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Adding a seat to a 2015 connect van


BHILLC
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Just bought a 2015 Connect for our business. We usually travel with 3 of us. Is it possible to add a seat or seats in the rear area. I know the floor spacer is tac welded in place. I have been looking for a seat to bolt in just wondering if anyone has done it. Pictures would be great with some insight on where to start. Thanks

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If you mean the floor extension, it only covers the recessed area that the second row drops down into. The area where the third row bolts in is totally flat and common to both the van and the wagon. So the threaded bolt holes should be underneath the rubber mat installed in the cargo area. You can see their location in this photo I took when removing the seats from my 2015 LWB wagon.

Wagon to Van 2a

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Make sure to take some pictures while you have the mat out. Especially the area around the floor extension. I seem to recall somebody mentioning that Ford was switching from welding them in to bolting them in. There are already pictures on the forum for a 2014 that shows them welded in for that year.

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Here's another source for seats, or maybe the same source but different members since both are in northern California. This member doesn't seem to have been active in the last year so you'll likely need to contact them directly at the phone number provided.

http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/3155-2014-2015-third-row-seats-from-lwb-transit-connects-100shippingpair/

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I doubt they would be very crash worthy. And they are some fairly large bolts, M10-1.5 (about 3/8"). I took a quick look under my wagon to see if the area where the bolts come through was accessible from underneath and I could see no signs of the bolts. So it looks like adding some reinforcing plates and nuts underneath would be a fairly involved job. There are some framing members in about the right spots so I am guessing the bolts come through the deck on the inside of the U shaped beam. You might be able to move the seats slightly and rig up something to tie into the existing cargo tie down points for the strength needed.

I know the stories on the 1st Gen TC talked about them all starting out as wagons and most getting converted to vans. It looks like these 2nd Gen ones are getting the conversion started much earlier in the construction process. I would have thought the bolt holes were part of the floor pan construction. And since there is an extra plate needed to convert to the van configuration, assumed the wagon floor pan was the starting point for both.

I wish Ford would put out more documentation on the Transit Connects. Their configuration and flexibility is just begging for DIY modifications to fit each owner.

Edited by DonShockley
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Make sure to take some pictures while you have the mat out. Especially the area around the floor extension. I seem to recall somebody mentioning that Ford was switching from welding them in to bolting them in. There are already pictures on the forum for a 2014 that shows them welded in for that year.

I think another poster figured out that since this van was from Canada the van was imported as a true cargo van and not a converted wagon at a processing facility. No chicken tax issues in Canada. The deck covering the seat well was welded at the factory. 2014 and 2015 would be the same for the US market and the assumption is that the deck is bolted in. No one has documented removing it.

@BILLHC - please take some pics of what the deck looks like. many of us are curious as we'd like to capture this available space for storage.

Can the deck easily be removed by undoing bolts?

Was it hard to remove the cargo mat?

thanks!

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The car mat was easy to remove. The side wall trim covers and both side door kick trim needs to be removed. Also the rear door floor trim. They are only held in by clips so carefully remove not to break the clip or panel. I will get more pictures when I remove again to install my seat. Also the 2nd row deck plate appears to be only bolted, my carpet from the front continues into this area. Again I will get pictures of all when I install my rear seat.

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The car mat was easy to remove. The side wall trim covers and both side door kick trim needs to be removed. Also the rear door floor trim. They are only held in by clips so carefully remove not to break the clip or panel. I will get more pictures when I remove again to install my seat. Also the 2nd row deck plate appears to be only bolted, my carpet from the front continues into this area. Again I will get pictures of all when I install my rear seat.

thanks BHILLC. looking forwarding to seeing this.

we talked a bit about the cargo mat in the thread link below.

http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/3154-cargo-mat-for-van-models/?hl=%2Bcargo+%2Bmat

In my exploration of this I've also seen the carpet extended beneath the driver seat all the back underneath this platform making it obvious it was installed at the processing center in Maryland converting the van from a "wagon" model to a cargo model. having someone document the steps involved in how to remove this platform will be very useful to myself and others I'm sure. thanks

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  • 1 year later...

Any updates or photos of your seat installation?

Bought a cargo model 2012 TC XLT, dealer bolted in some seats for me so I can use the van both for work & play.  But the floor extension leaves NO foot space for anyone riding in the back.

There's carpeted flooring beneath the extension that I can see, I'll probably need to investigate myself how easily the extension can be removed.  And whether that'll cause issues in preserving mounting points for my backseat :/

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  • 1 year later...

Figured it out a few months ago.

 

Where I thought the floor and extension were all part of one long piece, turns out all I had to do was pull the seats out again, and the extension came loose right away.  It was being held in by the seat's bolts, solely!

 

Now I just need to find a decorative trim for the edge of the carpet line.  And the side door step is kind of awkward as its for a cargo van, not a pass van.  Maybe I can source a couple at a pick n pull

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