How-To: Swap Bench 2nd row to Captains Chairs with Console

[2020FordRaptor]

So I have bench seats in my '23 ST. On the fence about them but i'm discovering my youngest (7) likes to get into the 3rd row by jumping over the 2nd row seating.

What's the difference between the bench seat outer seats and the captains chairs? I've been trying to look at photos but are they the same seat other than the armrest and the lower bolstering/stitching design? I'm wondering if i could make due just pulling the middle seat and installing some temp carpeting and the cupholder console temporarily. At least then my youngest has a path to the rear seat.

Not sure i want to commit to the full captain chair swap yet as my oldest will be driving soon so there may not be a need to access the 3rd row, in which case I can leave those seats down fully and be fine with the bench.

Yeah that would work. Probably wouldn't look the best, but it would work.

 

[KoolAl44]

@bguild I have to thank you for your amazing write-up! You gave me the confidence to purchase a 2021 that just came off lease, even though it had captain's chairs when I needed a bench seat. To your point, I can confirm that swapping captain's chairs for the bench seat does work!

The downside - I just discovered - is that I got the bench from a 2020 XLT, which does not have the powered fold-down feature. In and of itself, I'm not too bothered by that, but, it lacks the wiring harness and control unit that provides power to the rear-folding seats. I did not realize this while I swapped all the seats, and now my 3rd row is stuck in the flat-down position.

So, I'm going to have to get the harnesses reconnected so I can put the 3rd row upright. And then, I need to decide how to proceed. I'll either remove the unit from my captain's chairs, or find what I need from a junkyard for a reasonable price. (I plan to put the captain's chairs back in someday when my kids have grown up enough that I don't need 7 seats.

I did manage to get the seats for only $213, so I can't complain about the cost. And the work only took me a few hours today.

What was your solution. I just did this exact thing and was going to transfer the harness from the captain chairs to the bench