New Driver & Passenger Seats

[Guest azlein]

The driver seat currently in our 2005 Monaco Windsor if very uncomfortable.  After a few hundred miles I begin to feel it.  I can drive in my truck for hours on end without issue.  I am looking for any feedback/knowledge on replacing or fixing this seat.  I thought of getting a big rig seat (assuming they drive all day so must be good) but so far unable to find one I could use.  Biggest issues are my seats have integrated seat-belts.  So here are what I see as options:

1)      Have the seat reupholstered and foam replaced is possible

2)      Buying a new seat (feel I can modify what ever to work so not stuck on exact replacement)

3)      Brands other have used that they love and sites where you purchased it if you have it.

Thanks so much for any help

[Bill Morgan]

Not the lest expensive but I love their seats. https://www.recaro-automotive.com/us/commercial/recaro-ergo-mcii

[Chuck B 2004 Windsor]

Try Bradd and Hall in Elkhart, Indiana.  They cater to motor home owners.  Chuck B

[vito.a]

I bought new seats from Villa International.  They manufacture motor home furniture for most of the diesel motor homes.  

villainternational.com 

[throgmartin]

Bradd at Bradd and Hall is a good place to start. Seating for coaches has went through a big change and there are new players in the game now since Flexsteel closed down their RV seating division. I looked the other day and seen names I never heard of.

If your coach is mid-2000's vintage then I can assure you foam technology has changed considerably since then. As an upholsterer by trade I personally have seen some of the new foams on the market and they offer more comfort but you have to get a high quality seat to get it. I am going to be pulling my two seats and recovering them in a week. I am going to be doing a memory foam blend to make them more comfortable.

Any auto upholsterer that is good at his trade can recover and customize your current seat by re-using some of the current foam base and then molding in new memory foam and maybe even using a gel insert. You may want to consider recovering what you have. The cost will be north of $ 750 - 800 dollars. I am sure some people will come on here and say " I seen new seats for $ 900 ". Trust me when I say they are not worth the money. So yes, you can get new seats cheap but the foam and vinyl will be of poor quality and they will break down fast. One other benefit of having your seats recovered is you can select a very high quality marine vinyl instead of the cheap crap that comes on new seats. Do not get fooled by the trade names leatherete, ultraleather, etc. They are all vinyl but use leather in their names to hype the product. The only true leather seats now days come in the big buses - Prevost, Newell & Foretravel ). Sig's, Exec's and some Dynastys used to come with leather seating but not anymore.

For the record I do not do upholstery anymore. I am NOT looking forward to recovering my own seats let alone doing them for a customer. They are a royal PITA and there is not enough money to make me even want to consider doing a set of seats. I am recovering mine simply because I want to do a complete re-work of the foam and trust me when I say I am doing it grudgingly. They are extremely time consuming, labor intensive and I am sure I am going to ruin some vinyl simply because auto upholstery is out of my area of expertise. I know the trade but my work was not in autos so it will be a learn and go thing. The only reason I am doing them myself is so I can experiment with the foam placement and continually check the comfort and fit before finishing them off. Sewing is never an issue for me but bolster placement, correct patterning and hog ringing is something I am not looking forward to.

One last tidbit. Expect to wait if you want them recovered. There is a shortage now of good quality and expert auto upholsterers. This class of upholsterers are highly skilled in automotive upholstery and like doctors, upholsterers all specialize. A furniture guy will probably be bad at auto work. Like wise a marine person wont be good either. My expertise is in marine/canvas work. I am the last person you would want doing your seat because it would take me a year of sundays to complete. There are tricks to each specialty and auto's happens to be the very worse. You want an expert who specializes in auto interiors and typically their shops are backed up just because there are very few of them. They also charge more simply because they can.

[Hypoxia]

One option I would want is ventilated seating.  My pickup has that feature and I find it more useful than heated seats in the Southwest region.  I sit on sheepskins in the coach which are wonderful but not as nice as ventilated seating.  If ventilated seating is out of the question, I would want a high quality fabric to put sheep skins on.  Every airliner that I have been in has sheep skins on the pilot seats for good reason, they are very comfortable and neutral in temperature.  They don't get too hot or cold.

[Scotty Hutto]

If anyone *knows* of a good automotive upholsterer, please feel free to share that info in our Vendor section. 
 

...whether you’ve actually used them or just researched it, it would be great to know who the good ones are.  If you have their lead times, etc. that would also be useful. 

[Paul J A]

3 hours ago, Hypoxia said:

One option I would want is ventilated seating.  My pickup has that feature and I find it more useful than heated seats in the Southwest region.  I sit on sheepskins in the coach which are wonderful but not as nice as ventilated seating.  If ventilated seating is out of the question, I would want a high quality fabric to put sheep skins on.  Every airliner that I have been in has sheep skins on the pilot seats for good reason, they are very comfortable and neutral in temperature.  They don't get too hot or cold.

Take a look at Truckers seats. 

[throgmartin]

Scotty, my buddy here in Brooksville used to do all of the seats that customers brought in. He was a master and his work with classic and custom car interiors was impeccable. Unfortunately he is in semi retirement mode now and is getting real picky on what work he takes in ( which is now very limited ). Coach seats is one thing he dropped from his work lineup.

There is a place by you just outside Atlanta that does coach seats. I have seen his work and it was impressive. They also have real fast turnaround times. One of our members had his seats done there ( Scott Philips ). Send him a PM and he can give you their name. If you can't reach Scott let me know and I will call him.

[justdoingit@att.net]

National Admiral CT Has the air circulation throughout the seat. Air suspension, back cycles, heat, adjustable seat length, adjustable bolsters in the seat, swivel, adjustable arm rest, air adjustable lumbar (3 chambers), front cushion tilt adjustment, continuous recline, 8.9” track travel, map pockets, magazine pocket. Purchased 2 years ago from my local truck stop chrome shop, it was about $1,650 with shipping ( they matched on line pricing) 4 weeks lead time, they custom make each one. Couldn’t be happier with the seat.

[throgmartin]

Jeff, the truckers seats are awesome. I considered one myself. I sat in Dave Pratt's truckers seat that he has in his Foretravel and it was awesome. It has everything including air ride suspension, massage, heat and cooling and a bunch of other options. His is all leather and I cannot remember the price but I believe it is in the thousands once all the options are added.

My only advice is before anyone buys a truckers seat is that they take real good measurements of the base attachment points. I believe not all truckers seats will bolt into a coach. It may require an adapter plate so be sure and research a truckers seat well before buying one. If it will fit then they are a great option.

[Plaurin]

Could'nt drive my coach for more than 2 hours at a time because of the lack of comfort of my seat.

Had it upholstered and did not improve. Started looking at truck air seats but my wife did not like the look at all. I had bought a used one to make some tests. Went to a local upholster and he tought that I should still work on my original seat and make it fit my stature. I'm 5'6" with short legs, not what the furniture mfg's standard size. 

So the bottom seat structure was cutback by 2 inches and rewelded back and as a result it made my back lean against the seat back. Did some shaping on the bottom cushion to remove pressure behind the knees when my foot was flat on the floor. Cost me a grand $200 because the seat cover was not replaced. Was ready to spend over $5k in new seats.

I now can drive for hours in comfort. Those large seats are more suited for a living room usage than sitting behind the wheel.

 

 

[throgmartin]

Paul, glad you got a seat that works well for you.

I have stated several times in the past here on the forum that buying new seats is not always the answer, especially now days where the quality of vinyl has gone down hill. By having your old seat recovered you can specify a marine grade vinyl which is more robust and will wear better then the vinyl used in today's new coach seats. You also can have the foam revitalized as well as replaced in sections or cut down and reformed to better suit your physical body frame.

For those looking to have their seats recovered always use an auto upholsterer. Never use a marine, awning or furniture upholsterer. Automotive seating requires a special talent and skill set not found in other upholstery specialties. Ask your upholsterer to custom fit the seat to you to help relieve pressure points. They can also employ memory foam in places to make it more comfortable. Specify they use a high grade marine vinyl. The price difference between a high quality vinyl and middle of the road vinyl is not much.

I am not very fond of the new pilot/co-pilot seats these days. I believe the foam will break down quicker and I known the vinyl wont last as long as the vinyl used 10 years ago or more. I have seen a lot of re-upholstered seats before and as an upholsterer myself I can always tell if the guy who did the seats was a true craftsman or not. Not all upholsterers are created equal. Just ask God.

My favorite story is of a classic car owner who ventured to Mexico to " save money " on re-upholstering his seats. They looked great and felt great......... For a couple months. Then they started breaking down. He took them to another upholsterer in LA to have them re-worked and when they tore the covers off they found they used straw in some places to bolster the cushions. 🙂

[Dennis H]

I had mine redone at C & C RV and Upholstery 9417 E. Main St. Apache Junction, Az. It was about 2k IIRC They ended up with about a three week lead time to order and get the leather I wanted. The driver's seat insides were destroyed. New insides and new covers, they look great and the comfort is excellent. The only thing they couldn't match was the Monaco emblem. Don't let the building fool you. I was hesitant when I saw the building but they came recommended by a friend so I went with it. I'm glad I did. They do excellent work. Took them several days once they received the materials at their shop....Dennis

 

[Guest azlein]

Thank you everyone for all the great ideas.  Not sure why I didn't consider re-upholstery but that is the option I went with.  Found a guy on the west side of Phoenix and will update post after I get them back and get a chance to see how it feels on the road after a few hours.  Thanks again everyone!!

[Jean G]

Can anyone tell me how to make the seats swivel? It's not covered in the manual that u can find. Thanks!

[Ivylog]

Should be a small lever on the side of the bottom cushion…actually 2 as othe reclines the seat.

[Irishman1]

Check out Bostrom truck seats. Pop used them for years in his work trucks and then in his Motorhome’s. There are some starting at around 1000.00 but go up to whatever you want to pay.. nice adjustments and sir shock ride

[Steven P]

On 10/22/2021 at 8:39 PM, Jean G said:

Can anyone tell me how to make the seats swivel? It's not covered in the manual that u can find. Thanks!

I pull out the lever in the front of mine.