More Passenger Room

Pint-size SUV seats let more kids ride

By J.N. SBRANTI
MODESTO BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: March 22, 2005, 06:52:21 AM PST

Finding enough seat space is a challenge for large families who have outgrown their vehicles.

Father of five Eric Edmundson knows that firsthand, but fortunately his Modesto company — Little Passenger Seats Inc. — offers a solution.

It custom builds kid-size seats to fit perfectly in the back of more than 60 styles of sports utility vehicles, creating a third or fourth row for passengers.

"Our seats exactly match the cars they go into," Edmundson said. "We use factory materials (cloth, vinyls and leathers in an array of colors) and stitch patterns to look just like the existing seats."

Edmundson's father, Russell, founded the company in 1992, and he has worked there from the start. Eric Edmundson became the company's sole owner last year.

"We started out in my dad's garage," recalled Edmundson, whose current facility is 5,000 square feet. "We make about 25 seats a week now, but we have the capacity to do more."

The seats sell for $560 to $1,095 each, plus tax and shipping.

The Mauchley family of Oakdale bought one last month for its 1997 Toyota 4Runner.

"We love it. It helped us not have to buy a new car just yet," said Cara Mauchley, who recently had her fourth child. "It matches perfectly and looks great."

She said her son Hunter, 8, and daughter Camden, 6, like riding in the new back seat, which has lap and shoulder belts.

Little Passenger Seats are made of steel and mount on the vehicle's frame. Edmundson said they meet all federal safety standards.

"They're designed for owners to install themselves," he said. "All it requires is an electric drill and hand tools."

For local customers, Edmundson said, his staff will do the mounting for $80, which is about what shipping would cost.

But only about 5 percent of his customers are local residents. The rest are from across the country and around the world.

The seats are sold via the Internet and through a toll-free phone number. The company promotes the seats online and in family and child-oriented publications.

The Mauchleys, for instance, saw an ad for the seats in Parents Magazine. They didn't know the seats were made in Modesto until the company called to ask if they wanted to pick their order up rather than pay for shipping.

The seats are built from scratch in Modesto.

The steel in the seats comes from Modesto Steel Inc. and the frames are fabricated by Dakota Ag Welding, another Modesto firm.

The seat designs vary slightly depending on the vehicles they're made for. There are models to fit assorted Ford, Chevrolet, Isuzu, Jeep, Toyota, GMC, Dodge, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Oldsmobile and Cadillac vehicles.

Since SUVs vary in size and style, the seats sometimes face forward and sometimes backward. Some of them are designed to fold, others are not.

Once installed, the seats provide limited leg room, which is why they're promoted as being for children. Edmundson said short adults also can use them, as can children in infant and car seats.

"Lots of car companies now offer third-row seats in their SUVs, but many families can't afford those (factory-installed options)," he said.

Some local car dealers tell customers about the Little Passenger Seats option, but Edmundson said his company's biggest challenge is letting more SUV owners know they're available.

Bee staff writer J.N. Sbranti can be reached at 578-2196 or jsbranti@modbee.com.