More on FUSO suspension seats

[dtruzinski]

My $.02 is in favor of the Earthcruiser seats. I have talked to a couple of owners and they are extremely happy with the seat's performance. They look awesome. They are heated (yah for us in the snow country), and you know they will fit in your rig.

 

[steve4wdaus]

I own the stratos seats and once we got past the initial issue of installation and 2 seat rebuilds due to sub quality supplied have found them excellent. Currently my wife and I are making our way through country roads and our backs thank us for having suspension seat every day. The roads around Mudgee and Australia demand something better than what comes standard with the truck.
Issues.
1. Drivers seat is about an inch or two closer to steering wheel.
2. Due to limitations of cab, can not recline much
3. Passengers seat rubs on door trim due to being so far to the outside of cab
4. Passengers seat belt is not fixed so you need two hands to belt up
5. Availability of seat covers suck unless you want custom job or black ducks which costs about $500 for a set
6. You are a little higher to the roof, only an issue on those big jumps.
7. Cost of seats incl installation around $5,000

Positives
1. Much smoother ride especially on the super single tires which are a high ply
2. Back and lumber support
3. Allows a centre console
4. ADR Approved, makes it much easier if you truck is street legal.

 

[SkiFreak]

...the initial issue of installation and 2 seat rebuilds due to sub quality supplied

Yep... that is my biggest issue with the Stratos seats. The build quality is definitely not you would expect for the price. That's why I call them my K-Mart seats.
I believe that EarthCruiser have an arrangement with Stratos and get the seats in an uncovered state. They cover them themselves and address common issues with the seat.
To that end, I would expect that EarthCruiser owners would not have to go through the pains I, and others, have gone though with the "off the shelf" Stratos suspension seats.

 

[Decanter]

I got the Knoedler seats installed in my '13 if anyone has any questions. Photos on my instagram page in sig.

 

[Mock Tender]

I have the MasterCraft Baja RS. They are covered nicely and the finish is first class- mine is in a dark gray and light gray. The seat back has a very large map book holder and we sprung for the huge zip up pocket (which can easily hold a large pair of binoculars, thermos and what ever else I have back there. After that, I don't have to much good to say about them. In the most upright position, unless you have the arms of an ape- you will always being holding the wheel at the 8:30 and 3:30 positions. The seat and back have very little padding. The bars from which the suspension is held is narrow and has less than a 1/4" of padding (I'm 6' and 195 lbs and I literally am always seating on one bar or the other. The bars are there to keep you centered when driving a jeep- but absolutely painful for anything over a 100 miles and I would guess 170 lbs. The lumbar support is metal lattice (more or less) and works okay, but it squeaks as you drive down the road. The hinge where the seat pivots squeaks. The rails the seat slide on squeak. MasterCraft responded to my complaints cheerfully and have asked me to send the seats back at MY EXPENSE, so that they can widen the bars and add additional cushioning. Not sure the seat will then fit between the door and emergency brake handle.

I had a chance to sit in a Corbeau Moab as well as other. Not finished as well as MasterCraft but the Moab is a flatter seat and comfortable to me.

Mark

 

[DzlToy]

^^ It is quite common in the off-road world to custom fit a seat by adding more padding where it is needed. I have seen Class 1 cars and Trophy Trucks with anywhere from 2" - 4" of varying shapes and densities of foam throughout the seat. This is especially true for Kirkey type seats or Carbon Fiber shell seats with slip over or zip over covers that hold the foam in place.

Call any of the seat companies worth their salt and if they sell seats for rally, Baja, UTV races, KOH or similar they will either have a seat with extra padding already in it, or suggest that you fit the seat to your body for your application by adding extra foam.

A friend of mine does custom upholstery and uses varying densities of memory foam as well as Latex foam to build and shape seats.

 

[cameronsturgess]

Hi all. About to start a fuso build and would like to get any guidance on what is the best suspension seat to go with ?

 

[SkiFreak]

About to start a fuso build and would like to get any guidance on what is the best suspension seat to go with ?

Where are you located?
I ask because different countries have different options.

 

[cameronsturgess]

Where are you located?
I ask because different countries have different options.

Hi skifreak. Thanks for help. I am in canada and have a USA shipping address. So either works. Thanks again. Cameron

 

[SkiFreak]

I am on the other side of the planet, so my options are different to yours.
I cannot speak to what they are like, but I have seen quite a few people using National air suspension seats in the US, fitted with a low height base frame.

 

[DzlToy]

Check with Bostrom; they make an NPR seat with the suspension in the back, kind of a sliding mechanism, to keep the height down. They may be able to accommodate Fuso or you could have a bracket made for the Fuso base to adapt to the NPR seat. Any competent fab shop can easily do this.

LTSS Suspension Seat

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www.bostromseating.com

 

[SkiFreak]

Check with Bostrom; they make an NPR seat with the suspension in the back

I am assuming that Bostrom has licensed the Stratos LTSS suspension mechanism.

 

[Desert Dog]

Commercial Vehicle Group (CVG) acquired Bostrom Seating in 2011. KAB Seating, National Seating and Stratos are all part of CVG. I discovered all this whilst trying to find seats for my FG Fuso Canter. Bostrom customer support was operated by a 13 year old who managed to avoid all my questions succesfully.

All I wanted was a decent answer as to whether the LTSS seats can be fitted with both LH and RH armrests for both the Driver and passenger in a LHD truck.