"Cheaper" seats for overland travel?

[lugueto]

Hey guys, I've been debating this a long time (analysis paralysis) and will like input on this issue:

I have been meaning to change my truck's seats for long distance travel. I travel 9-10 hours at a time and my seats are worn and uncomfortable, have been for a few years in fact. The thing is I can't spend 5-6k on Scheel Manns, so I'm wondering what options are left? Recaros seem good, Corbeaus are cheap but I'm not sure how they stack up to the previous two. Any other options?

I have Corbeau Sport seats on my FJ40 and they're nice, but not exactly lifechanging. I've been eyeing the GTS IIs, but I'm worried bolsters are too big as to make getting into and out of the truck an issue..

Any input?

 

[carterd]

Another option is to find a late model vehicle from a salvage yard and test out the seats. OEM seats are usually very well built and often have a lot of adjustability. You would probably have to fab up a mounting solution.

 

[SDDiver5]

I second the post above. If you cant spend $$$$ on high quality seats find some at a salvage yard to throw in there. What vehicle are you wanting to put them in? I'd think any high trim vehicle would have comfy chairs.

On the other hand, you get what you pay for so if you are in the seat for 9-10 hours often, I would consider spending some money.

I spent $1200 on my office chair and it was absolutely worth it.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

I'm struggling right now with the same thing. I've never seen one decent usable seat for my 99 Super Duty at a junkyard. And people price used ones like they are filled with cocaine. What's the make and model of your vehicle?

 

[carterd]

Good seats at salvage yards are often scooped up by people who flip them om Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, so you can also check there.

 

[lugueto]

The thing is, being overseas, options are limited and/or expensive enough to simply avoid. A good set of seats from, say, a late model 4Runner, are around $1000 for a used pair in dire shape. Popular offers from like a late model BMW which is a common swap stateside is practically impossible to find.

So for the price, I'd rather try out something that's at least brand new, aftermarket may be the way to go.

 

[86scotty]

I drive commercially and have tried several different seats in a few trucks. Over the years this has made me very particular about seats in other vehicles. Don't even get me started on mirrors/visibility. Unfortunately I play with older Ford vans mostly, which uniformly have the worst, most basic OEM seats of any vehicle ever made. To say they suck is a large understatement, even when new.

Several things to consider here:
- Older domestic seats are garbage from day one. The newer the better.
- The newer and more popular the vehicle the better the seats are, as in more options, better engineering, etc......but.......
- Fat Americans have made the cars fatter which have made the seats fatter, as in bigger and softer. The creep is becoming worldwide and most definitely has crept in to Asian vehicles.....but.....
- European cars/trucks have always had firmer, more ergonomic seats
- Scheel Mann, Recaro, etc. are improvements even from stock German seats (Merc, BMW, etc.) This is why they cost.
- If you can't or won't afford these find some good import car seats and fab up some bases for them. Seats are seats. Generally speaking, almost all are the same size and shape. It's the frame and mounts that differ.

I cannot go 11 hours like I used to in an aftermarket heavy truck seat specifically designed to be comfortable for 11 hours. Luckily most days I don't have to.
BUT.....I recently got some very basic second hand Scheel-Manns for my van from a forum member. They have no adjustments. No heat, no lumbar, nothing.
I can sit in them comfortably for 16 hours. I just did this recently for 4 days. After a long day of driving I spin my passenger seat around, crack a beer and sit right back down in the same seat, albeit the passenger side,for a comfortable place to wind down.

I should stop at this point and say that I'm cheap. No way in hell I would spend $6k on a pair of new Scheel Manns. Or so I used to say. I'm strongly considering adapting a Scheel Mann to the air base I have in my work truck.

Enough rambling. You get what you pay for. Buy once cry once and a million other cliches.

 

[IdaSHO]

Yeah, cheap and quality seats really isnt going to work out well.

That said, Ive had Mastercraft seats in a few rigs over the years, and if I were in the market for seats again they would be my first consideration.
The Mastercraft Baja is incredibly comfortable and supportive. And they are not stupid expensive.

 

[K9LTW]

I haven't seen this suggested, but...if the seats were comfortable before being worn out...why not just try and source new seat foam for said seats?

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

I haven't seen this suggested, but...if the seats were comfortable before being worn out...why not just try and source new seat foam for said seats?

Most logical, have them rebuilt to fit his butt and back, probably cheaper than spending time searching and driving around aimlessly for weeks and months and settling for something halfway worn-out..
Imo.

 

[K9LTW]

Most logical, have them rebuilt to fit his butt and back, probably cheaper than spending time searching and driving around aimlessly for weeks and months and settling for something halfway worn-out..
Imo.

That's the first time I've had any thought called "logical" in a while. Make me feel kinda weird

I bought a Scheel-Mann for our dearly departed Sequoia's driver's seat. In retrospect, it would've made a lot more sense to just replace the foam that the previous owner had put nearly a 1/4-million miles on. Given that safety inspections are an annual thing in Virginia, and I didn't want to go through the insane effort it would've required in making everything work, I had to unbolt the seat and swap everything over to get the airbag light off as that was an instant failure. Not to mention it got to be tedious readjusting things every time we swapped drivers. And...well...seat airbags aren't all that bad an idea to retain.

Just some things for the OP to chew on (if safety inspections are even a thing where they're at).

 

[plh]

Were your OE seats great at one time? Might consider a new re-foam / upholstery job if they were.

 

[gator70]

Second row seats from newer salvage minivans are great

 

[Redline61]

I agree that a good upholstery shop can do wonders for old seats. Often you can get them to install higher quality foam than what was even in there from the start. This is usually pricey, but worth it.

If you factory seats suck and you want a cheap used seat start looking for Volvo seats. IMO they make the best seats of any company I have ever experienced. If their newer cars had simpler power-trains I would own one for sure!
Used R-Design Seats

The Mastercraft seats are a good option as well. I really liked my Baja RS's but I cannot speak to their longevity. Very comfortable and supportive for off roading. I had some larger rock sliders on that Jeep though which made lowering myself down and over the bolsters really easy.

MasterCraft Safety Home Page Indianapolis, IN

 

[lugueto]

`Thanks for all the replies. The seats were crap to begin with, Hiluxes are not known for comfort. And after 300.000kms the foam was in dire shape so the truck did go from bad to worse in the first place.

Since my last reply, and before reading all your suggestions, I sent the seat to a buddy's upholstery shop and they did improve the foam, including reshaping bolsters a bit. It is much better now, but as said, the bar was very low. I guess I'm much happier but far from satisfied. Maybe I'm just being picky.

I would still consider swapping out the seats either way, although I'm not sure if I should just wait until I can shell out the money for Scheel Manns or Recaro's (if they survive) or just go to some OE swap. We'll see if finances allow!