This is how we installed the OEM rear seat bench into a custom position in our 2020 Mercedes Sprinter Cargo Van. Hopefully, there is an easier way because this sucked.
Nice work. I didn't lower my tank, just remove the bolt from the tank strap & drill right up through the nut into the cabin. The seat bracket bolt then also becomes the fuel tank hanger bolt. works great!
I just crawled out from under our 2020 sprinter cursing because of the gas tank and other problems you ran into. I’m glad you solved most of my problems for me, saved a ton of headache!! Keep posting your progress, I’m just a few steps behind ya!
Jesper Dahlquist glad to hear that this was helpful. Yea, it’s a pain... We actually ended up again replacing all our screws with 6” stainless ones. You can order them directly from fastenal.
Paul Riedel I’m already off to a rough start, I picked up a row of seats in Los Angeles which I thought were from a 2019 van and bought the brackets for a 2019 only to find out the seats are from a 2018...they look very similar but they mount to different brackets so I am ordering the right ones now...😩
Jesper Dahlquist hey - they were just 5 1/2” stainless steel bolts, maybe 3/8 or m10. You can also find them at the Home Depot. Same with all the other supplies.
It's called the frame that you're drilling through underneath and the seats mounts on the pins is what thats called. Thanks for showing us your method. Cheers.
Hi, You mention they were OEM but they look aftermarket. Do you know? From my extensive!! digging, way harder to find OEM rails than I thought, at least for a decent price less than $700 used.... The OEM seem to be longer with the ability to fit in the cover plates, etc. Ebay is full of inexpensive aftermarket ones.
@@germaninpdx Hey Paul, since watching your video, I have gone back and forth on the order of a 2022 Sprinter 170" CARGO from our local dealership. I will immediately need a back-row seat for the family and found a few OEM seats on sale on Facebook. Most don't come with the metal bracket so I will have to order aftermarket. Question for you here, do you think you could have shifted the seat around to land the bolts, not above the fuel tank?
@@zachstirling3333 congrats! Ultimately I don’t think you can avoid installing the bench above the tank unless you go really far back. Width-wise there isn’t enough room to move the bench more to the right (sliding door side). Don’t be intimidated. I’m sure you can do this!
@@germaninpdx Weird, mine wouldn't insure my 2012 cargo. Passenger models are insured as personal vehicles and cargo are typically insured as commercial. It didn't seem to me that DIY adding seats was legal?
I would have place some wood spacers on top of the tank thats thick enough so your tank clamps holds it rigidly or else your tank can bounce on bumpy roads.
Yea, the closed cell foam is pretty rigid but wood would probably work too. Just might be tricky to squeeze into the spots if you’re not taking the tank off completely.
Can you put the new 2019 and above bench seats on a 2017 mb sprinter ? I find old bench seat uncomfortable. I purchased new 2020 seats with the new oem brackets I just don’t know if they line up differently
As far as I know the 2017 has the captive nuts inside the frame that you can probably fasted the 2020 brackets to. But.. if not.. you can use my method and just go straight through the frame and put in any seat you prefer!
Great video! I got a same seat and ready to be installed. However I need some help with measurements. I want to put it in the factory spot. How far the floor track sits back from the front seat base and from the driver side wall? I can't find any info for that. Thanks
I don’t know the exact distance that the crew version leaves between the front seat base and the rails this row sits on. Curious why would want it to be exact? It’s kind of nice that you can determine yourself exactly how far forward you want them (within the limits of those grooves in the floor). There is only one distance they can be from the driver side wall given where the grooves are.
@@germaninpdx Thanks, that's true the grooves will shoe the right spot from the side. Ill remove the factory floor and hopefully will see better. Thanks again!
Sorry to be so off topic but does anybody know a tool to log back into an instagram account?? I was stupid lost my account password. I would appreciate any tips you can offer me.
@Jericho Jayce i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im trying it out atm. Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I found them on Craigslist from a guy who bought a passenger van and didn’t need them anymore. When I was looking for them I saw some on eBay too though!
Where exactly do you feel it’s not strong enough? Under the body? Open to suggestions on improvements given what options are available without captive nuts.
@@germaninpdx hey Paul, you should get some hot rolled 1/4” steel plates to place under the van floor. These are not expensive, and will greatly increase the structural pull strength. Think of these plates, cut to size, as giant washers. The van floor is not strong enough by itself in the even of a serious accident. Hope that helps! I found a good pictorial of this for the installation of another bench seat, check out weekendervanlife blog post for capervan folding seat install.
I see that you did use some steel plates, I am sure that the bolts that go into the frame are good, and the bolt that goes into floor are probably ok too... Just looked undersized... when used in floor.
@@ryanc3656 Interesting. Thank you for sharing. The steel they used looks like the same I have. I like how they go across the entire width in-between the struts, but I would argue that my placement on top of (well, "below") the U-shaped struts under the van floor actually provides significantly more strength than just putting them directly under the van floor. Fortunately, with the placement in the grooves, the bench is anchored on the left and right side right where the U-struts are located. The center fastener is just under the van floor, but it also doesn't withstand the same structural pull compared to the outsides given the way the bench hooks into those. The weakest points in this construction are the bolts themselves. If anything, they would break before anything pulls through the struts and floor. That's why I used the biggest, stainless bolts I could get my hands on.
@@danielpeterchicago just crawled under to inspect them. I did spray those before mounting them as well. 5/6 look good, one does have some rust on the edges. There may be a better solution for those plates which are effectively giant washers. If you come across one let me know and I’ll swap at least the one out!
Nice work. I didn't lower my tank, just remove the bolt from the tank strap & drill right up through the nut into the cabin. The seat bracket bolt then also becomes the fuel tank hanger bolt. works great!
I just crawled out from under our 2020 sprinter cursing because of the gas tank and other problems you ran into. I’m glad you solved most of my problems for me, saved a ton of headache!! Keep posting your progress, I’m just a few steps behind ya!
Jesper Dahlquist glad to hear that this was helpful. Yea, it’s a pain... We actually ended up again replacing all our screws with 6” stainless ones. You can order them directly from fastenal.
Paul Riedel I’m already off to a rough start, I picked up a row of seats in Los Angeles which I thought were from a 2019 van and bought the brackets for a 2019 only to find out the seats are from a 2018...they look very similar but they mount to different brackets so I am ordering the right ones now...😩
Jesper Dahlquist oh no!! :/
Paul Riedel any chance you will share your material order from fastenal?
Jesper Dahlquist hey - they were just 5 1/2” stainless steel bolts, maybe 3/8 or m10. You can also find them at the Home Depot. Same with all the other supplies.
It's called the frame that you're drilling through underneath and the seats mounts on the pins is what thats called. Thanks for showing us your method. Cheers.
Haha yes! That’s right. Sorry English isn’t my first language.
@@germaninpdx no worries, at least you took the time to show us one way how to install the seats.
Hi, You mention they were OEM but they look aftermarket. Do you know? From my extensive!! digging, way harder to find OEM rails than I thought, at least for a decent price less than $700 used.... The OEM seem to be longer with the ability to fit in the cover plates, etc. Ebay is full of inexpensive aftermarket ones.
Thanks for the video! This seems so hard to install! I'm dreading it.
That’s the spirit! Lol. It’s not too hard, just annoying.
@@germaninpdx Hey Paul, since watching your video, I have gone back and forth on the order of a 2022 Sprinter 170" CARGO from our local dealership. I will immediately need a back-row seat for the family and found a few OEM seats on sale on Facebook. Most don't come with the metal bracket so I will have to order aftermarket. Question for you here, do you think you could have shifted the seat around to land the bolts, not above the fuel tank?
@@zachstirling3333 congrats! Ultimately I don’t think you can avoid installing the bench above the tank unless you go really far back. Width-wise there isn’t enough room to move the bench more to the right (sliding door side). Don’t be intimidated. I’m sure you can do this!
Do you remember the length of the bolt to get through the frame rail?
Hi, could you please share where you got these seat rails? I tried some on ebay with no luck. They sent me a fake rubber instead.
How were you able to insure the vehicle as a passenger vehicle with the added seats since it's titled as a cargo?
@@Fsone174 insurance doesn’t differentiate between the different models
@@germaninpdx Weird, mine wouldn't insure my 2012 cargo. Passenger models are insured as personal vehicles and cargo are typically insured as commercial. It didn't seem to me that DIY adding seats was legal?
Thanks for the video. How did you cut out the channels in the flirt when you reinstalled it?
*floor
Hey - not exactly what you mean?
Really appreciate this vid. Ty
I would have place some wood spacers on top of the tank thats thick enough so your tank clamps holds it rigidly or else your tank can bounce on bumpy roads.
Yea, the closed cell foam is pretty rigid but wood would probably work too. Just might be tricky to squeeze into the spots if you’re not taking the tank off completely.
Flammable materials next to the gas tank? Not a good idea.
Can you put the new 2019 and above bench seats on a 2017 mb sprinter ? I find old bench seat uncomfortable. I purchased new 2020 seats with the new oem brackets I just don’t know if they line up differently
As far as I know the 2017 has the captive nuts inside the frame that you can probably fasted the 2020 brackets to. But.. if not.. you can use my method and just go straight through the frame and put in any seat you prefer!
Great video! I got a same seat and ready to be installed. However I need some help with measurements. I want to put it in the factory spot. How far the floor track sits back from the front seat base and from the driver side wall? I can't find any info for that. Thanks
I don’t know the exact distance that the crew version leaves between the front seat base and the rails this row sits on. Curious why would want it to be exact? It’s kind of nice that you can determine yourself exactly how far forward you want them (within the limits of those grooves in the floor). There is only one distance they can be from the driver side wall given where the grooves are.
@@germaninpdx Thanks, that's true the grooves will shoe the right spot from the side. Ill remove the factory floor and hopefully will see better. Thanks again!
Sorry to be so off topic but does anybody know a tool to log back into an instagram account??
I was stupid lost my account password. I would appreciate any tips you can offer me.
@Micah Dante instablaster =)
@Jericho Jayce i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im trying it out atm.
Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Hello - could you tell me what length screws you used please?
Bolts
Great video ....thanks for sharing .
Where did you get brackets ?
I found them on Craigslist from a guy who bought a passenger van and didn’t need them anymore. When I was looking for them I saw some on eBay too though!
Doesn’t seem strong enough at attach points.
Where exactly do you feel it’s not strong enough? Under the body? Open to suggestions on improvements given what options are available without captive nuts.
@@germaninpdx hey Paul, you should get some hot rolled 1/4” steel plates to place under the van floor. These are not expensive, and will greatly increase the structural pull strength. Think of these plates, cut to size, as giant washers. The van floor is not strong enough by itself in the even of a serious accident. Hope that helps! I found a good pictorial of this for the installation of another bench seat, check out weekendervanlife blog post for capervan folding seat install.
I see that you did use some steel plates, I am sure that the bolts that go into the frame are good, and the bolt that goes into floor are probably ok too... Just looked undersized... when used in floor.
@@ryanc3656 Interesting. Thank you for sharing. The steel they used looks like the same I have. I like how they go across the entire width in-between the struts, but I would argue that my placement on top of (well, "below") the U-shaped struts under the van floor actually provides significantly more strength than just putting them directly under the van floor. Fortunately, with the placement in the grooves, the bench is anchored on the left and right side right where the U-struts are located. The center fastener is just under the van floor, but it also doesn't withstand the same structural pull compared to the outsides given the way the bench hooks into those. The weakest points in this construction are the bolts themselves. If anything, they would break before anything pulls through the struts and floor. That's why I used the biggest, stainless bolts I could get my hands on.
@@germaninpdx good point, agreed!
1 year later all rusted
Actually I sprayed all the holes with rustoleum and used stainless fasteners. No rust so far! :)
@@germaninpdx How about the mild steel plates you used? Those are going to be rusty in a month.
@@danielpeterchicago just crawled under to inspect them. I did spray those before mounting them as well. 5/6 look good, one does have some rust on the edges. There may be a better solution for those plates which are effectively giant washers. If you come across one let me know and I’ll swap at least the one out!