Air Ride Seat Questions

[DBCooper]

Guys, as I age my back is less and less tolerant of the seats in my 04. The truck in pristine condition and I have no reason to trade it in. I've looked for later model seats but never seem to find anything that's in good enough shape from a wrecking yard.

I've looked at the National Premium MD seats and the air ride bases. I'm all plumbed for air so would be a no brainer.

My question is for those that have installed air ride seats: Does all the moving up and down bother you? Is the chugger snubber option something that is needed? It's not really the ride that bothers my back. The stock seats are just horrible, but figured if I go with the Nationals I might as well go air ride.

If anyone has input on this subject, fire away. I'm looking at suburban seats, seat specialists, etc. Is one better as far as customer service?

Thanks

Dan

 

[mwilson]

I hope to get the air ride seats myself this summer, my factory front seats are terrible as well. I ordered a set for Ozy when he was over here with his truck and he is very pleased with them. Shoot him a PM for his opinion.
I did learn that you CAN NOT add the chugger snubber later on that particular model of seat. You either order it that way or do without it. The chugger snubber is great in loaded big trucks but you don't really get pounded like that in our trucks. I think that I will pass and go without it.

Here is that thread that shows them installed in Ozy's truck in case you have not seen it.

PDF for the seat part numbers.....

View attachment National Seating.pdf

 

[phantomusa]

I don't have air ride seat in my dodge but I do in my mack and couldn't stand to drive more then a 100 miles without it even without the air a big truck seat has better everything for comfort
And I really like the Lombard being an air bladder adjustment I can tune it to my needs

 

[ColemanR]

So I've had a National seat in my truck for close to 700K best thing I've ever done to my truck for me.

 

[Motorhead]

I hope to get the air ride seats myself this summer, my factory front seats are terrible as well. I ordered a set for Ozy when he was over here with his truck and he is very pleased with them. Shoot him a PM for his opinion.
I did learn that you CAN NOT add the chugger snubber later on that particular model of seat. You either order it that way or do without it. The chugger snubber is great in loaded big trucks but you don't really get pounded like that in our trucks. I think that I will pass and go without it.

Here is that thread that shows them installed in Ozy's truck in case you have not seen it.

PDF for the seat part numbers.....

View attachment 98172

I saw some pen written numbers on the pdf you posted but I don't see where they correspond to the numbers on the sheet. Also, Where did you buy them?

 

[DBCooper]

Thanks, MWilson. I've seen the thread that showed Ozy's set up.

Thinking out loud- it's really not the ride that bothers my back, it's the seats. What about putting the National seats on the dodge bracketry. I know it would take some fab but that's not that big of a deal.

 

[mwilson]

Thanks, MWilson. I've seen the thread that showed Ozy's set up.

Thinking out loud- it's really not the ride that bothers my back, it's the seats. What about putting the National seats on the dodge bracketry. I know it would take some fab but that's not that big of a deal.

I think I would go with the National bases for two reasons..

(1) That air valve for up and down is gonna' be all lonely and bored without something to do....

(2) I would be concerned about the seat belt anchors but that might not be a worry. No doubt you could rework the base to accept it, but I believe it is DOT certified as a seat and suspension. They are the ONLY USA seat maker that offers such a thing, Bostrom, Duraform and Seats Inc. won't even entertain the idea, I've asked them all several times and it always comes down to liability. I think I would install the kit in its entirety.

 

[mwilson]

I saw some pen written numbers on the pdf you posted but I don't see where they correspond to the numbers on the sheet. Also, Where did you buy them?

That PDF came directly from a customer service rep at National / CVG and was of her personal copy. Those penned in notes relate to a Freightliner Medium Duty truck.
I asked for a copy as they have yet to get these back on their website after it was upgraded last year. I called right in a panic when I could no longer find these fearing that they might have been discontinued and she sent me that copy for my reference in the meantime. Also reassured me that they are still being made to order.

Just looked at the PDF again, those are her notes for some other project. I don't nor would I own a purple pen....

We are a Freightliner / Western Star dealer so I ordered them right through my PDC stocking program. I do not do that as a rule, but made an exception in Ozy's case which was pretty unique for sure. And he was coming through Bangor so he could pick them up and install them right at our place.

I don't try to sell anything on here, only try to offer up advice and answer questions. Many great vendors on here and have no wish to interfere.

As you can see the decision regarding the chugger snubber has to made when ordering, 00452 and 00453 do not have the isolator, 00334 and 00335 do have it.

Ozy wanted to add it, but after some huge effort by Seth and myself it was decided that it simply can not be done. Finally had to get the engineering prints from National before we discovered that with these particular seats the chugger snubber version uses a completely different lower seat assembly than the non-chugger snubber version...

 

[Motorhead]

mwilson, Thanks for the clarification. So I get it straight, the "chugger" option is the front to back movement option? I don't necessarily want that. this is the seating I have looked at. There are many options....Of course for "Extra" money!
http://knoedler.com/content/AC-ExtremeLowRider-Brochure_F-B_WebRes_6.15.16.pdf

 

[DBCooper]

Good points. The truck sits in the garage 90% of the time...as a matter of fact just turned 120,000 miles so dropping that kind of coin into something that I don't drive very often makes me cringe. On the other hand, when I do take it out, often it's for a long trip with the RV in tow.*

Motörhead, that's a good looking seat. Much better looking than the National. Looks like it comes with it's own base, which would have to be retro'd to the truck, no?*

Keep the info flowing. Leaning towards the Nationals. Shipping looks to be decent from Suburban.*

Thanks*

Dan

 

[Motorhead]

The seat has a flat base and it mounts to the model unique sub frame that mounts to the trucks floor.

 

[mwilson]

National has done all the heavy lifting on these, including the bracket kit to keep the factory console. Plug and play...

Knoedler makes a nice seat BUT fabbing up one's own base can be challenging. We don't have a lot of extra headroom in our trucks and if you are off a couple inches on the figuring you could hit your head and even injure yourself when the suspension suddenly fully extends on a large bump. Knoedler also doesn't mention the seat belt tethers needed to anchor the seat belt system to the truck floor. No tethers in an accident means you AND the seat may vacate the vehicle.

One strange thing about National is that they will not install heated pads in this particular model of seat. They will sell you a kit similar to the Rostra kits that Geno's sells, but will not put them in during production. Can't figure that out, they do it with the truck seats all the time.

 

[mwilson]

mwilson, Thanks for the clarification. So I get it straight, the "chugger" option is the front to back movement option? I don't necessarily want that. this is the seating I have looked at. There are many options....Of course for "Extra" money!
http://knoedler.com/content/AC-ExtremeLowRider-Brochure_F-B_WebRes_6.15.16.pdf

The chugger snubber is really for bigger trucks and heavy equipment. There is a motion called "Back slap" that occurs in trucks to different degrees depending on load, type of suspension, type of trailer, etc. that can be a real issue after many hours in the saddle. The chugger snubber or "Back Slap Eliminator" helps quite a bit. Some drivers love it and some don't so they keep it locked out. It takes a couple of days to really get used to it but once you do it is a great feature.

Our Rams don't really seem to create the "Back Slap"...you'd have to ride in a loaded truck with a spring suspension over a rough road or multiple expansion joints to understand how hard it can hit you.

 

[mwilson]

Well, I just ordered (2) seats, bases and the console bracket kit. Should arrive in about two weeks as National builds to order. They don't keep any seats on hand.

All items are still available at this time.

Went with the 00452.51 which is the two tone gray leather.

My back can hardly wait....

 

[Motorhead]

We can't wait either for PICTURES of the seat brackets and the seats installed.

 

[mwilson]

We can't wait either for PICTURES of the seat brackets and the seats installed.

I will for sure. I'll even save the pictures so if/when the forum scrubs them out I can reload them.

My ball joint "how to" needs the pictures loaded again, those got dumped last year at some point.

 

[mwilson]

I do recall from Ozy's install that the jack needs to be relocated. Hoping that whole plate / jack / handle carrier will fit in the rear storage boxes.

 

[DaveHess]

I installed an amplifier under my passenger seat and moved the jack to the passenger side of the bed. Mounted it just ahead of the bulkhead piece that the tailgate closes against. I mounted it horizontal. Works really slick back there.

 

[DBCooper]

MWilson, who did you order through? I assume your place of business. Do you see any advantage ordering through say Kenworth NW or similar truck shop or just through Suburban? I see that Suburban has decent shipping.

Thanks

Dan

 

[mwilson]

I did indeed order through my dealership, a perc that will save me some money.

Any OEM truck manufacturer has access to these seats. The CHEAPEST way to do it is get quotes from all the willing truck dealers in your area and then you would want to get it added to the dealership's stock orders. There will not be any freight that way. You have to wait 3 or 4 weeks is the downside where National does not keep any back stock, only build to order.

If Suburban has the seats on hand then it might be worth the freight if you want them quickly. If they don't have them on hand and they are going to have to order from National you might just as well go to a truck dealer in my opinion.

Do you need the part numbers??