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Topic: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement (Read 797 times) previous topic - next topic
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Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
I am replacing my cab seats.  The new ones should arrive Thursday or Friday.  While the fabric on the driver's seat is toast, the passenger seat is almost new.  If someone wants it and will arrange the shipping from Truth Or Consequences, NM, I will try packing it in the box that the new seat arrives in.

Pic of the old driver's seat, for fabric matching, is attached.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Passenger cab seat?
Reply #1 –
Not interested in the old seats but I am wondering about the new seats you are getting.  Can you elaborate.  Exactly what are you getting and why?  Features and benefits?  Pictures?   Etc.  thanks much
2006 MB
Re: Passenger cab seat?
Reply #2 –
Jack, after 11 years fulltiming, the fabric on the driver's seat is pretty far gone.  The foam underneath is showing.  I considered having them re-upholstered and, in fact, did that with my dinette seats, but in two years the dinette seat new fabrics are "pilling", forming little balls or nodes as the fabric wears.  Plus, the cost to replace the fabric was 2/3 of the cost of new seats.  I didn't want to lay out that kind of $$ and see the fabric go in a few years.

I browsed around and selected a pair of flexsteel seats.  I'm not getting lots of bells and whistles.  I have inside armrests on both seats, and a manual lower lumbar support on the driver's seat.  My new seats are the Tolma model, from Bradd and Hall.  I will not have the two tone fabric style I have now.  It will be a single tone fabric.

Flexsteel has a good reputation.  I am hoping these seats will last as long as the old ones did.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Passenger cab seat?
Reply #3 –
Please post pictures of new seats and let us know how well they installed.  Would love to see the upgrade.
2006 31' IB Anniversary Edition; Tow 97' Wrangler
Re: Passenger cab seat?
Reply #5 –
Before the seats arrive - a few things.  My passenger seat is a simple slide mount.  The driver's side seat is on a 6 way powered mount.  The controls for the mount are on the left side of the seat and were attached to the old seat, projecting through the skirt in a way that I thought was functional but not elegant.  A few weeks ago I removed the old seat (4 bolts) and disconnected the wiring for the base.  I then removed the control panel flange from the seat and attached it to the base.  I had made my own trim skirts rather than trying to work out those details with the supplier.  It looks pretty clean to me.

When the new seats arrive, all I should have to do is attach the speed nuts to the seats at the right holes, set the seats in place and re-attach the 4 bolts per seat.  I will make it a bit more complex by adding a skirt, sewn onto the front of the driver's seat but other than that, it SHOULD be fairly straightforward.  (Famous last words?)

A pic of the old seat skirt is above in the first post.  The new skirt, one of three, is below.  The skirt I will be sewing in place will wrap around the front of the seat and hide the remaining mechanism showing below.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Passenger cab seat?
Reply #6 –
Per the request for photos, here are two "in the works" pics.  The first shows the powered base, to which the driver's seat will bolt.  The new trim skirts are held in place with 3M VHB tape, but the mounting holes can be seen, and are circled in red.  I also circled the four bolts that go up through the base from underneath to bolt into the seat.

On the seat, there is a metal frame with holes.  To bolt the seat in place, youclip speed nuts onto the seat frame, then you can run the bolts up through the base into the speed nuts.  The second pic is a speed nut.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #7 –
"The first shows the powered base, to which the driver's seat will bolt."

Point of curiosity! Since that powered base has the mechanisms to 'power' the seat into various positions, is any sort of lubrication necessary on bearing points. As with most other mechanical devices common sense would say "Yes". However I have never seen anything regarding the drivers seat.   ::)
Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Cedar
2004 30'IB (Island Bed)
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery
Live for the day!
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #8 –
Steve, I imagine that, if you do a lot of adjusting, you might want to clean and lube the mechanism.  I adjusted my seat 11 years ago.  Since then, I move it forward and backward quite a bit but the other controls are hardly ever touched.  I looked at the mechanism very closely with just what you are asking in mind.  It looked to me like there was grease on the drive systems where they are open.  There was some dust and dirt on them, and a paper towel removed the crud, leaving a clean system. 

My sense is that it is not necessary to lube that stuff.  Mine were still well lubed after 11 years of fulltiming.  If you want to lube them and you tried to do it without removing the seat, I think you would have a helluva mess. 

Removing the seat is not hard.  I used a 1/2" socket and extension on the right front and both rear bolts, and a 1/2" ratchet wrench on the left front.  Getting everything lined up to get the four bolts back in is something that requires patience to get them started, but that is the only really challenging part.

Meanwhile, the word is, I have another week to wait for delivery of the new seats.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #9 –
Thanks for all the information on this.  I have a 2006 MB and find the cab seats very uncomfortable compared to the new models being provided today.  Replacing the seats is a consideration depending on price, how comfortable these seats prove to be, and how lazy I am.  Again, thanks for the information in this thread.
2006 MB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #10 –
My new seats came in today and are now in place.  I have posted pics of the mount.  Here is a pic of the underside of the new driver's side seat.  You can see a number of holes to accommodate different mounts.  I circled the holes that fit my mounts in red.

Also, I am attaching a pic of the seat, in place.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #11 –
How would you rate the comfort compared to the original seats?
2006 MB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #12 –
Jack, I found both old and new to be comfortable.  I will need to do a long day in the seat to give a better answer, and that will not happen until April.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #13 –
Let us know what you think after a long drive.  Appreciate all the information you provided.
2006 MB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #14 –
No long drives yet, but a 30 mile drive was informative.  While the seat is comfortable, it has some "fit" issues for me.  I am a big guy, 6' 1" tall and quite overweight.  In the seat, the top of the seat ends at the base of my skull.  That is not a comfort issue, because I do not rest my head against a seat back when driving, but if I were in an accident it could be a whiplash issue.  The second issue is the seat armrest length.  With my long arms, I could stand for the armrest to be 3" to 4" longer.  Apparently, longer armrests are not available.  I won't know how big a deal this is until I do a drive of several hours.  If it is a problem, I have extra material.  I may remove the armrest and try to make my own.

In hindsight, I wish I had thought to check with the factory to see if I could get seats from them, as the old seat had a higher back and a longer arm rest.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #15 –
Quote from: Kenneth Fears  - 
No long drives yet, but a 30 mile drive was informative.  While the seat is comfortable, it has some "fit" issues for me.  I am a big guy, 6' 1" tall and quite overweight.  In the seat, the top of the seat ends at the base of my skull.  That is not a comfort issue, because I do not rest my head against a seat back when driving, but if I were in an accident it could be a whiplash issue.  The second issue is the seat armrest length.  With my long arms, I could stand for the armrest to be 3" to 4" longer.  Apparently, longer armrests are not available.  I won't know how big a deal this is until I do a drive of several hours.  If it is a problem, I have extra material.  I may remove the armrest and try to make my own.

In hindsight, I wish I had thought to check with the factory to see if I could get seats from them, as the old seat had a higher back and a longer arm rest.

Ken F in NM
Thanks for this follow up, Ken. 

Chris
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Passenger Cab Seat Replacement
Reply #16 –
We are investigating new cab seats.  The link above didn't work (they rearranged their web page), but this one appears to take you to the right place.

RV Flexsteel items

I also found this - looks like Flexsteel is getting out of the RV business. 
Jane
Jane & Scott
Currently have a 1989 TK  LD we did a lot of upgrades on.
Bigfoot 25RQ Twin on order with early summer 2024 ETA

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