Middle seat convert to a full center console

Good afternoon, curious to know if any of you have converted the front bench seat to a full center console? is this even possible...

 

Home Brewed

 

I've heard to do the oem center console, you need the seats too. Shame cause I want to do the same.

 

The seats seem to be exactly the same whether the console is in there already or the center seat on my 3rd gen.

They are bucket seats either way.

 

That’ll save money as the seats are expensive if you don’t get used ones. I think over $2000 a piece. The console parts shouldn’t be that much to buy, esp if the OP can find them at a junkyard.

 

I was sure relieved when I discovered this!

 

but this is a 2nd gen.

i get that they are bucket seats either way, but you see hundreds of threads talking about the conversion on the 3rd gen, and it took me forever to find the question even asked in the 2nd gen forums, which is weird cause it seems like something that a lot of people would do. but the few responses the thread got was that you had to do the seats too. trust me, ive searched pretty hard. i cant even find the thread again now.

id love to be wrong cause i hate the center seat. who sits 3 people in the front row of a 4 door truck?

 

I get it which is why I say clearly that mine is a 3rd gen but I am also of the impression that they are the same.
Is this a truck that you own already?
If so it is not a deal at all to try and see for yourself,is it?
I think mine was 4 bolts and BAM Bucket Seats!

 

im not OP. my truck is pretty new to me and ive got a bunch of other stuff on the docket before i got to this. im just reporting on what ive read. i would think a better way for someone to confirm before buying all the parts is to check out the part numbers between the console and 60/40/60 models.

 

I know you are not the OP but it is so simple that it is not worth spending time to see if they are just buckets too.

I also knew that I was building my own so it did not matter to me what was available outside what I would build as long as there was a wide open clear space to do it.

I am just relaying my own actual experience,good luck with your own.

 

40/20/40 split bench = two bucket seats and a center console/jump seat.





I don't care for the storage compartment / arm rest on the jump seat, so I keep the seat upright. I am considering removing just the seat back, or possibly the entire center seat.

 

but going to look will tell me nothing without being able to compare it to the center console seats. yeah, they are bucket seats... but are mine narrower? wider? are the bases missing some bracket that the center console would be mounted to? i mean, all of this is unlikely, but going to look isnt going to give me answers well enough to tell someone else to go spend hundreds or thousands on parts. im just here for the ride and the best i can do is share what ive read, and the suspicions i have based on what i have read and the lack of what i have read.

 

In my wife’s limited 2008 Sequoia,I converted from bucket second row seating,to full bench

I bought a full bench from a salvage yard and installed it.

The holes are there in the floor pan from the factory for both the center seat,or center console. All floor pans are the same,holes are in There from the factory just hidden or not used

All I had to do was trim the carpet and foam filler so everything would fit flush for the center seat mounting brackets and track sliders.

The bucket seats/bench seats are different dimensions versus each other.

Just buying a 2/3 bench seat and slapping it in there won’t work. You need the whole bench seat as a set.

At this current moment I forget what the seat differences are,but if I can recall correctly one of them is wider than the other,and won’t let you get everything lined up where you need it on the floor pan if you try to “mix and match”

Also the track trim cover pieces for the floor are different,as well as the trim sides

As i remember other things I’ll report back

 

Front seats.

 

I think with the 40/20/40 the passenger seat is the fold flat style. It has a different seat back
and hinge mechanism than a proper bucket seat. I’ve just removed my centre console for good.
I find the passenger fold seat not as comfortable but I don’t sit there. I will look at a truck with
factory centre console but I’d prefer a nicer passenger seat. I would think they would be
interchangeable for sure either way. I like the space in the middle for dropping in gym bag,
groceries etc they go to the floor and I don’t worry about stuff moving around.
I’m also looking at a nice horizontal long gun rack that can bolt in there. Be nice to have it
handy but safe when out in the bush on a hunt.
I hope I haven’t hijacked this thread too much, just following on with ideas.

 

I am but a simple caveman who built his own console and did not care what was there as long as I could fit my console in the wide open space.
I have already said this several times.
YMMV.

 

The stock console bolts right in. Carpet is different. You need some dash pieces. Little crap like that. It’s been done before.

 

ok man. im not here to argue. im here to share my input. you told me i should go look and find out. i told you why that wont help. that is all.

 

perfect. this is the info we need! any suggestions on what to search for? seems like this is a mod that would have been done super often with people wanting to put a bench in the crewmax(which didnt have that option from factory), and people wanting to "upgrade" to the console. im kind of baffled on why there are no threads on it.

 

They look the same to me seeing that pic of the 2nd gen just quickly.

I imagine if it were easier to get the factory console or seats that more people would do the mod?

 

Seems like a perfect candidate for swaps. but then again, going from console to bench means you have to swap the shifter linkage, which means both folk are in for a serious chore. personally, id keep the column shift, but obviously a swap wouldnt let me do that, cause its not like you can keep the console shift without the console.

 

Yeah I cant imagine trying to put in console shifting and I am OK with mine on the column for sure.
I also try not encourage passengers in general so getting rid of that mutant center seat was a no brainer for me too!
Plus I can pile so much crap into the console that I made it is like party time there!

 

What you need is a 12V fridge in there. Now that would be handy, sure is enough room!

 

Nah,I carry my 64 oz Growler full of Ice Water when on road trips and dont really need a fridge for anything else that I can think of.

Keeping it Simple.

 

just wanted to update folk here, and say that, YES. this mod is completely do-able. for $130 shipped i bought the center console from a place halfway across the country. got it in last night, and naturally immediately spent the next 2 hours swapping it in, lol.

im super happy with the swap. tons more storage in the arm rest, and tons more spots to toss stuff within quick reach. the big thing now is... what can i use to fill in the shifter spot? hoping to do something like this guy did:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/center-console-replacement-shifter-hole-problem-solved.39684/ but i cant even find a metal replacement trim that id be able to weld to. would love a tray/cup that i can remove to access the cavernous space underneath where the shifter goes. great spot for grocery bags, gloves, rags, etc.

it was a super easy swap. i planned on snapping pics, but honestly everything was so easy, i never got to a point where i was stumped enough to take a pic of the solution. if any of my notes below sound confusing, as you do the swap it will be painfully obvious on what goes where, but feel free to ask. few things of note:



1. where the jump seat bolts down in the rear... when you swap in the new console it doesn't cover as much of the floor, so you end up with a 4" diameter semi circle of missing fabric. im assuming that the trucks with the console have carpet here, but if someone could check their truck and make sure there isnt a trim piece im missing, that would be great. im going to snap a pic of the area im talking about, but its just inboard from the inner rear seat bolt. i can live with it, but its a bit of a bummer.

2. the harness for the jump seat to plug into for the 12v outlet is male on the truck side, female on the seat side. for some reason on the console, its male on the console side... so i cant just plug and play. no big deal. going to clip both sides and use some bullet connectors.

3. you need to make sure you get the piece of the dash that replaces the cup holders on the jump seat model. the replacement piece has the 12v outlets in it, where as before they were in the grey trim piece to the left. this was an add on from the junkyard, as typically they are grouped with the dash when sold used. they threw it in for free.

4. you also need the 4 bolts that bolt the main console to the floor. they are the bolts that are exposed below the felt piece at the bottom of the console. all other fasteners can be swapped from old to new. aka, the 4 screws that mount the cup holder... 2 of them are used to tie the rear half of console to front.

5. the piece above... since the plugs are moved farther to the right, the plugs for the cig outlets do not reach both outlets. only the drivers side. for me this was completely fine, as part of this swap, was me running fused power direct to the battery so i had 1 outlet in the truck that would stay powered all the time.

6. the junkyard i bought from(and a few others i saw online), seemed to think that the crewmax, dc(what they call extended cab), and regular cab, are all interchangeable. while technically true, they will have different trim on the back of them. DC has cup holders and a power outlet. crewmax has outlet and vents(cup holders are in fold down armrest). regular cab has nothing on the back(afaik, its hard to find a photo of the rear of one).

7. you will need a dummy switch for the tow/haul mode switch. or leave it there as a non functioning switch. ill be putting a ch4x4 switch there for my ditch lights.

 

Does any know if the front center seat will fit in a 2014 Tundra Crewmax? Does it just bolt down to the four bolt holes under the center console glove compartment?

 

So does the center console bolt in to where the center seat bolt goes? I'm actually trying to add a center seat but not sure if it'll bolt down to the 4 center console bolt holes.