Baby seat in my van

[monkeykongking]

Hi guys,

I've been MIA from this site and it's because i just had a new born baby that took up most of my time.

Summer is coming and i'm planning to the the kid camping in the van.

My van is empty inside, no bench seat to mount a baby seat to.

Do you guys have any suggestion on how to safely mount a baby seat back there?

I have a raised sub floor and a semi nice rug on top of it. I can't weld anything to the floor unless i cut the rug to get to the metal.

Any suggestions?

[65dream]

U could bolt down a bench seat.with seatbelt s the mount baby seat with seatbelts to the bench...even Better if the bench is one that folds into a bed to sleep in after u get to campsite... congrats on the baby...i remember when my kids were in baby seats in back of my vans.. now they are 12 and 15...ill sound like people did to me.now me to u..time goes fast..enjoy.

[monkeykongking]

I am trying to avoid mounting bench seats in the van. I use my van to haul scooters and things all the time. When we go camping, we have foam mattress made of small sections that is easily removable. Basically i prefer to keep my van empty for multiple use.

Can i trust any safety belts or seat that is mounted to the 1/2 inch plywood subfloor?
That can't be safe right?

U could bolt down a bench seat.with seatbelt s the mount baby seat with seatbelts to the bench...even Better if the bench is one that folds into a bed to sleep in after u get to campsite... congrats on the baby...i remember when my kids were in baby seats in back of my vans.. now they are 12 and 15...ill sound like people did to me.now me to u..time goes fast..enjoy.

[65dream]

I think u would need to be bolt thru metal floor. They do make some bolts that are called quick disconnect? So u I can still take out bench out and back in .I think I saw them on discount van and truck website. 4 for $60

[kookykrispy]

you need to mount the seat securely and the belts through the floor, it really needs to go through metal. Don't trust the life of your child to mounting through plywood. Another idea is to mount a small seat and belts to the doghouse lid, something you could then secure a car seat to, but I would want some steel plate underneath to reinforce the mounting points so the bolts cannot rip through the sheetmetal during a crash. I have a young daughter (9 months) and I was thinking about the same thing. Maybe I'll rig up something similar and we can all go camping together! I know my wife would love that

[monkeykongking]

I thoughtabout mounting something on top of the dog house too but then my wife is against that.
She thinks it's gonna cook our child and there's no way to convince her out of it.

The next location is directly behind the passenger seat. Maybe weld a bracket for baby seat to bolt on to.The bracket will be mounted to the side of the dog house and other metal areas.

you need to mount the seat securely and the belts through the floor, it really needs to go through metal. Don't trust the life of your child to mounting through plywood. Another idea is to mount a small seat and belts to the doghouse lid, something you could then secure a car seat to, but I would want some steel plate underneath to reinforce the mounting points so the bolts cannot rip through the sheetmetal during a crash. I have a young daughter (9 months) and I was thinking about the same thing. Maybe I'll rig up something similar and we can all go camping together! I know my wife would love that

[joyrde]

Imagine - - - God forbid - - a front end collision - - of any kind.

Given the baby needs to secure, and safe, as well as easily accessible, while keeping Mom happy, I would mount two pedestal seats one behind each front seat - - - one for Mom, the other for the baby - - - to make the seats easily removable, run the bolts "up" through the floor, so the seats & pedestals can be quickly removed,

something like these

https://www.ebay.com/i/202418180042?chn=ps

[Vanner68]

I went through this 28 years ago.

Put in a seat, seat belts fastened through the floor with a large backup plate. Make it just like a late model van. This is your kid's life we are talking about, not to mention if it looks like a 'factory seat' the police won't give you a ticket and you won't have to explain to a judge why the aesthetics of your van are more important than the safety of your child.

I had considered putting the seat on top of the doghouse as well, but in addition to the heat factor any fixture that replicated a seat (baby car seats need the structure of the vehicle seat to be effective) also made it difficult to fully open the cover. Behind the passenger seat may be ok from a safety standpoint, but let me tell you this- when the kid is older they are going to hate being stuck where they cannot see out. I ended up buying a window van when the kids got older for that reason. They are going to be in car seats until they are school age.

[jrinaman]

I mounted my rear bench using hinges from a house door. drilled out to use 3/8" bolts. I remove 4 bolts [hinge to seat] and fold the hinges down.

[66BeachCruiser]

Time to give in and custom modify the rug to fit a bench seat. Your baby needs to be safe. You're supposed to keep the baby ideally in the middle away from windows or side impacts. At this new born age baby seats have to be turned backwards too. I may have a bench seat for sale if you go that route....

Baby changes things. I take off my bench seats all the time when I need to do some hauling and carry the correct size tool to do so

[van-itti]

A baby!

Mazel Tov!

Put a seat in the back. Make it like the removable ones in those "mini" vans.
Then when camping just pull it out when you get where youre going.
Anchor that baby down.

[monkeykongking]

Here's what it looks like before the subfloor.
The original seat mount is still there. Does anybody have pic of what goes into the seat mount?

I have a bench seat(without mount), i just have to figure out a way to get a long bolt to go thru my subfloor (3") to that mount.

It looks like i would have to just cut 4 holes in my rug. I can live with that.

I'm thinking about installing the bench seat closest to the front, that way my wife can reach the baby from the passenger seat.

Or do you recommend installing the bench seat all the way to the rear. That way, the middle is still open for sleeping.

[Vanner68]

If you drill and tap some 3" square plates and weld them to the bottom of the floor, you can remove the seat easily with four bolts. I would put the seat in the center of the van for convenience and a smoother ride for anyone sitting in it.

[jrinaman]

If you drill and tap some 3" square plates and weld them to the bottom of the floor, you can remove the seat easily with four bolts. I would put the seat in the center of the van for convenience and a smoother ride for anyone sitting in it.

if your doing that, just weld the nuts to the plate while your at it. removing seat would be a 5 minute job and only need 4 small holes in the carpet.

[Vanner68]

if your doing that, just weld the nuts to the plate while your at it. removing seat would be a 5 minute job and only need 4 small holes in the carpet.

That's the purpose of tapping the plates.