Delicate? area under back seat

[Fox]

Hi there,

 

I have a GL/DL stationwagon, I wish to do a little travelling and removing the base section of the back seat would give me a lot more leg room when the seats are folded down. (The bottom section folds up and sits behind the front seats, when the front seat is forward, the bottom section sits between the front and rear of the car)

 

Now, the area under the rear seat has a warning, not to place any parcels there and to ensure that there is no item between the seat and the base when they are folded down/back.

 

Is this because the area is delicate or something? When the seat back is folded forward, it locks into place with the weight transferred down onto the hinge which is holding up the seat section.

I need as much space as I can get.

 

Edit: I removed the hinge section from the seat and fitted it back to the base. I am still curious as to why the area is so protected.

 

Thanks in advance

Edited January 5, 2011 by Fox

[skishop69]

There is nothing 'delicate' about the area. Two reasons for the warning. 1) (for sure) To prevent injury or damage by placing items on the floor with the seat bottom up. 2) (possibly) Should the floor get hot (exhaust?) there could be a fire hazzard. This one is VERY unlikely. I myself would do it. The reason for the majority of warnings on vehicles is to protect stupid people from themselves and the company from assanine law suits. Just use common sense.

[Qman]

Hmm, let's see...

 

electrical connections, fuel lines, not secure for loads, Fold the seat bottom up and the back down will afford you all the room your vehicle will allow. The spring rates are for a certain amount of weight. Over loading is bad.

[MilesFox]

I nhave thought about replacing the seat backs and bottom with plywood cut to fit, that when they are in the fold-down mode, you would have a bulkhead not as thick as the seat bottom, and the backs of the seats when down would serve as stowage in the footwell area, and you would have room for jumper cables and such under where the seat would be.

 

You could essentially make a plywood seat bottom that is a lid when down, and a bulkhead when up.

 

Otherwise, the warnings are there so people dont break their cargo or get the seat stuck and blame it on the car.

[Qman]

I nhave thought about replacing the seat backs and bottom with plywood cut to fit, that when they are in the fold-down mode, you would have a bulkhead not as thick as the seat bottom, and the backs of the seats when down would serve as stowage in the footwell area, and you would have room for jumper cables and such under where the seat would be.

 

You could essentially make a plywood seat bottom that is a lid when down, and a bulkhead when up.

 

Otherwise, the warnings are there so people dont break their cargo or get the seat stuck and blame it on the car.

 

I did that exact thing in my Hatcback. But, I removed the seats completely in the rear. There was no weight involved though. Eliminated the extra passenger weight too. Important in an off-roader.

[WoodsWagon]

The brake lines, fuel lines, and wiring harness all run exposed there when the seat bottom is up. There's a sticky back foam layer slapped over them but that's not protection. If you start chucking heavy objects there you run the risk of bending or kinking or severing one of those lines/wires. That's why that area is "delicate".

 

If you remove the seat bottom and back and put a piece of plywood with spacers there, it would be fine. It's not a structurally delicate area, it's the lines and wires running across and through that make it delicate.

 

You can overload the crap out of these cars and it doesn't hurt anything but the handling. I've had a fully dressed and filled with frozen water chevy 350 in the back of my wagon with 3 passengers and me driving, in the woods. It took all of us to hoist that motor into the back when we were doing some lunchtime trail cleanup.

[Qman]

The brake lines, fuel lines, and wiring harness all run exposed there when the seat bottom is up. There's a sticky back foam layer slapped over them but that's not protection. If you start chucking heavy objects there you run the risk of bending or kinking or severing one of those lines/wires. That's why that area is "delicate".

 

If you remove the seat bottom and back and put a piece of plywood with spacers there, it would be fine. It's not a structurally delicate area, it's the lines and wires running across and through that make it delicate.

 

You can overload the crap out of these cars and it doesn't hurt anything but the handling. I've had a fully dressed and filled with frozen water chevy 350 in the back of my wagon with 3 passengers and me driving, in the woods. It took all of us to hoist that motor into the back when we were doing some lunchtime trail cleanup.

 

And, why would anyone care about the handling...

[WoodsWagon]

And, why would anyone care about the handling...

You don't run a lifted subaru for the sports-car like handling... though if you have a lack of fear you can push them pretty hard. Once the suspension is settled over on the bumpstops they corner pretty well. The transition from full right lean to full left lean can be gut-wrenching for the un-initiated passengers.

[Qman]

You don't run a lifted subaru for the sports-car like handling... though if you have a lack of fear you can push them pretty hard. Once the suspension is settled over on the bumpstops they corner pretty well. The transition from full right lean to full left lean can be gut-wrenching for the un-initiated passengers.

 

Really, I would not have known that...