I saved 68.4 lbs. 36.8 double seat + 31.6 single seat. No more magic seats. I need all the space I can get when I am traveling by myself. Planning on placing a large flat plywood, move the passenger seat up so I can sleep diagonally when I am visiting the national parks. The disadvantage is everything need to be tied down. No back seats to prevent items from slipping forward.

 

Why did you do this? You don't save much space, only weight. Since the rear seats lay flat you can put the plywood directly over the rear seats and sleep diagonally just as well. There are two tiedowns at the back of the rear seats.

Without the rear seats you must build some internal storage so the hatch area is flat.

I could see removing the rear seats for hatches where the hatch floor is not flat (Nissan Versa Note, Nissan Micra, Mazda3, others), but not in the Fit. You don't gain much. The Magic Seat engineering is too efficient.

 

I knew someone is going to point nothing will be gained, certainly not the 68 lbs if that was all I was looking for. Can you imagine having a flat surface with both front seat reclined to its horizontal position?. Wow, I got space for a double bed. I can also fit a flat surface in the back to support a laptop and I have a small stool. I can surf the internet sitting down! With the back seats in place I was very uncomfortable sleeping diagonally one time. You won't appreciate the plans until follow ups are posted. Flexibility and easy to configure will be two important features Don't gained much? Two sets of seats, gone! Maybe not for you, but they are useless space for me. If the plans don't work out, I can reinstall the seats in less than 10 minutes. Two bolts holding each seat. They are easy to get in and out of the back doors.

 

I recall a couple doing something similar with their Fit for camping. Removed the rear seats, added various cubbies in the extra space and sleeping on top of the cubbies at night. If you are willing to build something you can add a lot of extra storage.

 

If it works for you then cool. It's not like you can't put them back in.

But I already have a 2 seat car though.

 

Front seats to full horizontal?

 

Why so negative? Provide insights when the seats are removed! Maybe you can find it acceptable to sleep with those two front seats like that, but not me. I don't want you to continue lamb blasting the idea. If you don't find removing the seats useful, move on. Maybe you are right. I was wrong. I'm going to put those two seats back. There, happy now?

 

I have no negative intentions. I'm just trying to understand the benefits. With the rear seats in but folded I could easily sleep in the hatch. Though I have had no opportunity to try it, it would.

 

I consider the following in the English language to be negatives.
"You don't save much space, only weight."
"You don't gain much."
So, when I do remove the seats, then I am a fool, right? I'm going to put those seats back in. TorontoBoy convinced me there is nothing to gain, except 68.4 lbs. Maybe you can sleep with those two front seats in the shown configuration, but I know I can't get a good night sleep like that. If you lay a piece of plywood over the seats you will be putting a lot of load on the seats bolsters, not good. They were not designed for loads of your entire body.

 

How long do you plan on traveling? I've personally slept across the back seat in 3 different sleeping bags (from 6 C to -40 C rated), but just occasionally.

I've also removed the Styrofoam and covered it with a hinged pine board. Partly because I could feel the flimsy cover flex, and partly because I wanted more storage room for tools and such. As a bonus, I also used that to mount a powered sub.

 

You should remove the passenger seat too.

 

Interesting, Wasserball .....to be honest, I thought there'd be even more wt savings than that....must be some light seats Hey, man, yer just doing yer own thing....buy what ya like and tinker with it until it fits your needs. Let us know how it goes...sure looks like it gives you a lot more space as opposed to just folding down the rears. If I didn't "need" the rears, I'd be tempted to do the same as you, honestly.

 

I like the clean look with the seats out. I'd like to see how it looks with the passenger seat down. Very intersted to see where this is going.

 

Sounds great! Hope you enjoy the trip! So envious

 

OK, guys, I got a confession to make. I don't intend to car camp when I am visiting the national parks. Only if a cheap hotel room is too far away. So, I have to apologize to TorontoBoy for throwing a fit (no pun intended ) I bolted the seats back. No problem, 2 bolts each plus a few plastic expansion screws to hold the felt in place. The weight of the seats is accurate, 68.4 lbs. 36.8 double seat + 31.6 single seat. I weighed myself on a digital scale and then I weighed myself with the seat. Subtracting my weight gave the weight of the seat. I have slept with the back seats down before, with the passenger seat moved all the way front, slept diagonally on top of a heavy duty air mattress. Not the most comfortable, but acceptable for a night or two. With the back seats out, I would have to make a platform the same height as the hatch section, which defeat the purpose of removing the back seats.

Off topic. I love the Fit, so inexpensive to go places. I took a 460 mile day trip along the TX coast, one tank of gas, less than $22.

 

cool picts. nothing wrong with trying stuff.

 

FWIW, I've tried a few times sleeping in the back with a Therm-a-Rest and it was just too darned uncomfortable for me to get any decent rest. I felt way better after finding a dark spot in the corner of a truck stop and just reclining the drivers seat (yeah I was really tired though).

 

Buy a tent?

 

I could see that being handy if you had some strong totes to present a level sleeping surface that would exactly fill the gaps where the seats had fit. You could fill any minor irregularities with odds and ends, then have semi-stiff foam mat(s) you could unroll as a base for a Thermarest or something. The weight savings is negligible but if you really are not using the seats then there's no point in their taking up storage space. It's not a huge waste of space but if you're doing a long camping trip every cubic foot counts.

 

Don't knock it until you've tried it, the seats don't lay completely flat. There's a slight bump where the cover that folds up and down is and after a while it digs into your back and is very uncomfortable in camping situations. Let us know how your plywood rig goes OP.