kmanmj5050 Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 My mj has two buckets and i want a bench so i can take my son with my and my fiance. Anybody ever use one out of a ranger or S 10 or something?
philbert001 Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 I used a split bench out of a 2000ish s-10. Had to make brackets, but it is comfy, has tilt back, and fits good There's some pics in my build thread. It's called organ donor.
dasbulliwagen Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 Theres at least one person on here thats used a split bench from a Dakota as well, though I couldnt tell you who or what years the bench was from. I'm sure if you posed in the classifieds, you could get someone to trade you straight up for an MJ bench for your buckets.
Rymanrph Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 Have you ever thought about finding someone to trade with? I'm sure you can find someone with a decent bench seat that would like buckets.
87Warrior Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 I don't remember who it was that used a Dakota bench, but they were my deciding factor for keeping a bench. I am searching for a 97-(04)? Dakota split bench for my truck. From my research, the base model trucks had uncomfortable seats, but the better trim levels had nice seats.
mkbruin Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 I don't remember who it was that used a Dakota bench, but they were my deciding factor for keeping a bench. I am searching for a 97-(04)? Dakota split bench for my truck. From my research, the base model trucks had uncomfortable seats, but the better trim levels had nice seats. I have an 04 Dakota Sport Quad cab with the front bench. Its a seriously comfy ride. I will absolutely put one in my next MJ.
FrankTheDog Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 Where are you located? I'm sure somebody local to you would swap.
Vintage Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 Where are you located? I'm sure somebody local to you would swap. Really wanting some bucket seats.
kmanmj5050 Posted June 8, 2011 Author Posted June 8, 2011 I'm in reed city Michigan. Haven't edited my profile yet. And have posted on a coyple other forums for trades. Gonna look for a Dakota split bench. Were they out of the. Cabs or extended? Or don't matter?
1990 Pioneer 4x4 Posted June 8, 2011 Posted June 8, 2011 I had one in my '99 extended cab Dakota, vey comfortable. Monkeyboy has one in his MJ: http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17196&start=90
Car RamRod Posted June 8, 2011 Posted June 8, 2011 I went with a "40/20/40" out of a 97 dakota extended cab. The center seat folds down into a console for 99.9% of my driving. For that .1% where I need to carry 2 people, I'm covered. Comfy seats too. I had to do some welding/fabrication to mount them.
kmanmj5050 Posted June 8, 2011 Author Posted June 8, 2011 definitely what i am looking for. Thanks guys Really love the folding console. I will only use it when we go for a trip with my son, so i will be cramming a car seat in there.
mnkyboy Posted June 9, 2011 Posted June 9, 2011 I had one in my '99 extended cab Dakota, vey comfortable. Mnkyboy has one in his MJ: http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17196&start=90
jpnjim Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 I kept the buckets, and plopped a kid size race seat in the middle:
Car RamRod Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 I had one in my '99 extended cab Dakota, vey comfortable. Mnkyboy has one in his MJ: http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17196&start=90 Looks familiar:
kmanmj5050 Posted June 15, 2011 Author Posted June 15, 2011 can you guys post up some pics of the brackets you fabbed for the dakota bukets? Dimensions would be killer to!!!! :wrench:
Car RamRod Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 Don't have much for dimensions, but I do have some pics I can post tomorrow.
Car RamRod Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 My memory is a bit hazy, but I'm 99.9% sure that the dakote seats are 3 pieces (that I know for sure), and the center console mounts to the inside seat studs of each bucket. The biggest thing was the height of the trans tunnel. I massaged the bracket for the center seat as much as I could to get it as low as possible, and mounted the other seats to the same height. They're a little high (I'm 5'11 to give you an idea), but not uncomforable. It looks like the other guy who posted a picture left the console a little higher than the buckets. That honestly may be the way to go. Here's the best pictures I have: 1.5x1.5" angle across the front mounting tabs (may have buzzed the dodge ones flush) Took the stock front seat mount and heated/bent it up to meet the angle iron As you can see a additional bracing wouldn't hurt, and the angle that I mounted is just about butting into the trans tunnel. The inner/rear mounts looked something like this: And this is the outer: As you can see it's not too bad. I did this by myself in a day when I was 18 or so, so I'm sure you can come up with something better, but at least you have an idea of what you're dealing with now. Hope that helped, Matt
mnkyboy Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 I Attached the center seat directly to the tunnel then set the buckets as low as possable so the center seat does sit a little higher.It worked out better that way but I would have liked to set the seats even lower. My truck had some junk buckets in it from a 4dr chevy mounted to wood blocks screwed to the floor so all my brackets are completely custom. The front mounts are basically a "T" with one riser in the middle and the rear corners are seperate,they are made from 1" square stock with 1/4" plate for mounting tabs,the seat rails are a generic rail I snagged off some captains chairs out of a Ford conversion van.
Car RamRod Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 Yea, the height of the tunnel is really the only downside to using those seats. I've thought about setting my seats lower but it's really not worth the time to redo everything. The cupholders work perfectly with our trucks though :cheers:
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