2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Seat rehabilitation

[SRath]

This talk of air-ride seats prompts me to ask if anyone has a line on affordable re-upholstery or good-fitting seat covers for my '96?



I have just finished taking my auto-sliding seat adjusters off, removing the brackets for the goofy factory console/jump seat that I removed the day after I bought the truck, cleaning and priming and painting the rusty brackets with satin black rustoleum, repairing the auto-release cable on one seat with bicycle cable, freeing up all the adjusters (3 of 4 were frozen), and installing carpet between the foam seat buns and the wire cheese slicers that work just as well at slicing foam seat buns.



They work and feel great now. They just don't look much better except for the nicely painted brackets. They still have duct tape on the vinyl sides where they are tearing.



It is aggravating trying to find some decent seat covers for these seats. for one thing, my seats are the kind with no separate headrest at all. They are what every seller shows for Dodge vans; not the pickups.



I would like to get some good seat covers, or even better, replacement upholstery (I dream of leather) and save these seats before the fabric wear turns into foam destruction. These seats are not easily replaced with generic ones since they have a fairly complex mechanism that automatically slides the entire seat forward for access to the rear seat just by tipping the backrest forward.



Has anyone found a source for good, tight-fitting seat covers or replacement upholstery?

 

[bheiting]

If you'll settle for a seat cushion, I like the FootSmart memory foam version.
Elastic straps are somewhat wimpy, but the cushion is very comfortable for long hauls.
It aint leather, but it will save your original upholstery.

 

[BarryG]

SRath:

My 01 also has integrated head rests as well as an integrated seat belt. I have had good luck with the wet okoles (250ish) that have been in my truck for 8 years or so. They do need to be replaced now but have been very good. They fit like a glove. I would buy them again. I also have a set of Coverkings that are almost identical in a Honda. They look and fit the same and are quite a bit cheaper (costco 169. 00). However they dont appear to be quite as thick. Time will tell if they hold up as well. So far so good though. Coverking also makes a variety of other seat cover types though I have no idea how they fit or quality.



As far as upholstery shops I would bust out the local yellowpages and make some calls. Here in Denver in the yellow pages under automotive upholstery there are 40 listings.

 

[ewcmr2]

I put dove grey leather seats from a BMW 330Ci in my ram. $300 and Saturday spent cutting/welding and I have the best seats a Ram has ever had.

 

[SRath]

Photos of the 2 different '96/'97 bucket seat styles?

Did you give up the tilt-n-slide feature, ewcmr2?



I don't have a problem with seat comfort in my Dodge, especially now that I firmed the lower cushion up by stopping the cheese-slicer problem. I do wish they had folding armrests, or at least an inner one, though. But I have no doubt one session in a set of Beemer seats or something similar would spoil me rotten. But I would not like giving up the Dodge tilt-n-slide feature for access to the rear seat. I wish I had taken the seats out and cleaned, penetrating-lubed, white-greased, painted, and fixed everything years ago. They both work sooooo smoothly now!



With a stick shift in the middle, two actually, and limited storage, and lack of a good coffee cup holder, I found the factory center jump seat/console of the factory 40/20/40 seats pretty much worthless, except as an armrest and even then it was the wrong height, and removed it. Only a small child could sit there, and they would probably kick the truck out of gear. In it's place, I have one of those large plastic consoles "for minivans" with front and rear cupholders, a locking sliding lid, and other little storage areas that walmart sells for about $30. The grey color even matches well. Someday, maybe I'll get ambitious and make a really nice console out of oak or black walnut.



Hours on the internet have yielded some various Coverking seat covers that interest me. The pricing ranges from $150 to $260 for just front seat covers (ouch!) with every material from ultra-tough and waterproof cordura to leatherette (fake leather) to thick neoprene and plain old twill being offered. They claim to make each set to custom order here in the USA. The example photos they show look more like re-upholstered seats than covered seats, though they do warn the cordura is very stiff and will show more wrinkles when installed.



And I still don't know which seats I have. Coverking offers two styles of covers for 96 and 97 Rams with buckets. One is for "built-in non-adjustable round headrests" and the other is for "built-in non-adjustable rectangular headrests". Mine could be described as either as far as I'm concerned, though I think they are more squared off than round. I wish they would show actual photos of both seat styles.

 

[HHhuntitall]

SRath,



I could reccommend a good shop in Decatur, Tx that does upholstery work. They've redone several seats for me, including some tractor seats that I spend a lot of time in. I weight in aroud 275lbs, so I put some strain on my seats. I'm tall enough I don't get the seams on the outside, I guess, but the foam is always in serious need of help. I got Matney's to do the work, and they recovered the seats in my 1/2 ton hybrid(Dana 60s front and rear, lockers, etc) for around $300 a seat. That's with the best cloth material he could get, as I'm always getting in and out of this truck hunting and working on fence, getting gates, so on. I'm going to get him to do one of my '97 seats this summer, and he priced me around $400 to do them in leather. He says the majority of cost is in material, and he won't use a cheap material. He refoams the center section just for my cheek's sake, and then goes to work. I've had the seats in my 1/2 ton for over 7 years, and not a problem at all. Well, other than trying to keep the mud and water out when playing!! I've found seat covers to be a pain, they always seem to come off and slide around. I've even stapled a few, trying to keep them put. Maybe they've come a long way in the last 5 years or so, but my preference is to rebuild the whole seat, or find new ones, such as out of a van, and install them on my tracking. I've had good luck with that. Just my thoughts and opinions, which aren't quite worth $. 02.

 

[ewcmr2]

Did you give up the tilt-n-slide feature, ewcmr2?

Nope. The seats from the BMW coupe tilt and pop-up towards the front to allow access to the rear seat. On the drivers side I have similar access to the rear. On the passenger side I kept the Dodge manual slider and added the BMW power seat on top if it allowing much more range of adjustment. wife & Rottweiler now both fit in the front seat area (dog on floor)



If you want armrests (if they'll fit) many 5 and 7 series seats have them integrated into the backrest.

 

[SRath]

I think I will try to find a couple of upholstery shops and see what they say. I knew of two good ones locally, but both were wiped out in the '08 Flood. I know for sure one guy just called it quits and retired, but I don't know if the other ever relocated and rebuilt or not.

There should be others around, I just need to find out and check their work and pricing. My foam is still in decent shape and I don't want to wait until it isn't to get new covering on it.

Thanks for the input, HHhuntitall, Barry, and the rest.

My big crewcab Chevy is a Texas Cowboy Cadillac with a completely custom leather and solid oak interior like none I have ever seen before or since. I flew to Texas to buy the rust-free truck from a rancher and the interior was a complete surprise. Wow! There are so many trucks in Texas, I suppose there is also an abundance of good upholstery and custom shops, too.