Aftermarket Seats: Recaro Expert Vs. Scheel-Mann Vario F

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JackAttack13

Observer
Hi all! I am in need of something to replace my horrendous seats in my 3rd Gen Dodge Ram 3500 based XP Camper. The factory seats are torture devices and a long day in the saddle wreaks havoc on my back. I am currently looking at the the Scheel Mann and Recaro options. Does anyone have experience with the Expert? Little to no info found via the Google Machine. Tons of writeups on SM seats but some are hard to tell if they are sponsored articles (kickbacks from manufacturer), which allows for bias.

Looking for real world experience, unpaid opinions on these seats or other options that may exist that I have yet to hear of. Thanks!
 
ThePartyWagon

ThePartyWagon

Active member
FWIW, my boss has a set of SM seats in his 200 Series Cruiser, the only 200 with SM seats in North America as far as we’re aware. He swapped the cushy factory seats due to long trip fatigue, just as you’re describing. He said it’s been a game changer for his back on long trips.

The adjustability is robust and the options are really nice but damn, they were expensive.
My boss would rave about them with or without kickbacks involved.

The funny thing about seats is we’ll put thousands of dollars into parts that don’t get used regularly but most of us won’t justify putting money into the seats which is something we use every time we get into our car.
 
1leglance

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
After installing Scheel-mann seats in my Transit I will always put them in future projects.
I have a bad back, messed up hip and am an amputee. The ability to adjust and change things vastly improves my comfort and enjoyment offroad and on long highway slogs.
Even the dogs fight to sit up frontIMG_20210602_201635_086.jpg
 
S

SlickRope

Member
Sorry, for stealing your post. Hope you don't mine.

I have a 2004 Grand Cherokee. My drivers side seat is ripping apart, the heat doesn't work anymore, and the hinges are broken. I have been trying to figure out then best course of action to fixing it. You all said that the Scheel-mann seats are expensive, but I'm wondering if they would be worth going with in order to get rid of the broken seat and wiring issues I'm having. How much is "expensive"? Trying to figure out what I would be looking at for two front seats. Also, the Scheel-man sight has all kinds of seats any recommendation on what type? We are not large people and the WJ is use for every day travel/weekend off roader.
 
C

CKent323

New member
After shopping around and sitting in many aftermarket seats (Recaro, Sparco, Corbeau, and others) I selected Scheel-Mann Vario seats to replace the worn out OEM Captain's seats in our 1993 Dodge W250 Extended cab.

After our Alaska trip this summer during which we took the ferry from Bellingham, WA to Ketchikan then Juneau then Whittier followed by driving to McCarthy and Valdez and Anchorage before driving home through Canada to Jasper, Banff and down into Montana and over to Iowa, I have to say we are quite pleased with the seats. We have traveled close to 4,000 miles since August 2.

The Scheel-Mann Vario seats are firm but comfortable on and off highway. They supported us comfortably and securely on the 120 mile round trip, potholed, McCarthy road. However, like the Recaro they are expensive. My seat is an Vario R XXL with right arm rest and Wendie's seat is a Vario F with left arm rest. Both seats have heaters.

I bought adapter brackets from Wedge Brackets in Utah which allowed the seats to bolt right in with no modifications (except to connect the seat heaters to the truck electrical system).

Toby the US distributor located in Portland, OR was a pleasure to deal with.
 
javajoe79

javajoe79

Fabricator
Alright so what is the price on these
CKent323 said:
After shopping around and sitting in many aftermarket seats (Recaro, Sparco, Corbeau, and others) I selected Scheel-Mann Vario seats to replace the worn out OEM Captain's seats in our 1993 Dodge W250 Extended cab.

After our Alaska trip this summer during which we took the ferry from Bellingham, WA to Ketchikan then Juneau then Whittier followed by driving to McCarthy and Valdez and Anchorage before driving home through Canada to Jasper, Banff and down into Montana and over to Iowa, I have to say we are quite pleased with the seats. We have traveled close to 4,000 miles since August 2.

The Scheel-Mann Vario seats are firm but comfortable on and off highway. They supported us comfortably and securely on the 120 mile round trip, potholed, McCarthy road. However, like the Recaro they are expensive. My seat is an Vario R XXL with right arm rest and Wendie's seat is a Vario F with left arm rest. Both seats have heaters.

I bought adapter brackets from Wedge Brackets in Utah which allowed the seats to bolt right in with no modifications (except to connect the seat heaters to the truck electrical system).

Toby the US distributor located in Portland, OR was a pleasure to deal with.
Click to expand...
what is the price like on those?
 
C

CKent323

New member
We are still on the road (day 76) but as I recall they were about $4600 for both seats with armrests, heaters, taxes and shipping. I think the Vario XXL R seat was a little more than the Vario F seat. The wedge brackets were about $100 each. Price is very comparable to equivalent Recaro seats.
 
javajoe79

javajoe79

Fabricator
CKent323 said:
We are still on the road (day 76) but as I recall they were about $4600 for both seats with armrests, heaters, taxes and shipping. I think the Vario XXL R seat was a little more than the Vario F seat. The wedge brackets were about $100 each. Price is very comparable to equivalent Recaro seats.
Click to expand...
Thanks! That's not too bad considering what they do. In my application, Isuzu NPR, they will have to sit flat on the floor in there so the bottom thickness is important. How thick are yours from base to seat surface?
 
C

CKent323

New member
Last edited:
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clintium

Member
dur66@msn.com said:
For those of you who have the Scheel Mann seats, what don’t you like about them?
durwin
Click to expand...
I have spent so much time researching how to put them in to a 2016 Tundra. Pulled the plug at the end of the day because the tundra oem seat has side airbags. I would be effectively removing the airbags from the vehicle and if a passenger was injured in a crash, I could be legally liable.
 
D

dur66@msn.com

Member
My Avalanche is in the same situation, getting the seats will result in the loss of the airbags. I’ll just tell my passenger that little factoid. It’s either that or you get to walk. The US is so litigious.
I‘m getting the seats.
Durwin
 
A

andy_b

Well-known member
dur66@msn.com said:
For those of you who have the Scheel Mann seats, what don’t you like about them?
durwin
Click to expand...

Apart from the cost, not much.
  • Both sides have adjusters and the outboard ones tend to get caught up easily on seatbelts - it would be nice if it were possible to remove ones that were redundant.
  • They are firm which might not be to your liking, but it is hard to convey how that feels.
  • The instructions for the seat brackets from both Scheel-Mann and Wedge are lacking - neither mention that importance of the all of the various washers that Wedge sends. These are meant to allow the seat to slide back and forth easily. The difficulty of adjusting the seat drove me crazy at first until I called Wedge who was able to explain it all. I had called Toby about it initially and he had no insight into this phenomenon and suggested I just lube the tracks. :rolleyes:
  • Installation in modern vehicles can cause problems as has been alluded to - not an issue in my turn of the century F350 lol
 
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