Okay, maybe not exactly double. But almost.
Previously I had very little empty space for chilling out in the van. The bed takes up half of it, lengthwise, and then in the other half there’s a bookshelf (two crates deep), a box I sit on, and about two feet of floor space before you ran into the back of the passenger seat.
Guess what?!? I took the passenger seat out, turned it around, and bolted it back down. It faces backwards now and it’s like having a cushy recliner right in the middle of my living room. It’s gone from two square feet to big enough for a recliner!
If you live in a van, you gotta do this. Hopefully you live in an Astro so your bolt holes will line up like mine, and you can get a cheap lap belt from NAPA to keep yourself legal if you give someone a ride.
(Pictures to follow when I get my laptop back).
Hi Tara:
This is my first time posting, though I wanted to do so many times before.
Since this was such an wonderful discovery for you, well I had to comment!
…pretty neat AND your dog can still hop up in front to keep you company while driving. So now I’ll take the opportunity to write how I love your writing and adventures … you remind me of a female “Steinbeck”.
L.
Maybe you can find a swivel base for the passenger seat, so you can turn it back and fourth without a wrench. I used to work for a place that did van conversions, and they’re pretty common for the Ford E-350 line. Maybe they’re common for your van too! -Duaneo
That sounds awesomely tempting. I think it would drive my friends insane, though, when they ride short trips or help navigate long trips with me.
Actually, that kind of makes it more tempting… 😈
Aha! I’m living in a van in Key West, and I’ve seen this done in a white super-high top Ford E-250. Then I found out my friend with a 1979 Chevy beast-van did the same thing. A very smart idea. I have a conversion van, so the seat just spins around wherever you want it.
Hi.
Hi Chris. I love your blog, an I’m coming to the Keys. 🙂
I was thinking about getting a van and one of my creations I thought would be a good space saver would be a bench front seat that could be flipped so the whole arangement faces backwards, like some railroad seats and maybe even be turned into a bed. My thinking was that I would want to keep a motorcycle in the van sometimes and still have a place to sleep. If you made it so that the passenger and driver sides flipped separately you could flip the passenger section and have fairly easy access to the back of the van.
Just some random thoughts
Bob L
jesus,tara. it’s a good thing you are on the move alot. if not, i believe pilgrims would come from all over to pay homage….you’d never get any sleep 😀
i have wished for a long time that i could flip my passenger seat around in my astro for just that reason.
what year is your astro?
did you disable your airbag? do you think that matters?
is this something i can do, or do you need special tools?
kate
Four bolts, Kate. All you need is a socket wrench.
Mine’s a 98. I didn’t disable the airbag, and it does probably matter. 🙁
yeah, well i thought about that this morning. i don’t think it would matter,after all. it will hit the seat back, and deflate, same as if it hit a human. if the seat is bolted securely, i’m thinking now it won’t matter. i guess i’d much rather be whacked in the back of my seat than my face if i had a choice.
but the main issue is Mutt, anyhow, since i rarely have passengers. i try to keep him out of the front seat when moving, unless i’m on the dirt roads because of the dangers of airbags to dogs. i was REALLY lucky the other day that the airbags didn’t deploy when we got whacked. reversing the seat will allow him to get some air and still be protected.
where does Bro ride when you are traveling?