Seat alternatives - '01 Sierra/Silverado

[lendad]

Ok, I don't want to re-invent the wheel so ...

I just bought a mint, high mileage, 2001 Sierra Ext. cab SLT. I'll use it primarily to pull a 33' fifth-wheel rv.

My problem is I hate the seats, comfort-wise!! I've got the leather power buckets. Anyway, without describing the specific nature of my pain after 1-2 hours, suffice to say I want to swap the butt-killers for something more to my liking.

I'm willing to put anything in the truck - Caddy, lexus, toyota - all seats I know work for me. Welding up brackets adapters and wiring is not an issue. The issue IS - my present seats have built in seatbelts, and most of the seats I would like to have use seatbelts mounted to the "B" pillar. I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to get aroung the seatbelt mounting difference.

The easiest option would be to find another GM seat with the built-in seatbelt , but ... I don't know if any of the others are of a different enough design as to me more to my butt's liking.

Sorry to ramble, but anyone have any ideas? experience?

[cousincletus]

You might not want to give up on the stock seats so quickly. The problem you are probably having since yours has high mileage is the seat is sagging a little and doesn't support very well. I don't have a Chevy (Dodge 1500) but the seats are all similar in construction. There is a wire support that looks like a grid hung in place with a series of springs in the back. On my Dodge I doubled up the springs for a firmer seat. You may have to experiment with yours. If the seat is too firm after adding springs just double up the springs toward the sides of the seat and leave the single springs the way they were towards the middle. This will give you a more bolstered feel to the seat. I got the extra springs from the junkyard but I'm sure you can order them from the dealer. Also check the seat cushion and make sure the grid isn't cutting into the foam. I'm 6'5" 260 lbs so I tear up a seat pretty quickly. I have had to do work on the seat of every vehicle I have ever owned to make the stock seats more comfy.

[lendad]

Originally Posted by cousincletus

You might not want to give up on the stock seats so quickly. The problem you are probably having since yours has high mileage is the seat is sagging a little and doesn't support very well. I don't have a Chevy (Dodge 1500) but the seats are all similar in construction. There is a wire support that looks like a grid hung in place with a series of springs in the back. On my Dodge I doubled up the springs for a firmer seat. You may have to experiment with yours. If the seat is too firm after adding springs just double up the springs toward the sides of the seat and leave the single springs the way they were towards the middle. This will give you a more bolstered feel to the seat. I got the extra springs from the junkyard but I'm sure you can order them from the dealer. Also check the seat cushion and make sure the grid isn't cutting into the foam. I'm 6'5" 260 lbs so I tear up a seat pretty quickly. I have had to do work on the seat of every vehicle I have ever owned to make the stock seats more comfy.

That's helful, Cuz . I had thought about taking off the leather cover and adding foam. I know there are different foams of differing densities; any recommendations there?

[slacker_53]

This may or may not sound kind of stupid, but why don't you try out a truck with cloth seating. I think the cloth seats are waaaay more comfortable than leather.

Every leather truck I have had, feels kind of like you are sitting on a basketball. You might find one that you can drive for a couple of hours and see if that makes a difference.

And that way you have no worries about bolting them in.

-slacker

[lendad]

Funny you should suggest that, I've been looking at cloth seats on ebay with just that thought. Plus, with my present leathers it always feels like I'm sliding forward; cloth grips much better. Time to go to the dealer's showroom and let my butt audition some cloth seats. Thanks

[bowtieguy]

me personally i love leather seats if yours feels like a basketball i only assume one of 2 things, it is new like my truck 02 Z71 LT trim was and just needs to be conditioned and broke in like a pair of leather shoes, or you dont or havent conditioned the seats.leather seats that have been taken care of and conditioned regularlly are very comfortable and durable lasting long past the time where most cloth seats have worn thin.
your seats in a 2001 must have been neglected by the previous owner and not taken as good of care of as the rest of the truck, possibly an upolstery shop could refurb your seats cheaper? not too sure about that i have never had that done, just thinking out loud.