Should I remove truck rear seats

[Mohsin]

Hi!

I searched online but unable to find any appropriate answer. I live in Calgary and often drive on highways or cross country. My rear seats of the land Cruiser rarely used.

Will it effect any of those if I removed rear seats.

1. Better fuel economy.
2. Truck will become unbalanced.
3. Will effect my tires.
4. Will lose my traction on the snow/mud.

Car is designed with balanced in mind. Leaving rear seats on will be optimum and the truck will be in original form?

Experts or experienced advice needed. Let me know what you guys think.

Thank You in advance.

[amosfella]

7 seater? If the seats are the quick detach type, I'd hardly worry about it. Even if bolt in, I don't think I'd worry about it. If you feel it's a problem, you can probably just add something much less space consuming of the same weight to compensate. The seats would be about 75 pounds?

[Smoky buck]

I had a ram charger that I removed the back seats and the biggest advantage I seen was it was easy to tell people “sorry I don’t have enough seats get a ride with someone else”. This was in my days before I was married and younger so the ability to throw I a mattress had its perks too

Outside of that I believe your overthinking

[Mohsin]

Originally Posted by amosfella

7 seater? If the seats are the quick detach type, I'd hardly worry about it. Even if bolt in, I don't think I'd worry about it. If you feel it's a problem, you can probably just add something much less space consuming of the same weight to compensate. The seats would be about 75 pounds?

Yes 7 Seater.

Thanks

[TimeOff]

You would probably get better milage by ensuring your tires are inflated properly.

[reddeerguy2015]

It will effect none of those things.

[Dewey Cox]

I don't think it will affect your gas milage.
With all that extra space you're going to be more likely to leave extra junk in the trunk to make that weight back up.

[CaberTosser]

If they interfere with fitting common cargo you load I would remove them, otherwise I would leave them. Keep in mind it’s also engineered to carry cargo, so the weight argument is negated. If anything, a bit of weight over the rear axle of a rear wheel drive vehicle is a desirable thing. (Yes it’s 4WD, but 2WD is probably used more often if you’re a fan of fuel economy)

[Mohsin]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

If they interfere with fitting common cargo you load I would remove them, otherwise I would leave them. Keep in mind it’s also engineered to carry cargo, so the weight argument is negated. If anything, a bit of weight over the rear axle of a rear wheel drive vehicle is a desirable thing. (Yes it’s 4WD, but 2WD is probably used more often if you’re a fan of fuel economy)

Thanks. Make sense.

[6.5 shooter]

POSSIBLY ????????...in a roll over the seats may ??? offer a bit of protection ?

[Mohsin]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

POSSIBLY ????????...in a roll over the seats may ??? offer a bit of protection ?

Yes I just installed them back and rolled up. It did not covered much space. Thanks all of you for making up my mind.

[sjr]

Originally Posted by Mohsin

Hi!

I searched online but unable to find any appropriate answer. I live in Calgary and often drive on highways or cross country. My rear seats of the land Cruiser rarely used.

Will it effect any of those if I removed rear seats.

1. Better fuel economy.
2. Truck will become unbalanced.
3. Will effect my tires.
4. Will lose my traction on the snow/mud.

Car is designed with balanced in mind. Leaving rear seats on will be optimum and the truck will be in original form?

Experts or experienced advice needed. Let me know what you guys think.

Thank You in advance.

I would ask Greta and Justin , they know everything

[Digger1]

I would just turn them around backwards as a novelty ride for passengers. You know, something very few people get to experience nowadays.

[Mohsin]

Originally Posted by Digger1

I would just turn them around backwards as a novelty ride for passengers. You know, something very few people get to experience nowadays.

Wow. It will be awesome if I can do it. I will try. Is it legal though in Alberta/BC.

Thanks

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by Mohsin

Wow. It will be awesome if I can do it. I will try. Is it legal though in Alberta/BC.

Thanks

When I was in high school, we took a school trip to Knoxville Tn. We pulled the second and 3rd row of seat out of the 15 passenger van and put them in backwards. It was great. We never got stopped.

Station wagons with rear facing 3rd row seats are still legal.

[reddeerguy2015]

Had a 93' astro van as my first ride when I got my driver's license.

The middle seat you could flip around and it clipped right back in backwards.

There was some parties in the back of that van, let me tell you.

Record was 18 people in that van.

[Triggerfish]

Originally Posted by Mohsin

Hi!

I searched online but unable to find any appropriate answer. I live in Calgary and often drive on highways or cross country. My rear seats of the land Cruiser rarely used.

Will it effect any of those if I removed rear seats.

1. Better fuel economy.
2. Truck will become unbalanced.
3. Will effect my tires.
4. Will lose my traction on the snow/mud.

Car is designed with balanced in mind. Leaving rear seats on will be optimum and the truck will be in original form?

Experts or experienced advice needed. Let me know what you guys think.

Thank You in advance.

I am an expert and experienced,,, I think you should go to the first AMA you see and turn in your drivers licence and sell your land cruiser with the seat intact, utilize Uber to the best of your ability.

[Mohsin]

Originally Posted by Triggerfish

I am an expert and experienced,,, I think you should go to the first AMA you see and turn in your drivers licence and sell your land cruiser with the seat intact, utilize Uber to the best of your ability.

I need a suggestion not a judgmental comment but thanks any way.

[Dean2]

I presume you have a four door Landcruiser. I owned a couple of those over the years. I took out the 3rd row seats, kept them for when I resold the truck, and left the rear passenger seats folded down 98% of the time. Maximum space, a flat storage area, with the ability to take a 3rd person by folding up one side, or 3 in back by putting up both sides.

Seats in or out will not have enough affect to impact any of the things you are worried about. The 33" tires and the winch on the front that I had on them had far more impact than the weight of the seats ever would.

[cody c]

Sorry, your concerns are a bit over the top almost ridiculous (sorry).

Your 7 seater is an 80 series or 100 series? I have a 92 FJ80 thats heavily modded.

Your cruiser has 7 seats, its made to drive with one passenger or 7, its built for a various range of loads. The 80 series are already a fairly heavy vehicle, as are the 100 series, the slight decrease in seats doesn't create a significant change.

I know the 80 series have brake proportioning valves that adjust front/rear braking depending on height due to carried load. I'm not sure about the 100 series, but braking is adjusted by ride height.

In terms of effecting tires or traction, the weight of a seat removed, or 6 extra heavy passengers is pretty much insignificant, with a IFS suspension sometimes the camber is affected which will cause tire wear to be slightly uneven (more to one outer edge of tire and less to the other)

The 80 series have a solid front axle and camber should not be affected or change tire wear.

Fuel consumption should increase greatly to the effect of .1% if your lucky...
Yes that's sarcasm, the weight change is insignificant, your aerodynamics and friction of rotating components have the biggest effect on mileage.

BTW, I drive a cruiser with a 6BT cummins swapped in (+/- 300 lbs or so) plus offroad bumpers, the extra rotating mass of 38" tires, winch etc..

People often swap the FJ80 powerplant (inline 6 3FE) with V8's, the stock I6 is heavy so sometimes a motor swap drops 100 or more pounds, especially if you go to aluminum block. I had another 80 series that I put a TBI 350 chev motor in, the weight change didnt really change its handling much if any.

[urban rednek]

If you were a Jeep owner, I'd say you are overthinking this. But them Toyotas need all the help they can get.
With that being said, removing a row of seats will not have any noticeable impact on the fuel economy or how your Land Cruiser handles, other than giving you more space to carry more stuff...like recovery gear for when it gets stuck at the mall.

[Mohsin]

Originally Posted by cody c

Sorry, your concerns are a bit over the top almost ridiculous (sorry).

Your 7 seater is an 80 series or 100 series? I have a 92 FJ80 thats heavily modded.

Your cruiser has 7 seats, its made to drive with one passenger or 7, its built for a various range of loads. The 80 series are already a fairly heavy vehicle, as are the 100 series, the slight decrease in seats doesn't create a significant change.

I know the 80 series have brake proportioning valves that adjust front/rear braking depending on height due to carried load. I'm not sure about the 100 series, but braking is adjusted by ride height.

In terms of effecting tires or traction, the weight of a seat removed, or 6 extra heavy passengers is pretty much insignificant, with a IFS suspension sometimes the camber is affected which will cause tire wear to be slightly uneven (more to one outer edge of tire and less to the other)

The 80 series have a solid front axle and camber should not be affected or change tire wear.

Fuel consumption should increase greatly to the effect of .1% if your lucky...
Yes that's sarcasm, the weight change is insignificant, your aerodynamics and friction of rotating components have the biggest effect on mileage.

BTW, I drive a cruiser with a 6BT cummins swapped in (+/- 300 lbs or so) plus offroad bumpers, the extra rotating mass of 38" tires, winch etc..

People often swap the FJ80 powerplant (inline 6 3FE) with V8's, the stock I6 is heavy so sometimes a motor swap drops 100 or more pounds, especially if you go to aluminum block. I had another 80 series that I put a TBI 350 chev motor in, the weight change didnt really change its handling much if any.

If I don't know that means I don't know whats the point of humiliating people or attacking on the personalities.

"Ridiculous" is the word sounds like the "Sociology of calling other people stupid" but I still respect and appreciate your comments.

Its 2000 Prado.

[Mohsin]

Originally Posted by urban rednek

If you were a Jeep owner, I'd say you are overthinking this. But them Toyotas need all the help they can get.
With that being said, removing a row of seats will not have any noticeable impact on the fuel economy or how your Land Cruiser handles, other than giving you more space to carry more stuff...like recovery gear for when it gets stuck at the mall.

Thanks. I already put my seats back.

[elkhunter11]

How much do the rear seats weigh? Do they weigh less than a full tank of fuel? If so, they will have less effect on the things you mention than a full tank vs an almost empty tank would have. As far as the vehicle being designed to be balanced with the empty seats in place, how many passengers do you think the designers had in mind when they designed the vehicle? If they designed it with all seven passenger seats occupied, wouldn't having only one person in the vehicle change the weight and balance far more than removing the empty seats? You are overthinking things to an extreme level, way beyond all reason and logic.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Mohsin

If I don't know that means I don't know whats the point of humiliating people or attacking on the personalities.

"Ridiculous" is the word sounds like the "Sociology of calling other people stupid" but I still respect and appreciate your comments.

Its 2000 Prado.

I think you need to take a step back and think about what you are saying. There are a couple off us that have tried very hard to give you good information and the stuff cody c posted is excellent and he was NOT trying to ridicule you. His comment that your concerns are unfounded is completely accurate, even if you are over sensitive to how he worded it.

If you don't really understand what he is saying, that is on you, not him. Most guys that own these type of vehicles would know exactly what he is talking about. I think you owe him thanks for the info.

[6.5 shooter]

Originally Posted by dean2

i think you need to take a step back and think about what you are saying. There are a couple off us that have tried very hard to give you good information and the stuff cody c posted is excellent and he was not trying to ridicule you. His comment that your concerns are unfounded is completely accurate, even if you are over sensitive to how he worded it.

If you don't really understand what he is saying, that is on you, not him. Most guys that own these type of vehicles would know exactly what he is talking about. I think you owe him thanks for the info.

this^^^^^

[cody c]

Originally Posted by Mohsin

If I don't know that means I don't know whats the point of humiliating people or attacking on the personalities.

"Ridiculous" is the word sounds like the "Sociology of calling other people stupid" but I still respect and appreciate your comments.

Its 2000 Prado.

Prado's are a bit lighter, cool rig though, my comments really aren't meant to insult you or "call you stupid" its to say you are worrying over things that aren't worth worrying about.

You have to take a step back and consider the size of the effect of removing seats to what the vehicle is designed for... hauling 7 heavy people with a small trailer behind it is one of the designs for the suspension. (which I wouldn't recommend with a 3LT motor)

The difference between a light or heavy driver or an empty or full tank of fuel is almost the difference in weight of that seat installed or removed.

What you should be concerned about is the cooling system is well maintained and functioning well on an L series motor (L, 2L, 2LT, 3L etc) and overheating it on hills. They are prone to head gasket issues from poor head cooling design, but remedied with aftermarket heads or cooling system upgrades or maintenance.

The landcruiser was made to run on mexican ditch water and be maintained by a 12 year old with a crescent wrench, but the L series motor has cooling issues.

[Mohsin]

Originally Posted by cody c

Prado's are a bit lighter, cool rig though, my comments really aren't meant to insult you or "call you stupid" its to say you are worrying over things that aren't worth worrying about.

You have to take a step back and consider the size of the effect of removing seats to what the vehicle is designed for... hauling 7 heavy people with a small trailer behind it is one of the designs for the suspension. (which I wouldn't recommend with a 3LT motor)

The difference between a light or heavy driver or an empty or full tank of fuel is almost the difference in weight of that seat installed or removed.

What you should be concerned about is the cooling system is well maintained and functioning well on an L series motor (L, 2L, 2LT, 3L etc) and overheating it on hills. They are prone to head gasket issues from poor head cooling design, but remedied with aftermarket heads or cooling system upgrades or maintenance.

The landcruiser was made to run on mexican ditch water and be maintained by a 12 year old with a crescent wrench, but the L series motor has cooling issues.

Awesome. Thanks