Has anyone bought one without the third row seats? They are optional on both models. The hole between the rear 2 rows when they are in the fully flat position is ridiculously large. I carry a lot of "stuff" and the little items would end up hidden under the seats. My '94 has a flap that hides any hole. What is the situation when the third seats are not purchased? Thanks. ___________ e-mail address human safe and bot unfriendly
Hmmm. My 02 with third row has a sliding panel located in the rear of the 3rd row seat back. When the seat back is folded flat, the panel slides out (forward) and closes the gap with the 2nd row of seats and also protects 3rd row headrests. I've never seen a newer one without the 3rd row. But you are right, without that sliding panel on mine, the gap would be quite large. Easily in excess of 6 inches.
Herky, thanks for your answer, but I know that the 2006 redesign changed the equation once again. Ah, for the perfect simplicity of my '94... dream on....
I have no use for a third row seat and almost all of the higher end
2006 Explorers are ordered by the dealer with the 3rd row seat.I had the same concern as you about all the holes left around the seat when it is folded flat. I looked at an 2006 Explorer XLT without the
3rd row seat and it has two plastic covers the completely cover the area where the seat would be. You can get a cargo shade cover too if you get it without the third row seat. So I had to order my 2006 Explorer Eddie Bauer to get one without a third row seat.I asked the dealer what the load carrying capacity of these two plastic covers that make up the cargo area floor were. They looked in all the books they had and could not find any info. If I go to Home Depot and want to buy some 40 pound bags of top soil, how many can I carry without breaking these plastic floor panels? My current 98 explorer will carry 30 bags easily.
My '02 has no 3rd seat and has the 2 plastic floor panels and I have made
6-8 10 mile trips with 45ea 24 pound concrete landscape wall blocks (1100 pounds) stacked in the rear with middle seat folded down with no problems. wthIf you're hauling around half a ton and more, why don't you buy a real truck? For our safety.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.