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Old 07-10-2020, 09:52 AM   #1
FLYNAVY30
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Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

So at some point in mid November, I'm going to be a dad....we've got a little boy on the way (as well as a German Shepherd puppy mid September), so our house is about to become full blown chaos.

That being said, I'm looking to (as safely as possible in an old truck) anchor a baby seat in the middle row. My middle row bench seat needs to be completely rebuilt and reupholstered anyway, so I thought while I was at it, I might add an anchoring system to the frame, similar to what comes in all new cars....so that we can relatively safely travel with the kiddo.

I was just curious if anyone else had attempted this yet? Looking at our Toyota 4Runner, it looks like it wouldn't be too difficult to weld properly sized attachment points to each side of where the seat would be positioned on the bench, as well as the anchor in the middle of the back.

Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated!
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Old 07-10-2020, 12:23 PM   #2
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

Quote:
Originally Posted by FLYNAVY30 View Post
So at some point in mid November, I'm going to be a dad....we've got a little boy on the way (as well as a German Shepherd puppy mid September), so our house is about to become full blown chaos.

That being said, I'm looking to (as safely as possible in an old truck) anchor a baby seat in the middle row. My middle row bench seat needs to be completely rebuilt and reupholstered anyway, so I thought while I was at it, I might add an anchoring system to the frame, similar to what comes in all new cars....so that we can relatively safely travel with the kiddo.

I was just curious if anyone else had attempted this yet? Looking at our Toyota 4Runner, it looks like it wouldn't be too difficult to weld properly sized attachment points to each side of where the seat would be positioned on the bench, as well as the anchor in the middle of the back.

Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated!
Congratulations Greg!!! Right now I'm out of town with my entire family so when I return, I will throw in my two cents...but for now...

Woody
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Old 07-10-2020, 12:39 PM   #3
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

Thanks Woody, looking forward to your thoughts on the subject. I helped my brother in law put 3 point belts in the back of his '67 Camaro, which would allow him to secure the kids seats. It was functional, but I feel like if I'm going to have the bench rebuilt anyway, it wouldn't be too difficult to weld in some attachment points a little more in line with modern seat restraints.
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Old 07-11-2020, 04:50 PM   #4
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

congrats on the addition to the family. I ran into this same problem and ended up using all three rows of seats from a 05 Escalade. I don't see any reason you couldn't fab up some "latch" restraints into factory bench.
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Old 07-11-2020, 06:55 PM   #5
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

In doing some more research (theres actually kids car seat forums?!?), I found that for infant and toddler seats, the old school lap belts are the best thing going....as long as they are the type that cinch down, not the retracting type.

I currently have 3 point belts on both sides on the middle row, but what I might do is add a middle lap belt, using the factory pick up points in the floor, solely for the purpose of securing the seat base. I'll also probably have the anchor added to the middle of the bench seat back, so once he's big enough to transition to a forward facing seat, I can use that third anchor point to ensure the seat stays anchored in the bench and doesn't rotate or flip forward (unlikely with the lap belt regardless).

Any additional input is greatly appreciated!
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Old 07-11-2020, 07:53 PM   #6
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

"Most" kids were fine with these when I was a toddler.

Seriously though when my grandchildren were younger and the car seats had the built in safety belts with the hooks on them to attach to newer cars I used those hooks to attach to the metal frame work of my trucks seat so they could ride with me.

When my kids were little we had car seats but the only thing that held them in were careful use of the cars own safety belts.

Your idea of welding in mounting points for the clasps that come with modern car seats is a great idea. First get the seat you are going to use and set it on the foam and run your lines to what you will decide are the proper attachment points and weld or bolt in a mounting ring. Since you are rebuilding the seat it should be pretty easy to determine just using the foams and seat frame.
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Old 07-11-2020, 10:07 PM   #7
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

appreciate the input...I'll probably pull the middle bench tomorrow and start taking a closer look at things
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Old 07-12-2020, 11:23 AM   #8
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

I’ve always used only the lap belts on the rear facing seat. When my daughter was old enough for the forward facing seat I attached the anchoring strap to a hole in the mounting bracket for seat. Between the seat being wedges against the armrest and the anchor strap the seat doesn’t move much at all. I can get a pic if it would help.
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Old 07-12-2020, 12:04 PM   #9
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

When my daughter was small I used lap belts to secure her rear facing car seat. She’s in a forward facing seat now for which I also make use the shoulder belts but that’s in my k20 pickup.

For short distances in the Blazer on the quiet country roads about my house I’ll set her in a harness designed for school bus seats. This style uses the lap belt and also loops over the seat back.

EDIT: here’s a thread on child restraints that might be helpful http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=Child+seat
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Old 07-12-2020, 05:20 PM   #10
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

Congrats on the upcoming baby. As far as upholstery goes, you might want to wait. As a person that has had nothing but German Shepherds for 30 years, that puppy may destroy your new seat. (I had one that ate a garage door and a chain link fence once)
Currently we have two 9 year old shepherds right now, and once they get past the two year mark they are fantastic dogs. It will be nice to have the puppy grow up with the baby, it will be its best friend and protector. They are a little "difficult" when they are pups.
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Old 07-12-2020, 06:27 PM   #11
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate all the input! I feel like a lot of this "baby prep" stuff is crap invented by mommy bloggers, but the Suburban is a big part of our lives, and I want to make sure we can safely transport the little guy.

As for the new pup, we've had a GSD for the last 8 years....we adopted "Chevy" when he was just under a year old from the Southeast German Shephard Rescue. Unfortunately, we lost him to Degenerative Mylopothy this past February....for those that dont speak dog, its more or less ALS for dogs. He started losing function in his hind quarters in April of 2019, and it had pretty much incapacitated him by February....its a horrible thing to watch that I wouldn't wish on anyone. HE loved riding in that truck more than anything...
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Old 07-12-2020, 08:05 PM   #12
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

You have a beautiful family. Sorry to hear about your dog passing away. A puppy is the right thing to do.

(On a side note, my wife and I bought our suburban about 27 years ago. It ran, didn't look that nice, but only had 80,000 miles on it. We had two great kids and raised them driving the Suburban and many dogs have ridden in the Suburban.
The suburban now has over 230,000 miles and is much nicer than when we bought it. We have fixed it up together and continue to drive it daily. Mostly car shows and stuff like that. We hope to someday have grandchildren to ride in it.)
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Old 07-13-2020, 08:59 AM   #13
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

Yea, we bought our Suburban back in 2013....its in good shape and I've slowly done a lot of work to it in the past 7 years. I look forward to someday being able to separate the body and frame to have the rust in the rear quarters addressed, and convert to a 4wd set up so that we can use it for camping in some less accessible areas.

The most immediate project is replacing the front bench with a set of Scheel-Mann seats that I'm going to have done in Highlander Plaid, and then have the middle row bench rebuilt and upholstered to match while incorporating baby seat attachment points and headrests for the two primary seats on the bench.

As you can see in the photos...the headliner also needs to be addressed...
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Old 07-13-2020, 06:56 PM   #14
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

Hey Greg...It appears that you have already gotten a lot of good advice, and have come to your own conclusions as to which way to go...but I wanted to add a picture of my FRONT bench back frame for you to reference. I'm not even sure if the middle seat back frame is the same as the front, but I don't have a picture of my middle seat stripped down to show you...however, when I attempted to clip in my grandkids booster seats to the middle and rear benches, I found some lateral round bar portions that almost fit the clips. So depending on the type and size of the clips that come with your rear-facing, front-facing or booster only seats, they might already be there for you...or maybe a slight modification is all you need? I think you can see what I'm talking about in this picture? Good luck.

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Old 07-13-2020, 11:17 PM   #15
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

Thanks Woody. I've come to the conclusion that we're going to need to get the seat first, then start disassembling the bench seat to see what I'm working with and go from there. All the input has been most helpful!
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Old 08-07-2020, 06:58 PM   #16
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

A lap belt has always worked good for me, first kid is always get "pampered" thoughts lol,
I say that respectfully. But you learn with time . Btw my kids love my old stuff over the newer vehicles they always want to ride in dad's cars.
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Old 08-08-2020, 08:40 AM   #17
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

Congrats! Adding a middle belt should be fairly straight-forward. It attaches to the inner bolts for the two outside belts. At least on my truck it did. I have a Suburban for parts but don't remember if I pulled the belts out? It was missing the rear seat. I will have to look and see if it has a center rear and how it is mounted. A good fabricator could build a frame that attached to the seat bolts and followed the back of the seat for the upper restraint attachment.
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Old 08-08-2020, 08:45 AM   #18
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Re: Adding a baby seat anchor to bench seat frame?

What I settled on was using a lap belt in the middle to restrain the seat initially as that is probably the best way to retain the rear facing "infant seat". As he grows, and transitions to the forward facing seat, I will continue to use the lap belt, but I'm going to have an attachment anchor welded to the bottom of the seat frame to clip the center tether belt to as most modern cars have.

Unfortunately, my truck may have a wounded motor at the moment. Its making some unpleasant noises at idle, is very difficult to start, and has a tendency to randomly die. The oil pressure at idle is showing higher than normal...so we'll see....
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