Seat Opinions

slravene

slravene

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Location
Atlanta, GA
I need some opinions on some seats.

I need to get some new seats for my toyota and have several options. Keep in mind that there are no doors, a very leaky sunroof, and it will be without a windsheild very soon, so the elements will be getting to this thing all the time.

I have been looking at the plastic racing style seats (on summit or wherever) and they have caught my eye. I have heard mixed things about these seats. Some say that they suck, and some say that with the padded covers they are fine. I was going to run the padded covers with some foam underneath it to add some extra cush. I would remove the covers if the truck is to sit out in the rain or something so i dont have a wet seat in the morning. These would allow for easy cleanup and a dry seat most of the time.

Second option is to find some more junkyard seats. This may be hard because im going with harnesses and thus i need a gap under the headrest if they are going to be junkyard seats and these are fairly hard to find.

Third option (one i dont like too much, lol) is to buy some nicer seats (Mastercraft, PRP, etc). While i would love to have some seats like this, I feel like they would just get destroyed by them sitting out all the time and would be hard to clean, etc. Not to mention when i rained (or after a dewy (sp?) night) they would be wet...no one likes a wet seat.

So...that being said...whos got an opinion?
 
well i say that you could go with either of the 3, then just get you a car cover or tarp or something to cover the truck up at your house, then you wont haveta worry bout the weather...

also it all depends on how long you plan to be in the truck... junkyard seats or nicer race seats, are gonna be far more comfortable than the plastic race seats....
 
its not so much the sitting at the house. It will be in the garage alot of the time. But there have been countless times where ive been wheeling and it would rain overnight or people would wake up after a foggy night to soaking wet seats...covers or not.

Does anyone in the charlotte area have a set of the plastic seats i can come by and sit in for a second to see how they feel?
 
Find the leather seats out of a newer model Celica.
They will work with harnesses, the leather is fairly weatherproof, and they are comfortable.
 

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I've had plastic seats in my buggy and I didn't like them. After a full day on the trail I would feel pretty beat up and I had bruises on the lower section of my spine. I added an extra heated pad which helped a bit but added other problems. 1) The heat didn't do much in an open cab. If it was really that cold I'd have on so many layers that it didn't get through. 2) The dual pads soaked up water like a sponge.

That "soak up water" thing is a big deal. My seats would literally stay wet for three weeks even if left outside under a covered roof. The plastic seats would fill like a bucket and the vinyl seat pads would stop them from drying out. If I were to keep them longer I would have drilled a drain hole into the bottom of them. I'd have 2" of water in them even after a week of dry/warm days.

Next I moved to Corbeau seats. This time I got the fabric seat cover because I've learned how vinyl can prevent evaporation. Overall I like them a lot. The fit right (nice and snug on the sides) and they dry faster, but it can still take a week sometimes. :( I "test fitted" mastercraft and PRP seats too but for me, the Corbeau seats fit best. I bought the Corbeau seat covers for towing and storage. Originally they weren't waterproof but I sprayed them with tent sealer (available at target) and that helped a lot. They are designed with a flip up section that you can just pull back so you can drive while sitting on the seat cover. In my rig that didn't last. I guess getting towed in an open tube car was too much to ask for a 1" wide strip of velcro? The color faded a bit too, which is a bummer but it was expected. I think the color fades with every brand.

Another option to consider is the Kirky. I know Dave (35xj) can Kat think really highly of theirs but I haven't sat in them for more than a minute so I can't comment.

Edit: Seat pics are always fun. :)
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lee i know ur not gonna like this but what about jeep seats? they are waterproof and im sure they would be pretty easy to find and also cheap
 
you could always get some seats from a car, and then get the Neoprene seat covers for them.... or get a Neoprene covered racing seat... that stuff is supposed to be pretty water resistant
 
slravene said:
its not so much the sitting at the house. It will be in the garage alot of the time. But there have been countless times where ive been wheeling and it would rain overnight or people would wake up after a foggy night to soaking wet seats...covers or not.
Does anyone in the charlotte area have a set of the plastic seats i can come by and sit in for a second to see how they feel?
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Lee, I have a set of the plastic ones with the padded covers sitting in my garage. Give me a yell if you want to plant your ass in one for a few minutes.
 
On an off-road rig, I can't imagine not having a suspension seat of some kind, be it a factory cushioned seat, or a real suspension seat. My Corbeau's (half vinyl half fabric) have gotten PLENTY wet and they dry out pretty quickly.
 
These will be going in a first gen toyota. Any of you that have sat in one know how small it is in there and how close the seats are to the doors to begin with. Has anyone had any issues with the larger suspension seats and them hanging out the door openings? Im not worried about them fitting...as the doors arent going back on, im more worried about keeping them from getting snagged and ripped up on the trails. Anyone?

Will ill have to take you up on that sometime. Ill let you know next time Im up that way.
 
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