Scheel-Mann Aftermarket Seats

[DBCooper]

Good evening, all.

Sharing an aftermarket seat installation in my 2004.5 dually.

A little background- I've been looking at replacing the stock seats for a number of years due to them being very uncomfortable for me. I've looked at air ride, other manufacturers, even used later model. All have pros and cons.

I found Scheel-Mann seats during one of my searches. All reviews were positive except for the price. These are not cheap at all, but seem to be extremely well built. The old seats are about a third the weight of the new.

https://scheel-mann.com/

I went with the Scheel-Mann Vario F seat for both driver and passenger.

I also found a company out of Utah called Wedge that makes adapters and brackets. For the 3rd gen. Dodge, they have an adapter that allows you to use your factory power drivers base, and manual passenger base.

Scheel-Mann imports into Portland, Oregon where they have a showroom/warehouse. A quick trip there to actually sit in them and check them out and we made the move to purchase. I will tell you the folks there are easy to deal with and very helpful.

Install with the Wedge adapters was super easy. The "flap" on the outboard side of the factory seat that hides the mechanicals for the drivers seat and the jack/tool kit on the passenger side needed to be fabbed. Some .125 plastic sheet, black vinyl, and 3M 77 spray glue worked well to make new "flaps". The Wedge adapters had a bracket for the seat controls.

Overall, I'm happy. My wallet isn't but my back sure is. These are extremely adjustable. They are firm, but I hear they soften up with use. It may take these a while to soften, as I only put a couple of thousand miles on this thing each year. The comfort these seats provide is light years past the stock, and much better than any other seat I've used.

I won't say this is a route I recommend for everyone, but if you want a very comfortable, adjustable, well built seat these may be an option for you. Pricing is available on the inter webs. I paid retail with heat and rear cargo nets as the only options.

Some pictures. I have to apologize for the messy truck. I normally keep the carpet much cleaner.

 

[Ozymandias]

These are fantastic seats, very famous in Europe for their quality, same as Recaro's.
Keep the old seats! So you can move them to the next vehicle.

Good to know that they are imported into the US.

 

[Randomrunner12]

That is very cool. I have been searching for a way to upgrade my seats as well since I am a bigger guy and the factory seats leave alot to be desired considering have come from a 4th gen 2500 and still owning a 4th gen 1500. My only issue is I have a powered passenger as well so hopefully wedge has a bracket or adapter for that as well.

 

[crispyboy]

Nice upgrade. I didn't know such things were available.
I replaced the driver and passenger seat foam with the upgrade from Geno's last year and I thought I was driving a new truck.

 

[AnonEd]

Agreed...every S-M seat I've used has been great, and yours looks a very nice installation. If that's dirty my truck will be embarrassed. One friend said what you did about them being really firm and I told her to just give it a while...six hours later, unprompted, she said "these seats are really comfortable."

 

[DBCooper]

That is very cool. I have been searching for a way to upgrade my seats as well since I am a bigger guy and the factory seats leave alot to be desired considering have come from a 4th gen 2500 and still owning a 4th gen 1500. My only issue is I have a powered passenger as well so hopefully wedge has a bracket or adapter for that as well.

I believe the Wedge brackets would work on a powered passenger seat also. The bolt pattern for both factory bases were the same on my truck. They were helpful on the phone when I spoke to them with some questions. I'd call to verify.
I think they do custom brackets if they don't already offer something that would work for you if needed.

Still haven't put more than 5 miles on them so far, but we're taking the RV over the mountains in a couple of weeks so will put some hours/miles on them then.

 

[DBCooper]

Happy New Year. Just a quick update on the Scheel-Mann seats. I've taken the truck on a couple of long-ish trips, the latest being a drive up to south central British Columbia (7 hours one way). I can report the seats have solved all of my discomfort while driving. They are in a word, fantastic.
While still very firm, they stay comfortable after hours in them. The heat function works very well, and normally needs to be switched to low after a few minutes just so they don't get too hot. They are very adjustable for continued comfort.
One item I forgot to mention in my original post- While at the Scheel-Mann distributor in Portland, they showed me a set of seats that were in their shop van for 8-10 years I believe. They looked brand new, so I expect these to last a very long time with my use.

I've extremely happy with the seats.

 

[CharlesinGA]

I missed this thread previously, I appreciate you taking the time to post the information. I learned of the seats and the company that makes the brackets in a Truck Camper Adventure article..... https://www.truckcamperadventure.co...dium=email&utm_campaign=truck-camper-news_129

I have an '03 Tradesman model with manual seats and the Tradesman version are real crappy. Those seats match nicely with your interior. I do at least have the center seat with the storage compartments (found it on Ebay) that color matches.

Charles

 

[Ozymandias]

The seats itself are very similar to BMW seats for how you sit and comfort.
So if someone can't or won't spend 4500$ - go to a scrap yard and get a pair of BMW seats for way less.

That's what I did 20 years ago for another vehicle back then. Great seats.

 

[Regcabguy]

They don't have the exaggerated high bolsters that make it tough to get in.
Yeah these 2007 2500 seats aren't very comfortable.

 

[DBCooper]

Yes, they purposely have the side bolsters on the Vario F model slimmed down for trucks to make ingress and egress easier. They have seats with higher bolsters for sports cars, seats with integrated seat belts, and will do custom upholstery. Of course, custom upholstery is priced accordingly. Even going from their stock leatherette sides with fabric inserts to full real leather adds $1K per seat.