Chinook RV

Some of you installed the Sienna seats for the front row, and I wonder if there are similar arrangement for the dinette seats? I think the club seat maybe a bit more flexible, but I like the layout of my dinette better. Any bench seats or captain seat available that any of you are aware of?

Edit:
What I like about the Sienna seats is the integrated seat belt. Looks like it is not possible to use the Sienna seat on the dinette, but I am open to other alternatives.

I don't know of anything specific, but you could look at double second row bench seats from some vehicles? (I suppose you already figured that out). I'm trying to remember some of the ones people have used in which the backs flip down (might be nice so the driver's seat could recline). Maybe it was some Suburban type back seats? I do remember seeing a nice one someone put in a van....

I think you'd have to do a lot of safety engineering to use built in seatbelt seats. I'm sure it could be done. Where there's a will there's a way. You might have to drop the propane tank to weld in some metal for anchors to the frame rails? Otherwise it's just plywood or composite floor, which wouldn't cut it, I don't think.

BTW, I had a pair of Sienna seats and I set one where my forward club chair goes just to see. Suddenly it was HUGE. I couldn't have done it justice unless I ran it straight forward/aft and gave up the table. Even diagonal... not really. There's a lot more fore-and-aft room than you think of in the front seat area --- because of the space under the dashboard for your legs, I guess.

I've played this game a little bit while trying to figure out additional seating, with integrated belts. The Sienna seats are really nice, but spendy, and hard to find. There are lots of ways to mount things. I think you can make a more secure mount than the factory "belted" positions. I planned on using large metal plates and L-track attached through the floor and into some of the metal Chinook cross-bars that support the floor.

I first found a captain's chair on CL with an integrated belt and a nice removable mount. Nice, comfy leather, out of a Sprinter limo. Made by Superior Seats Inc. The same company also sells a swivel for it. Then we needed a second seat, so the search went on...

I then tried using Ford Transit seats. They're nice, but super heavy, and the mounting brackets are bulky. I've seen people cut off the stock mounting points and weld on some flat brackets. There's lots online about that. But, the Transit seats don't fold flat. So they just take up space.

I finally picked up a 3rd row seat out of a Yukon. It has integrated seatbelts, AND folds flat, either one half or both. There are similar seats from Escalades/Tahoes as well. They are a popular option for people adding seating with belts to older vehicles. You can get universal mounting brackets for them on Ebay, and attach them to a welded steel frame that is the appropriate height. I envisioned the seat working as some kind of dinette seat/bed half kind of thing. Like, maybe it lines up with the passenger seat that has a swivel, so it makes a bed for one when it's folded down and the pass. seat is turned around. Or, you bridge across from the driver's side fold-down bed.

Probably the easiest would be a nice Superior Seat style seat. The Yukon/Tahoe/Escalade are cheaper, and nice in that they fold flat.

Not mine, but the general idea I was going for:

The image did not show up on my browser... until a few minutes later. Weird.

Anyway, it will be great if the seats can be fold flat, since I can convert the dinette to a bed. I think the first thing I want to look into is to see if I can get a Sienna seat for the front passenger with a swivel mount. One of the big complaint is that the front passenger is fixed and it is a wasted space when we are at camp site. If it can be turn around it will be much more useful. I have to think about if this is possible because the dinette seat is right behind it, and there maybe no room for it to be rotated. I don't mind if I have to redo the sofa/dinette area if it is what need to be done for this.

Those are the folding two-place seats I was thinking of - thanks for posting them.

I found my Sienna seats on eBay (they were new takeouts). That was a few years ago though - maybe they are harder to find now? I did have to pick them up, but luckily was only four hours away from them at the time. I also had special swivel "front seat fitment" bases for them (well, plain base for the driver; swivel for the passenger). My plan was to use the driver's one, then use the passenger one in place of the forward club chair (which could be put in passenger space alternatively). There were instructions to use the stock Ford seat belts (which keeps the airbag pretensioner system in place) and to not use the integrated belts (for the driver and passenger position).

In the end, as nice as they are (and they are nice), I didn't find it as comfortable as my Flexsteel seat for driving. Not that the Flexsteel is so amazing, but I like my power seat adjustments so I can change things up (Siennas would not have had that). But okay, I still had the passenger one for my forward club area. However, after trying it out (I mounted it to a plywood base for trialing it), it was just "too much seat" for the space for me (might not be for someone else).

If you have the dinette you could probably only swivel the passenger seat to 90º. Not sure that would rock. But if you want to try it without spending a mint on Sienna seats, you could get a swivel base for the stock Ford seat (which also fits the stock Flexsteel seat). I have one of those and it's a super easy swap. The one made by Kustom Fit seems to keep the seat at the stock height (that's the one I have). The stock Ford seat and Flexsteel seats just have enough room to swivel, but no extra (sans dinette).

I ended up not using my swivel passenger seat that much. It's probably just me, but the cab space in my Chinook just feels like... cab space. Hot in summer, cold in winter, and lower than the rest of the coach. Plus a bit of a hassle with curtainage (on the other hand, in my camper van I used that space with the swivel seat all the time, but it felt more integrated with the rest of the living space).

Another thought: If you can only swivel the passenger seat 90º because of the dinette, and if you travel with more than one person, I wonder if it would make a nice reading nook with your feet up on the driver's seat cushion (have never tried it, not sure if console is in the way). Could be a nice "separate room" and thus make the dinette blockage a feature?

Blue, it needs to do a 180 for me to make sense spending the money getting one. If the Kustom Fit base is not too pricey, I may look for one to try and see if I will change my mind about the requirement.

I hear you on the 180º. When I had my swivel base in (Flexsteel seat), I had the forward club seat out so it could easily swivel all the way around. I still have the stock seat and the swivel base; but when I'm traveling solo I have a box there instead (uses the seat mounting points to attach) since I didn't really end up sitting in it much. Funny how sometimes things one thinks will be really swift just end up not being that popular for some reason.