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Who folds their back seats down, and why?

omnitonic

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When I got the Jeep, I folded the back seats down, and marveled at how easy it was, how well it worked, and how I basically had the same cargo area as a short bed pickup. That helped cement the idea that I should just sell my truck.

That was the last time I actually folded the seats down. If I'm not going back and forth to work, I usually have the dog in the back seat, in her doggy fur catcher tunnel. Folding the seats down requires removing her dog bowl and my wastebasket from the floor, and anything I had stored under the seat.

I realized all the latter stuff while I was contemplating sticking my Viar OBA setup under the rear seats. There aren't a lot of good places to stick this stuff. Lots of potential solutions involve shelling out for this skid plate or that one. I could end up running hoses and wires everywhere. I could spend weeks working the bugs out of a complicated installation.

While it sort of defeats the point of having separate components, under the rear seats is actually a really tasty mounting location. There is plenty of room. I could probably rig it up to be semi-permanent, so I can pull the unit out if I really need to fold the seats.

I've started wondering if it's even worth bothering. Will I ever actually need to fold the seats down? Thus I thought I would survey the membership and see what eventualities I might not have foreseen. Maybe I will fold the rear seats down more often than I think.
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Gadgettr1

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My back seats stay folded down 99% of the time. I have a combination of Canvasback and DirtyDog4x4 mats in the back for my dog for protection from whatever I throw back there. It’s only us two and our 117lb Rotty so the back seat isn’t used very often. The DirtyDog4x4 cargo netting makes for a great fishing rod holder too.
 

Dale's Jeep

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Mine get folded down when the dogs go with us on trip.
 

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Shaved Ice

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Last time my seats were down: I had a tree fall on my wooden fence and destroy two sections last year. I had to make several trips with my 5x8 trailer to cart off the tree to the “green” landfill. I couldn’t take the broken fence to the same landfill and didn’t feel like dealing with the trailer any more than I had to. I folded the seats down and used the used the Jeep like a truck bed. In retrospect, probably not the safest, but it got the job done.

I have three teens so my seats stay down 99% of the time, but I am glad the seats fold down for utility.
 

Sital

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I only fold down the back seats if I need the room for hauling something. Since I have the Slipstream security enclosure there's no advantage to keeping them down. Plus, the dog goes in the back seat.
 

wandrur

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I don't fold down much, as my German Shepherd rides in a hammock in the backseat. I really only fold down when I need the cargo space for...cargo.
 

JLBoucher

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Ironically, my back seat is the only thing I still have from my wrecked Willys (got rear ended by a semi a couple of weeks after delivery). I took off the seat so I could install my dog's crate and never put it back. My 90 pounds German Shepherd loved the extra space.

I say "loved", past tense, because I don't have the Willys anymore. Not because the dog was there when the accident happened! XD

So now, I have an extra "couch" with a jetty on it, in my basement. :)
 
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ThirtyOne

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I had mine down yesterday to haul something long in the back.

but the other reason i put them down is because i like to go doors-off/top down on the trails. Folding them down protects them from dirt and dust.
 

JeepTime

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I fold mine down quite often to fit my surfboard in the Jeep
 

Shift Happens

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My back seats will be flat 99% of the time. Hockey gear, tools for work and dogs will be in the back most times. Only time the seats will be up is if I need to cart passengers around.
 
 



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