Adding mechanical low profile suspension to seats ?

[cameronsturgess]

Has anyone added a low profile mechanical suspension under your seat ? If so did it help with the ride ? Thinking about https://www.amazon.com/Suspension-Snapper-Ferris-Cadet-Yazoo/dp/B01M2XIB0R?ref_=ast_bbp_dp. Thanks for input. Cameron

 

[quickfarms]

I run the national seating low profile air ride bases. They have 3" of downward travel and I have bottomed them out in the past, the sudden stop is not pleasant, so I don't think the 1" of travel on these will really work well. Once I had the suspension tuned to the actual weight of the camper they do work a lot better and do not bottom out but they still move a lot more than one inch.

How much room do you have between the bottom of the seat and the floor for the base?

 

[SkiFreak]

I don't know how safe a lawn tractor seat mechanism would be in a truck.
Pretty sure it would not be legal in this country...

 

[cameronsturgess]

I don't know how safe a lawn tractor seat mechanism would be in a truck.
Pretty sure it would not be legal in this country...

that was exactly my concern

 

[cameronsturgess]

I run the national seating low profile air ride bases. They have 3" of downward travel and I have bottomed them out in the past, the sudden stop is not pleasant, so I don't think the 1" of travel on these will really work well. Once I had the suspension tuned to the actual weight of the camper they do work a lot better and do not bottom out but they still move a lot more than one inch.

How much room do you have between the bottom of the seat and the floor for the base?

there is an adapter plate on the floor of the truck, then the Corbeau Baja RS seats mount on top. I could put a suspension between the two ..https://corbeau.com/baja-rs.html

 

[SkiFreak]

The more "bits" you add, the higher the seat swab will be.
The seat you link to is purported to be a suspension seat, but I don't know how bungie cords compare to a dedicated mechanical or pneumatic suspension mechanism.

 

[cameronsturgess]

skifreak, I bought the corbeau thinking it was mechanical suspension, little did I realize its just bungie cords.. nice seats but not suspension

 

[Alloy]

I've use a few of the Grammar seats on equipment. The weight adjustment on the mechanical suspension worked great.

https://usa.grammer.com/seating-solutions/construction-seating/msg85-series.html

 

[shade]

Even if it was legal, I wouldn't mess with the linked lawn tractor base. Like qf said, there isn't enough travel for what you want.

If you want to save money, start scouring surplus sales sites that carry parts from delivery trucks or buses. Some of those air cushioned seats are quite plush. If you find some worn seats with good bases, you could mount your Corbeau seats to them.

You also may luck into perfectly comfortable seats and decide to sell the Corbeaus. A friend of mine manages a transit fleet, and had to remove all of the driver's seats because the union didn't like them, and it was easier to replace the seats than fight over nebulous workers comp claims. Those seats were less than a year old, and probably cost a few thousand each; sold for very little at auction.

 

[BigSkyBrad]

I used these mechanical bases under a couple of Corbeau-style sports recliners. They are a Grammer knock-off, but are solidly built. They have three ride heights, but only the lowest works in the Fuso (in relation to the steering wheel), each ride height has 60mm of travel (bounce?).

Van Accessories

The finishing touches to your Van Conversion HEADS UP! Use the sub-categories to filter your search.

www.vanbitz.co.uk

 

[Alloy]

Even if it was legal, I wouldn't mess with the linked lawn tractor base. Like qf said, there isn't enough travel for what you want.

The Gramar suspension I used had 4"of travel with weight adjustment. These were run through more pot holes in a year than a highway seat would see in 10 years.
Yeah they'd bottom out occasionally but that just meant your pushing the machine too hard.

 

[DzlToy]

skifreak, I bought the corbeau thinking it was mechanical suspension, little did I realize its just bungie cords.. nice seats but not suspension.

This is how many suspension seats are made. I am not a Corbeau fan per se, but an offroad suspension seat cannot move like an air ride seat on an over the road/commercial truck. It is VERY common for Baja race teams to run suspension seats with webbing and custom foam in the base. If these seats hold up to bombing down the Baja Peninsula at 100 MPH in 2-3 foot deep whoops, they will certainly hold up to your silly little expo rig

Pay close attention to how little the body of the truck moves and how little the driver's head moves in this clip. The truck suspension is doing all of the work. As long as you have poor suspension in your FG, a frame that behaves like a wet noodle and a bouncy seat, you are going to have an awful ride.

 

[SkiFreak]

I see the problem here...
My FG does not go that fast; be it on or off road. ?

 

[Jeneau]

You guys have too much money. I looked at all the suspension seat options for my NPS. When I put a suspension seat alongside my old fixed drivers seat I realised that I’d loose a lot of foam padding to make room for the suspension mechanism. Also the cab is lively enough with parabolics springs so I didn’t need to be sent airborne with a suspension seat as well.

The passenger seat with low profile plastic clips holding it in place means the foam is super thick. My wife was happy with the seat and my fat butt didn’t complain either. I would loose 3-4” of foam padding if I put the suspension seat in. I might as well be sitting on a piece of timber so I decided I needed a reality check.

I bought a second-hand seat base from the local wreckers (soltoggio’s) and cut it down to a single seat. I use the original Isuzu clips to hold it in place. The seat cover was cut back and I sewed it up. No gender reassignment required.

I now have very comfortable single passenger seat with space for my fridge in the middle. No slide but very comfortable.

I can easily remove it and clip the original seat back in if I want to return it to standard.
Not for everyone but after looking at the options, that’s what I decided.

 

[SkiFreak]

What some do not appreciate is that seats are a very personal choice. What may be considered brilliant by one person may be seen as rubbish to someone else. (expedition truck designs are the same)

What I consider to be a good seat is one that you sit "in" not on. The more the seat supports your frame the less fatigue you will get, especially on long trips.
As @Jeneau eluded to, too much suspension in a seat can be a real negative in an off road environment, but none can prove painful. A prime function of the seat should be to act as a good shock dampener and it should also be supportive..
That can be achieved with some form of suspension or with well designed padding in the seat.

Having good suspension on the truck is probably more important than having it in the seat, as that negates a lot of the shock that actually reaches the seat.

Some people really like the Stratos suspension seats, but I am not one of them.
Yes, they are better than the standard seats, but I do not believe that they are worth what they cost. For me, they are not that comfy either.
I speak from first hand experience, as I have Stratos seats in my FG84.