with 4x4 specific suspension seats, it's mainly done to keep your behind planted in the seat. The side bolsters along with a 5 point belt will hold you in place while the truck is bouncing around over obstacles and what not. This is so you can maintain control over all the vehicles inputs (steering, shifter, pedals) without having to remove an arm from the wheel or brace a leg against the floor to keep yourself from sliding around on a bench seat. A 5 point harness with a bench seat will not be effective in holding your body in place without some additional arm/leg bracing over bumps. A bench seat has nothing to keep you from sliding around.

So, it all depends on what you are doing with the truck. If you're gently wheeling down some trails with friends in the truck with you and taking your time over the obstacles, a bench seat with properly mounted belts will work fine. Just expect to brace yourself in place over bumps, probably something you are already used to like most of us with stock seats and belts.

But if you're going at it all 'competition style' even properly mounted 5 point harnesses will not keep you and your friends in place on a bench seat. The belts may even cause bruising or pinching when the bodies start sliding around on the bench seat.

I've got years of experience being bruised from all kinds of factory seats and seat belts while being thrashed around inside a car while still trying to maintain control.
 
I wheeled with a bench seat for a long time did some pretty extreme stuff too. I still used the stock 3 points for that whole time period too.

I now have buckets with harnesses, I really like the buckets, they keep you in place way better. If I could have afforded it I would have gone with full on race style seats with a hole for the crotch belt. Mostly because I have a belly and the lap belt doesn't stay where it should when I have the shoulder harnesses on.

I didn't mind my bench at all but given the opportunity would always use buckets with some bolstering on them, just makes wheeling a little nicer. I used to have to brace myself with my knees elbows or whatever to stay behind the wheel but now I stay put alot better.

Overall safety I think I would have to give the nod to buckets. But I don't think it would be a problem with a bench
 
staying in place is one thing that concerns me about the bench, its much easier to stay put with buckets.

the majority of my wheeling is pretty mild and usually slow. however, I will attempt the more extreme obstacles when I am by myself or with passengers that feel comfortable with the obstacle so staying planted in the seat is important to me.

I am all for having buckets but I dont want to limit the "fun" factor of being able to carry more than one passenger and a rear seat is out of the question for the time being. what extra space I have is usually occupied by tools/parts and the gas tank, not to mention my cage was not designed with rear seat in mind. I may just have to sacrafice the extra passenger room.:dunno:
 
Know anyone that sews, for a while I thought about getting some foam and sewing some bolsters into a seat cover for the bench, years ago there was company that did just that
 
thats an interesting idea. I may check into that.

Ive also considered some newer truck bucket seats that have the bolsters and a center seat/consol.
 
When I was 18 I had a 68 Chevy El Camino with a 396 BB in it. My friend and I were racing to his house from a friends house, driving like idiots. he was driving his own car. I had to make a U turn and did it fast and hard. I was not wearing a seat belt. I slid all the way to the passenger door fast! My hands were ripped from the steering wheel! I reached out at the last second and grabbed the weel with my left hand and kept the car in control and from crashing. Scared the hell out of me. It wa right after that with in a week I had a Diest 3" lap belt mounted in. Benches without belts = bad news.
 
If you ever used a race seat, it definitely keeps you in better. You become one with the truck. The problem also depends on what your doing. You cant move around much at all. You cant look outside your window to look at your wheel, etc.

Racing with a real race seat reduces fatigue. There's some serious fatigue on a bench seat if driving aggressively, or if your worried about sliding off your gas pedal or brake pedal.
 
well I wont be doing in racing in this rig, thats for sure but it does get laid on its side on a regular basis and even at slow speeds its difficult to remain seated and focus on controling the vehicle with seat belts.

so I may just have to bite the bullet and get a set of quality bucket seats. I may try adding some bolstering to one of my spare seats like blazinzuk mentioned and see how that works out if its not too much of a pain.
 
What about something like this



Its actually meant to be used a rear seat but they are almost as wide as a factory bench seat. Three people my size would be able to sit comfortably in it and people much bigger than me will have a hard time getting in to my buggy anyways so I feel like seating wouldnt be an issue.

The main issue I see with the seat is that it doesnt have the bolstering between the seats but if you are wearing a safety harness you shouldnt slide side to side, should you?
 
I was looking at 40/20/40 split setups similar to this:
SSE_SSR_Racing_Seats_Black_Big.jpg


Still haven't found any really good ones yet. Just a thought. Your bench one looks more safe. In a blazer I'd be concerned about access to the back seat, so the seat would still have to fold forward.
 
I like what DK5 is looking at there.

The other thing is possibly 3 buckets across.

I may have to increase my seating capacity for Moab and I think I have room to bolt one of my stock 73 seats in between the front seats.

We shall see.

I think the problem with the bench you posted Dan is the fact that you are still only held in on one side. I am a big guy so that side was never a problem. It was always getting tossed over towards the passenger side
 
I like the setup DK5 posted as well. Gives that safety of the buckets for two with the option of a third passenger plus a consol. I am definately interested in this setup

DK5: is that a complete setup you are looking at or something that was pieced together? I think I could piece something similar to that together with some quality buckets and a center seat/consol from a late model truck

Ive considered three buckets in a row but I dont know if I will have enough room. Honestly Ive never measured it. A full size bench seat is squished between the door bars but it will fit so surely I should have room for three seats.:dunno:
 
All I know is no one bounces around more than passengers in the rear bench over that axle... oh my jebus. Went with a buddy in his K5 once when mine was down. I had the whole rear bench to myself, legs spread apart planted the best I could, both arms gripping each arm rest, and by the time we were done, my ass and lap from the belt were tore up. Thankfully I used the middle seatbelt so I could strap it on tight and not have to worry about the auto adjusters not working fast enough, or else I would have had a concussion for sure. :eek:
 
I used to have a back seat from a Dodge minivan that was 3 bucket seats in one piece, each had a fold down arm rest and each had it's own reclining mechanism but all had one braket to bolt down to the floor.
I since tossed it because it was outside and got all ruined but at least now I know of it's existance and could go to a junkyard and get one.
A buddy of mine had it in the crew cab before we parted it and he said it worked great for his family while they had it.
 
thanks for the link.

I gave up on the bench seat and bought a set of buckets yesterday. I may see if I can find a consol and build a setup like DK5 posted

thanks for all the commments and suggestions
 
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