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Car Forum / Australian Car Forums / 4x4 Cars (Australian group) / September 2006Paratus Seats for Landcruiser (Opinions sought)
Folks, Spent Friday being driven across from Longreach to Clermont in a POX Triton 4wd(15 months & 115,000kms old and I could hear the clutch throw-out bearing making noise...), and my back is still not talking to me. The bloody car interior was the size of a shoebox, and the seats were absolute crap to sit in for a long period of time... Anyhoo, the trip bought home to me how much I want a pair of decent bucket seats in my Landcruiser. I dont do much in the way of serious 4wd work, and most of my time in the car is on the road. Good back support for long periods behind the wheel is more in demand than great looks... I also wanted to reclaim the space betweeen the seats to give me a bit more cabin space. A little coolbox would fit nicely in the gap, I think... I tried sitting in some after-market 4wd seats (different brands) last year, and I have no idea how the driver gets out most of these seats! It seems that a lot of manufacturers sell the same seat for a Commodore or Falcon, and then think it will work just as well in a Landcruiser. Different height for access for starters... I have my eye on a pair of Paratus seats to replace the factory ones. They are manufactured in Australia, and have a reasonable range of options for style of seat base and backrest. I was looking at the ParaRally seat back with the Paratour seat base. The Paratus seat-base was the best I'd found to date. I was looking at one of their seat-bases that has less of a bolster on the base, which will make life easier getting in and out of the vehicle. I have the details from the manufacturer and QLD Transport as far as compliance, and this isnt any problem, but I wondered if anyone had used Paratus seats in their 4wd? If so, what they thought of them? Any particular features to look for or avoid? ----------------- Cheers, Rod.....Out Back ================================================== For a selection of my pics from the past 12 months, visit the web site below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rod_outback/ > Folks, > [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > > Rod.....Out Back Rod, if you can find a wrecker that does Surfs ask them to keep a look out for some Toyota Recaro seats or at least the SR5 4Runner seats, mine are very comfy indeed. Long didtance no worries at all. Shouldnt be more than about $400 for a good pair. Rod, Take this how you will, I had an associate who used to go four wheel driving with us and he had a pair of paratus seats in his 80 series for he and his wife. He was using the vehicle for sometimes four wheel driving and caravan towing. When I sat in them I found them very comfortable, though these were the Rolls Royce of seats with the inflatable lumbar support etc. Only drove in them for a little bit, but I have some lower back issues and I really liked them. The only complaint he had was that he had to swing out of the seats and they wore on the door side where he had to slide up over the padding, which also crushed it a bit. He would have preferred a flatter seat to avoid this. Allot of tour operators use them also I am led to believe. Paratus are pretty popular amongst 4x4 tourers. There used to be a company that advertised in the 4x4 mags as well that offered seats with a suspension set up. You could get either gas or air shocked seats. For the most part they were used in trucks and the mining industry. Can't recall the name off the top of my head, but it started with a K I think. Kev would likely know being in the biz. Cheers, Muddy. > Rod, > Take this how you will, I had an associate who used to go four wheel driving [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Cheers, > Muddy. KAB but the problem with the 75-78 series utes is that there is not enough room under the seats for suspension components due to the floor rising up to clear the fuel tank, I have seen a troopie with a KAB seat but the seat sat very high and the troopie has a high roof line maybe the suspension base from some medium sized forklift may fit as the spring and shocks are on the rear of the seat instead of under Kev >> Rod, >> Take this how you will, I had an associate who used to go four wheel driving [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > >Kev Kev, I had wondered about this potential issue with a suspension seat; it didnt seem that there would be sufficient room for a big bloke to sit in a suspension seat in the Landcruiser; Although my concern was more about the room under the steering wheel for big legs. I think there's probably enough room above me, but again this would be reduced quite a lot if I had to sit higher. I just dont think the ergonomics of the Landcruiser cabin are going to make it easy to fit a suspension seat and have it work well. Most of the vehicles I have driven with suspension seats have the pedals closer horizontally to the seat-base, which should make it easier to allow seat movement without jamming the steering wheel. I cant see the Landcruiser ute would be very easy to do the same thing. Most of my desire for better seats is back support, as well as bit more upper body support. The Paratus seats seem to have these features. I am also on a bit of a time budget (trip later this month), and a suspension seat is really going to require a lot more time from me to be useable(Probably have to drive to Brissy to have one fitted...). The Paratus seats can be couriered to me, and the local person can check the fitment before issuing a compliance certificate for QLD transport. Thanks for the info. ----------------- Cheers, Rod.....Out Back ================================================== For a selection of my pics from the past 12 months, visit the web site below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rod_outback/ >Rod, >Take this how you will, I had an associate who used to go four wheel driving [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >Cheers, >Muddy. Muddy, I, too, can suffer from lower back problems if driving distance in a crap seat. Friday was a nightmare from the poxed seats of the Triton... The model of seat I am looking at is a combination of the ParaRally back (with the adjustable lumbar support and quite deep bolsters up the side), and the ParaTour, which has a nearly-flat seat base with very flat bolsters to make it easier to get in/out of a 4wd. I think I'll also get the leather stitching on the high-wear spots, which should make it last a bit better. The seat cushion looks to be slightly flatter than the genuine Landcruiser seat, so it should be reasonably easy to get in/out. I understand the seat cushion is slightly longer, which helps support your legs a bit better. I thought about a suspension seat, but the new Landcruiser isnt that bad in the suspension department, and so I'd prefer to simply try a set of decent fixed seats first. Thanks for the info re: using a Paratus seat. i was wondering if I'd find anyone who had used them... ----------------- Cheers, Rod.....Out Back ================================================== For a selection of my pics from the past 12 months, visit the web site below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rod_outback/ An option could be to buy one of the inflatable lumbar devices and get an upholsterer to fit it into your current seats. You could get him to add some other support while he has the upholstery off. Something like this: http://motorcare.com.au/lumbar.htm >An option could be to buy one of the inflatable lumbar devices and get an >upholsterer to fit it into your current seats. You could get him to add >some other support while he has the upholstery off. > >Something like this: >http://motorcare.com.au/lumbar.htm Rob2, I'm actually looking to replace the 2 seats (1 single & a 1 3/4 bench for the passengers) with 2 decent bucket seats. This gives me a bit more room in between. I lose the seating for the 3rd body, but I dont use it anyway. Finding a decent seat re-builder in downtown Longreach is a bit of a challenge as well. I had experimented with some of those simple slide-in lumbar supports, and had mediocre results. The passengers seat is pretty poorly designed, although the standard drivers seat is a lot better than older models. Cheers, Rod.....Out Back Rod, No worries, I have been unfortunate to drive a poverty pack Triton as well (shudder) even somewhat regularly. Being six two and 110kg (ish) I can say that it was not pleasant. Experienced the very same leg traping you have mentioned, which reduced the ability to steer. Not to mention the poverty pack had no room between the clutch and firewall. The gear stick also had a bad habit of sticking into the knee cap in fifth. The up spec GLS has more room beside the clutch and more room behind the wheel, just slightly. Give me a Hilux any day. Muddy. (PS, thanks Kev, knew you would come through with it.) > Finding a decent seat re-builder in downtown Longreach is a bit of a > challenge as well. Hi Rod. Does Vic Blackwood still live in Longreach??? Garry >> Finding a decent seat re-builder in downtown Longreach is a bit of a >> challenge as well. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Garry Garry, We think he left the district 2-3 years ago. He left his wife (I think), and had to sell the radio station (4LG) to settle the finances. Best we can recall, that was about 2 years ago, but might have been as long as 3. He was the voice of 4LG for quite a few years before that. Cheers, Rod.....Out Back >>Hi Rod. >> [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Rod.....Out Back Thanks for that. I did not know he had left his wife. I was good friends with both Vic and his daughter, Paula, but had only ever met his wife once or twice. I think he would have been a hard man to work for though, but he had lots of idea's. I guess he may have gone back to the NSW Central Coast, where he was before heading to Longreach. Thanks for the information. Garry Guys, Not real sure he would like his personal life splashed all over the net huh? Muddy |
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