Third Row option... no mini van please

T4RFool

T4RFool

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I would love to stay with having a 4runner but as my family expands so does our need for space. We have decided to sell my 3rd gen next summer to help fund the purchase of a new, more spacious vehicle. Right now if we cant find a decent 4th gen with third row then a mini van it is. I want to move into another 4runner but I have noticed the the third row option is very difficult to find. Slim pickings out here in Iowa. So my question is, is it possible to ad third row to a 4th gen that doesn't already. I've done searching but haven't found any conclusive answers on the subject.
There is no rush. I'm just trying to get things figured out before next summer when a decision has to be made.
 
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There's a company that make third row seats called little passenger seats. You could google them. On either here or the other site (Yotatech) a guy put a rear seat from a Jeep Wrangler in his third row and it looked good. A little time with the search feature should give you some ideas. I'm just starting to look at 4th gens too. I haven't come across any with the third row either. We have a Honda mini van and it's not so bad. You can get an amazing amount of stuff in it and it gets better mileage than my 4Runner. You just have to be secure with your identity to drive one. My kids are now teens so I feel I've done my time in it though.
 
i have no problem with a mini van. we have decided on the honda model which I think is the best one on the market. I'm just trying to keep hold of an AWD or 4x4 for the winters. Its not so important that a it would be a deal breaker but I'd feel for comfortable in with AWD in the winter. It's mostly preference and love of 4runners. A mini van makes sense but is also less fun.
 
I have 3rd row seating and Ill tell you now it's not worth it. You'll be sorry in the long run. The leg room isn't there and it's not suitable for children over the age of 4. When they're young you need the car seats and that too is a pain.
I've used mine with various ages and its just not feasible.
 
Agree with ya Terri, when shopping for my 1st new t4r 04, they had them 3 row seatters. NO way, my youngest had a hard time testing them.

OP- If your set on staying with the yota's, I'd would look at more of the Sequoia's.
Still have the 4wd, lot's more room and reliability, just a hit in MPG'S.
 
Two things - You can stick a rear facing third row in a 3rd gen. JC Whitney's sells them pretty cheap and they give out % off coupons fairly regularly.
Here is the 3rd row seat install in my 3rd Gen that I sold a few years ago. That was easy and the kids loved riding in the back.

Putting one in a 4th gen depends on how often you are going to use the 3rd Row. if it is just for intermittent use, you can add a Jeep seat like I did. T4RME [MENTION=51821]T4RME[/MENTION] put one in his as well (see page two) so the procedure is pretty well documented. The legroom is fine. The biggest issue is that you have to fold down the middle seat so the kids can climb in. My kids don't seem to care and still want to ride in the back.
 
I would get a Lexus GX 470. They are the Lexus version of the 4runner and 90% of the ones I've looked at have the third row seat. The drive train is the same as the 4th gen V8 t4r.
 
The LX470 is the beast. I'd get that. You can get an 03 for about 14k. So it should fit in your 4th gen budget. Seq loses value and aren't worth crap after a while. GX has been rated unsafe in rollovers. And I imagine the third row would be as tight as a 4runner in the GX.
 
The reason you can't find a 4th gen with a third row seat is because they are useless. Access to the third row is poor and the third row seat is only useful for midgets.

If you really need a third row seat, then you want something other than a 4Runner. A Toyota Highlander would be a decent option.
 
I've got the third row in my '04 and just as others mentioned, access is tough. I've got four kiddos with two child seats in the middle row with an 8 and 10 year old in the rear. They have to step on the middle row seat to get in the back, which doesn't sound bad except when it's raining out or they have dirty shoes. Also, once in a great while someone in the middle row will get bonked in the head with an errand foot that's swinging around into the third row. I contemplated replacing the wide side of the second row split 60/40 seats with another narrow side for a 40/40 combination with a pass-through to the third row, but found it was impossible due to the factory seat bolt locations. Despite the tight confines of the third row and the poor access, the third row does its job plus we don't have much of a choice right.

But to get back to your original question, no you can't easily retrofit a factory third row into a factory two row truck. The third row seats lock into the floor at four points plus they are hinged at the wheel wells. That hinge allows them to swing up like jump seats when not in use. Something you can't replicate easily. I will say however that I've added a third row seat to an old International Harvester Travelall that I once had. It was quite simple to drill holes through the floor than bolt down a minivan bench seat. Even better was the minivan seat had the seat belts attached to the seat so that saved some extra hassle on added safety belts too.

Chris
 
I actually just looked at a new Highlander today and they are definitely up there with what I'm considering next. I decided to go to our local dealership and have a look around and see what kind of options there were. I am impressed that I hadn't even considered the Highlander up until now.
 
The 4th gen with an added third row is still in the running but the Highlander did impress me with its AWD feature, decent gas mileage and price range.
 
Mytoy4 said:
I have 3rd row seating and Ill tell you now it's not worth it. You'll be sorry in the long run. The leg room isn't there and it's not suitable for children over the age of 4. When they're young you need the car seats and that too is a pain.
I've used mine with various ages and its just not feasible.
Click to expand...

Try the 5th gen? It's a bit more roomy, and although I've never seen the third row in there, but I'd assume it's got more leg room.
 
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