Replace bench with captains chairs?
 

Just picked up a '17 Express 3500 15 passenger that will be used mainly for work. I will be removing 3rd, 4th and 5th row bench seats to install shelving but leaving the first row bench for passengers. Do they sell direct fit captains chair/bucket seats to replace the first row bench? I would like to have more comfortable seating for the family when we go on road trips.

I have never seen a bucket seat that has the same hook on the bottom, that will fit into the factory connection on the floor of the van. If they are out there, let me know.
I did the same swap you are talking about in my 2002, and had to pull the carpet up, and pull the floor rails that the benches connect to. (not a small job). Then you can drill new holes for the base of whatever bucket seat you are using.
Keep in mind, that the door sill for the sliding or barn style doors come further into the van that the front passenger door sill. That makes it hard to line up those seats, unless you use a swivel base.

adding bucket seats to the second row
 

Most bucket seats wont just fit into the stock mounts of the bench, however this is what i did. Two bucket sets in the second row

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/..._170336711.jpg

Any other plans for your van?
This is 2 wheels drive that looks sweet with a little lift by weldtec desings
http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/...nch%20lift.jpg

Nice. How hard was the weldtec lift to install? And what parts did you use? That's exactly the size lift I'm looking for.

Chevrolet Express van Suspension
 

That van is not mine, just a nice looking van lifted. I would call them to find out about install time if your going to do it.

I know this is an older thread but the 2015 I just bought had factory captains chairs for all 8 passengers. I'm getting rid of at least 2 of them, possibly 4. They are almost exactly the same as the front buckets.

But how do they fit on?

How do they fit on? What a pain to find that out. (not you) I pulled up the carpet and there are 6 heavy duty "panels" that are bolted to the floor and the seats bolt into the. Each seat has a wee bit different sized base and thus bolt pattern. It adds about an inch or more to the hight of the floor. I wanted to take the short rear ones and move them forward but I don't think that will work. I may have the front ones cut down. If I think about it I will take and post some pics.

honda65,

Was your van upfitted by Adrian Steel? The seat arrangement sounds exactly the same as mine (i have a 3500, long wheelbase with captains chairs throughout). I found that there is some ability to move seats because the heavy duty panels are tapped for both the wide 2-seat frame and the narrower single-seat frame (at least on the driver's side of the van, I haven't needed to move any on the passenger side... yet). I basically used a large, heavy duty needle to probe through the carpet to find the tapped bolt hole, marked it, and cut out the carpet slightly larger than needed for the bolt to fit. I then moved the 2-seat frame from the 5th row forward to replace the single-seat in the fourth row (and I removed the 5th row single seat altogether). This gave us lots of luggage space at the rear of the van, and we still have 9 seats in the van.


Justin Carr,

However, this won't work for vans with stock seats... but, I have watched several videos of people who have built their own sub-floor brackets to attach custom seats in the back of their vans. I think it would be a lot of work, but it is doable.

Conversions just bolt a base to the floor that has about the same size spread as the base of a front seat. The only issue with you doing the same is you will have to drop the tank to bolt them in on the left side. And while cheap to buy used you would need a helper to hold a wrench inside while you unscrew the nut from the bottom. You-pull yards always take the tank off so at least that part is done for you.

My 2500 has kind of an odd bench in it, it's wide enough for four but goes just ahead of the rear axle, and appears from the seat rails the van was built this way. I would have kept it and moved it back but it won't fit at the back. There is a 4 place bench that mounts at the very back but the base must be different.

factory captains chairs
 

Do you have pictures of the captains chairs you may be selling ???

I don't know who up-fitted it. It has 6 seats back there. I'm going to remove 4 of them because this is going to haul my moto bike. I pulled the carpet completely out to expose the mounting plates. There are numerous bolt holes in them where you can mix them around.

BUT, the holes that mount the plates to the bed itself are different. The "love seat" behind the driver is probably going bye bye and replaced with a single chair that I can add a swivel base to. But the other issue is that those plates run the entire length of the bed and are 2" or so thick. Thats a lot of height for my purposes. But they are two rows of plates, long ones up front, shorter ones in the rear. I tried to swap those but no go. So I was thinking about cutting the front plates to the desired length. I'm going to do a test run tomorrow. Looks like a pain. I may just end up bolting them to the bed and using the reinforcement pieces that are used with the stock set up.

And YES, you need someone else to help unbolt the bolts. Him with an air impact and under with the wrench took about 10 minutes to get them all.

These are not very good pics at all. I will try to remember to take some better ones tomorrow
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/chevrol...c02b0715b0.jpg
Number 1
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/chevrol...30c26bf38c.jpg
Number 2
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/chevrol...8c2210c0c7.jpg
Number 3

The neat thing about these seats is that the seat belt is built in to the seat itself

Honda65,

In picture #2, what is the bolt hole span (length and width) where the base would connect to the floor of the van. I have an open spot in my van that uses a narrower base than the other single seats, and your seat base looks about right to fit.

Sorry I haven't been on here for an update. The one with the smaller base is 5" x 11" where the normal ones are 7 x 11.

And has this been a cluster F*%K. I need to take pics of the base plates that the seats bolt to. They are heavy duty, which I like but you would think Chevy would make them so you could put the seats in different configurations. Did they?
Hahahahahahahaaaaaa...........of course not. I've tried to mix and match the seats on the plates, swapping the plates them selves around, possibly bolting the seats straight to the floor. The last option is the one I like the most except for where the bolts go. Right now I can get at every bolt from underneath but to drill new ones will be a pain due to the tank, frame, heat shielding, etc. Ideally I want just one seat in the back for now that I can put on a swivel base.

Captain chairs
 

Hello do you still have your Captain Seats for sale? Please let me know. My name is Don cell #209-483-8796 Thanks

Yes I do. I will call you

Van Seats
 

Hello, we finally bought a van and it is missing the first seat when you open the barn side doors it has two seats in the first row one behind the driver seat and one in the middle, and missing the one by the door. By chance do you have that seat? I believe it has a grab handle on it also. Please let me know, you can give me a call if you like and I can send pics if that helps. Not sure if you will have it as my=ine would be considered a 10 seater van and I'm not sure if you'll have that seat. My cell #209-483-8796 Thanks

captains chairs
 

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/chevrol...04cda26a2c.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/chevrol...2a97a85dc4.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/chevrol...73a3ee2045.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/chevrol...d86868cbe0.jpg
I believe this is the one I sold last night
The 2nd picture down is the one next to the door.
Hi, I have 3 of the 4 left. Just sold one last night. If you are looking for the single seat just to the left when you open the side door, yes I should still have it. My van is an 8 seater including the fronts. So to make sure we are on the same page, right behind the driver is what I call a "love seat" as it has 2 chairs mounted on a single frame. Then it goes 2 and 2. There is a left and right seat (of course) with the only difference beibg the bases. I'll have to look to see which ones I have left. I'll post the pics I just took 2 nights ago.

I will call you sometime tomorrow. Or you can call me as well, after 10am 360-721-5619

I just got some seats identical to these. The downside is the mounting plate was not a part of the deal. Does anyone have an idea where to find one? Anyone have pictures of them installed? Thanks!