dotcom

i did a search but couldn't find anything. im looking for information on converting my 91 ex cab to a suv type vehicle. thinking about 1 of 2 approaches. the easiest would be to put a shell on the back with a boot, remove the rear window and mount a jeep wrangler seat in the back with belts facing backwards so the kid could ride back there with the dogs when we travel to moab etc.

idea 2 would be to put a shell on the back and cut the rear bulkhead out of the truck sealing the shell and bed to the cab some how and putting a seat in the bed facing forward with belts etc. similar to the early 4runner conversions ive seen.

has anyone done something like this or seen a write up on one that was done?

thanks
sean

Tofer

sell truck, buy 4runner?

stagger_lee

I have seen carpet kits in back and it be open through cab. It would be kind of a pain to get in the back seat. Just mount seats back there and cage it. Subaru did it.

Squiddy

One major issue would be safety -- you crash at highway speed and those kids would be pancakes. Plus in most states having passengers sitting in the bed is considered illegal, right?

scuba

IIRC, In cali if there is a shell you dont even have to have seatbelts or seats...

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

This guy took out the rear of the cab on his 1st gen, added a full roll cage (that supports a soft top) and rear seats:

dotcom

a rear seat with belts mounted to the floor and a support bar would be just as safe as if it was factory installed. it would have a shell over the top so there would be no pancaking. im not talking about putting the kid in the back of the bed without the safety equipment here im talking about building it right. as for selling the truck and buying a 4runner, i like the truck, it has a new engine, i know what is wrong with it. it would not be an every day thing just for running over to moab etc. with the family or on a camping trip. as for getting in an out i was thinking that if i went with the shell and window boot i would get one of the shells that has the rear door that replaces the tailgate so he could walk in and out of that door, if it was a complete conversion he could get in and out just like a 2 door 4runner. as it is right now he rides around in the extended cab in the jump seats but that would not work for a long trip.

Shawn6string

Sounds like a lot of work....

stagger_lee

Sounds like fun!

If I was a kid, I would have dug it. Especially if you maintained some sort closure like the slider glass so kids could shut out the parents. If its only one kid, another option I have seen in a few trucks with extended cabs was an internal cage and a kids suspension seat mounted dead center in the rear. You would have to take out the console for their feet to hang. If you set the seat up a bit higher so they can see out the windshield? Stoked little kid. 2 of my buddy's have bajas is set up like this, and a friend with a king cab ranger pro truck is set up like this. His kid is 8 and still rides back there.

scuba

Yeah on my old 86 that I enherited when I turned 16, it had a camper, when I was younger my mom put some bean bags and some blankets back there..
Trust me on this, It was fun.
And alot more comfortable taking trips like that then in the 92 corolla...
Ohh to be young...

dotcom

im thinking of something like this only with belts and a shell over the top at the very least



and something like this for the shell

scuba

If you did the inside of the bed with those storage things on the side, that would be one slick setup and one to be jealous aboot.

As for belts, I think you could put the top part right behind where it would come over the seat on the outside-side on each side...whew ...See pic :

dotcom

i was also thinking an internal cage inside the shell would not only be a great safety item incase of a roll on the trail, but we all know how strong those fiberglass shells are and it would make a good place to mount seatbelts.

stagger_lee

CAge for sure. I would use one of these and some harnesses. NIce mock up though, looks cool!

Adam F

Why not swap a 4Runner body on your pickup chassis?

dotcom

cost mostly, a seat and mounting tracks and the shell should cost me max 1k with all materials to build the boxes and cage. a 4runner body? im thinking more and the amount of work would be higher as well. also im not a mechanic so making all the connections, etc from the truck body to a runner body? i can't even think about that lol. and then there is the fact that i live in a covenant controlled community that says you must have al vehicles in running condition and licensed. no place to put a donor vehicle.

dotcom

good ideas though, im also thinking that a runner body would be shorter than my truck frame as the truck is an ex cab

JasonWin

Where's the fun in that . I always thought it would be neat to put some sort of a seat in the bed facing the rear with seatbelts. It'd be nice to be able to take more than one passenger but I would want it to be removeble so as o have full access to the bed.

HunterHunter

You are young!

scuba

I try not to remind myself that.


But yes, A cage would probably be a good idea, cut throught the bed and welded to the frame of course...

but, If your going to go through all that trouble, Why not find a bench that will fit right in between the wheel wells, facing foward, then tub the back wall of your cab...