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Old 01-06-2013, 08:56 AM   #1
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Sprinter bench in an Econoline

My kids are getting kinda tall and since even the modern E seats don't have head rests, I went looking for a solution. I needed seating for 3 across, 3 shoulder belts and 3 headrests. The aftermarket doesn't have much to offer and all Sprinter seats I found too pricy and/or way too far away. Then out of the blue, one popped up on CL for $60, 20 minutes from home. I thought I was in business until I told the missus of my plan. I promised to use both Ford and Mercedes mounting points and then she gave me the go ahead. Here's what I came up with:

The adapter plate. 48"x 26"- 10 gage mild steel with a lengthwise stiffener lip 1.25" deep. The lip is the same height as the Mercedes brackets are deep.

The seat is about 64" across, as wide as the Ford 4 person bench, so I had to cut off the armrest pivots before proceeding. I also wanted some future flex-ability with seat placement and the ability to run with 2 benches and seating for 8. This allows for 2 basic positions:
Forward- in between the original front 2 benches. I'll try to fit a a table between this and the front seats, once they swivel.

Extreme rearward: several inches further back than the original second bench:

Tight fit:



I realized too late that mounting the Mercedes brackets on top of the floor instead of in pockets, in the floor like in a Sprinter, made the seat a little tall. I'm 6'5" and have 1" of room in the center. It should work for my purposes until the girls are 6'. This will work for a while at any rate.
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Old 01-06-2013, 01:46 PM   #2
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Re: Sprinter bench in an Econoline

Great idea and SCORE on the price! I had the same thought when I saw one for sale the other day, but it was 10 times what you paid and made me hesitate. In search of a good option to have more than one rear seat with a shoulder belt this looks perfect!

Does the seat fold at all? This is the one downside trying to make it work in an RB50 type setup where it is nice to have the sofa-bed seat setup.
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Old 01-06-2013, 08:56 PM   #3
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Sprinter bench in an Econoline

They do not fold. I have two Sprinter benches and three sets of brackets in my van.

Upside:

1. Integrated three-point seat belts.
2. Integrated headrests.
3. LATCH in both outboard seating positions (for those who use child car seats).
4. They have quick disconnects which are designed to be flush with the floor when the seat is removed.

Downside:

1. They are a little too tall and wide. Tall people will be close or touching the ceiling. Big people will have trouble getting around the bench to get behind it.
2. The benches are built like tanks and are nearly as heavy. This means that when the "feet" of the benches are dragged along the floor to insert or remove them, the floor of the van will suffer.

For us the upsides outweighed the downsides. But, my kids are small. If/when they grow to be my size, the reverse may become true.

For more, search topic: Large Family Sportsmobile.
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Old 06-07-2014, 06:35 AM   #4
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Re: Sprinter bench in an Econoline

Where were you able to find the Sprinter Van mounting hardware? I just bought a 3 person bench and would like to have the ability to insert and remove it as originally designed.

Thanks!

Dan
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Old 06-07-2014, 02:26 PM   #5
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Re: Sprinter bench in an Econoline

In my case, the brackets were included with the seats. I would try eBay or a Sprinter dealer parts department.

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Old 06-17-2014, 02:05 AM   #6
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Re: Sprinter bench in an Econoline

Try Sprinterparts.net.

I have 4 3 person benches in the shop with bracket (well, most of them) out of a 2009 Sprinter.

I will be mounting at least 2. Maybe all 4 when I want to carry a crapton of people and take them out, mount the bed and off we go.
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