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storage for the large back seat in a van

sammy zone 7 Tulsa

14 years ago

Sometimes car people know a world that I don't know anything about.

We have a Ford Van, and have removed the long 3 passenger back seat so we can put in dog crates for our three Golden Retrievers.

We don't have room in the house for that seat, but want to keep it for resale of the van.

Do you know how we could build a container to put outside to store the seat? If we could build a container to store it in, we could set it against the house under the overhang of the roof, and possibly cover it with tarps to keep the rain out.

My husband thinks that anything we can create would allow mildew to get inside, and ruin the seat.

Besides renting a space to store it, do any of you have ideas of a structure, or a place we could go online to find a structure. My husband can build simple things, but we cannot find directions. (He isn't looking too hard.)

I know this is sort of off topic, but all of you here might have better ideas than on my roses forums.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Sammy

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Comments (6)

john_g
14 years ago
My dad had a Dodge van he made into a mini camper in the late 70's and took the rear seats out to do that. He stored them in the basement of the house, and while the van is long gone today, those seats are still in his basement in almost perfect condition!

I can't imagine you having much success building something that would protect the seat outside. I also don't see where having the seat will make any real difference in the resale value. Basically its bite the bullet and keep it in the house, as an odd piece of furniture as my dad did, or simply drop it off at an auto wrecker.
jemdandy
14 years ago
Check Menards or Loews for small outside storage sheds. They offer a variety of sizes made out of thermoplastic. Typical use is for storing garden tools and garbage cans. A few may be weather tight enough for your purpose.

Your village may require a building permit for large sheds.

If you store the seat in a small enclosure, be sure to stake it down to keep it from blowing away. Crack open a box of moth balls and place inside, but not in contact with the seat.
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sammy zone 7 Tulsa
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you so much for your replies.
The Van is 5 years old. Do you have any idea how much that seat would be worth in resale? My husband said that since it is a customized van, that in resale it could hurt us to not have a back seat. We did not customize it - it was customized by Ford.

Sammy
andrelaplume2
13 years ago
it will rot outside!
homebound
13 years ago
The answers are....(drumroll please)......A) someone else's garage, B) attic C) basement D) build a box to set over it in the house, then store other stuff on top of it. (It could function as a tall coffee table, or a side table etc.)
jemdandy
13 years ago
The seat will store ok outside provided it is kept dry, out of the sunlight, not baked at high temperatures (sunshine on a heat absorbing encosure), and no mice or other vermin.

If you store it in a barn, put it in a large, heavy plastic storage bag and close the bag. (You may be able to locate a used bag at a furniture store.) Vent the bag a couple times per year to air out any accumulated gases. The main fucntion of the bag is to keep mice and cats out of it and to keep dust free.

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