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Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:58 pm

Before completely jumping in I'm only going to mount the passenger seat.
My Wife has back "issues" and finds the stock Vanagon seats less than ideal for her. This seriously cuts into "Vanagon Time"!
With a 7000-8000 mile trip in the planning stages, a comfrotable seat is a high priority!
I don't mind the VW seats that much and I most often drive.

I will install the seat, probably ridgidly mounted for I don't want to hack up the stock seats to harvest the sliders just yet.
Do some driving for a month or so, get a good "feel" for the seat.
See how that seat rates on the "good for the back" scale and go forward from there.

I removed the mounting from the seat today. Now to make a "non destructive" temporary mount to the pedestal.

Dave

Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:07 pm

Smart

Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:28 pm

Sewfine did my interior.
So IF these seats prove themselves worthy I'll order up some matching fabric and vinyl from them and put my newly unemployed Wife to work at the sewing machine!

Dave

Thu Jul 27, 2017 12:39 pm

Temporary install for comfort testing is underway.
These were made in 2007, they are center row Dodge minivan seats.
Yes, the Left one is mounted on the Right. I chose to do so because the seat back adjusting lever is large and it wouldn't be fun to slide over as you enter and exit. I put the adjuster in the center aisle.
In a short initial sitting test, they are considerably softer than VW's seats. We had an 03 Dodge minivan and remember that we liked the front seats.

Passenger seat, bolted to a 3/16" x 3" flat bar. The flat bar is bolted to the seat pedestal.

Mounted with room for battery access......

Back folds flat.

Dave

Thu Jul 27, 2017 12:50 pm

Looks pretty good.
I will be very interested in how comfortable the seat is for long trips, I also have a bad back.
Really like the fold flat option, and the arm rests (a priority) look like they will be comfortable.

Thu Jul 27, 2017 1:08 pm

They also recline fully......

Here is the seat back lever, it is best located towards the center.

While I found mine on the curb, they made probably millions of the Dodge / Plymouth / Chrysler Minivans in the early 2000's. They cannot be expensive at a junk yard at all.

If they prove to be comfortable and supportive, I'll harvest the VW tracks and make them work on these seats.

Dave

Thu Jul 27, 2017 4:05 pm

Great headway Dave. Let us know what the wife thinks.
I have the thinner, harder ones that most have been using and we both like them so far. Our longest trip with them has only been two hours though so they aren't fully tested.

I think a bit softer would be better. Also the armrests seem a tad high.
What is your opinion on the arm rest height of the units you have?

Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:08 am

Well, last night I finished bolting in the Dodge seat.

It looks good, fits very similar to VW's seat and is sized similarily.
Seat height is almost the same, a tad higher and that will go up a smidgen more with the Seat tracks installed.

No test drive yet but it is very comfortable here in the driveway. The arm rest are a tad higher than VW's armrests, not annoyingly so but definitely a little different. I imagine one will get used to the change with no problem.

The seat is softer to sit upon but the lower back support is greatly enhanced.
The back angle adjustment is WONDERFUL! From bolt upright to darn near bed like.

I hope to take the Van out to Pennsylvania this coming weekend and see how it is.

Across the armrests showing height difference .....

Across seat bottoms showing height similarities....
(Floor mats are genuine Vintage Beetle Mats from my very first car, a 1960 Beetle with fabric sun roof..... wish I still had that car...... )

Dave

Mon Aug 28, 2017 7:58 am

Well,
I am aborting this old Dodge minivan middle seat to Vanagon front seat project.

While the seat is comfortable, I simply don't care for the color nor do I wish to recover them.

I stumbled upon someone selling a set of light tan fabric Town and Country Stow and Go seats.

I'm going down this rabbit hole instead. Too bad many of the photo links are dead! 😤

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=120

Dave

Mon Aug 28, 2017 8:18 am

djkeev wrote: Too bad many of the photo links are dead!

Get on board the campaign to encourage users to use The Samba gallery to host their photos. Add it to your signature.

Mon Aug 28, 2017 8:40 am

Dave,
Just noticed the eye-bolt on the passenger seat belt. Brilliant. I bungee cord my cooler behind the passenger seat and that side is always a mediocre connection. You do anything similar on the aisle side?
-d

Mon Aug 28, 2017 8:43 am

All of my seat belt bolts are the eye bolt style. I picked them up when I purchased my new seat belts but I think GoWesty and others carry them too.

They are handy for fastening "things" that you want to stay in place.

Dave

Mon Aug 28, 2017 8:46 am

^^^ Advance warning: the eye bolt in the aisle can be a real "ankle banger"...just sayin'...

Be careful out there! :wink:

- Dave

Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:10 am

We never walk through..... either the center console or my Golden Retriever occupies that space.

No worries.......

Dave

Tue Jun 19, 2018 4:11 pm

Anyone have preference or feedback on Small Car seats VS the Corbeu seats , aside from the armrests. Wondering about general build quality and comfort.

Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:40 pm

As an inexpensive alternative, has anyone considered these?

https://www.carid.com/1990-volkswagen-vanagon-seats/procar-elite-racing-seats-458726446.html

Tue Apr 12, 2022 7:44 am

I've read just about everything I can get my hands on here about alternative seats. Very very aware of stow & go 2nd row options, recaro $$$$$ options, eurovan options, and then most of the fringe options of swapping seats from other vehicles. I'm also aware of sewfine and reupholstering options. Still considering that path as the dimensions would be the same. 12 weeks to wait for drop-ship foam for a westy seat is not helping that path seem viable for this summer's travels.

In my search for something that is a new seat, I stumbled on jeep replacement seats and I found Bestop TrailMax II. Looks like it might be a viable option based on the dimensions of the seat base. Can't really find proper dimensions, but the customer service person at eTrailer said it is 21" square. I'll probably reach out to them about the height of the front and bolsters as that is another concern of mine.

Has anyone here put these in a westy before?

I'd love to hear any first hand experience or get some photos. They look good, come in tan color which works out for my brown interior 1985. and apparently they have a steel frame around the perimeter of the back, so I think attaching the original westy armrests might be an option, but would need to figure that out. Given that they're bolt-in after market option, I'm hoping I could get the stow & go adaptor from small car and potentially modify the seat bolt-in location without too much trouble. The price tag is right (vs recaro anything is more right..) and they fully recline. It all seems positive assuming they fit.

This is another good review of someone who put these in an old FJ-40