Suspension Seats

Kev, several years ago I fitted an aftermarket seat to my Hilux sprayrig. I was after
better support, & a pump up lumbar support & it certainly provided that. It wasnt
a stratos & I cant find the brand name, but it came from Melbourne & cost a little
above half the going rate for other seats such as stratos. It came complete with
adaptor to suit seat slide & was simple to fit. Cost was around $850 inc freight,
but this would be more now. Perhaps a google might find them. The seat has given great service under tough conditions & only now is getting a little soft on
the outside due to constant entry & exit. I will try a google & get back to you of I can find it. I dont think a suspension seat will be suitable or adviseable in your
triton due to lack of headroom.....oldbaz.

Kev,

Havn't used these, so can't give you any feed back on these Stratos seats.

But I did have the standard Mitsu suspension seats in my NB (1986) pajero.

Mitsu dropped them on later models because of seat belt laws.
i.e. how do you get a lap/sash seat belt off the pillar and floor work properly with a suspension seat.
1. seat belt tension/adjustment changes all of the time.
2. If you are at the bottom of seat travel, the seat belt could be loose and in an accident, you could slide out under the belt.
So how will your seat belts work with these?
On full up travel, the seat belt tries to cut you in half.

Talking to a friend who does truck mods, most suspension seats now have the seat belts attached to the seats. But that means extra strong seat mounts.

Personally I loved them, especially on long runs on bitumen roads we call highways, they just took that jarring out from a firm suspension and LT tyres. Wouldn't use them in a 4wd situation, too much movement.
Wife hated them, felt she wasn't in control of the car when driving, and she is prone to car sickness, so wouldn't use it on the passenger seat either, just felt too 'floaty' for her.

Hi Kev,
My wife has a medical condition that made it necessary for me to get one of these seats for the front passenger side of a patrol. There were 3 aspects we were looking at. 1. Easing of the less sharp bumps 2. Easing of sharp bumps like corrigations and 3. the ability to to be held in the bucket style. This 3rd point is a problem for the passenger in conditions where there is a lot of rocking and rolling. As you know, the driver holds onto the steering wheel and also can anticipate the coming thump. Well - after all that, she reckons that there was a substantial improvement. I could definitely feel the easing in bumpy conditions when I used it but as for the rest it does not bother me much. Anyway, her opinion was very valid and very positive. I don't know about the driver seat though. I did not go for it but at Warraweena last week I noticed a rig with both front seats upgraded. Depends on what is there in the 1st place because I was very happy with the patrol seats.
It cost us about $1800 without the lumber pump.
Cheers
Fred

The seat belt does not change at all. From what I can tell there was no change.
cheers
Fred

Kev,
sorry to hear you are not recovering as well as could be expected, seating is so individual that it is impossible to say one seat or another.

All the better range of seating offers what you want, but it will be what your back that that counts.
KAB offer a good range as many others do, just don't get caught up in the racing seat area.

As for your back, mate who had the same OP some years ago, got cranky with the male nurse who was turning him over day after day, asked him to be a little more gentle as it was hurting big time. Nurse laughed big time and said, I will do what ever I want.

Wrong person to say that to,X bouncer, not smart. 12 months later he decked the nurse.

And to all the nurses out there who are great people, we owe you all heaps, for looking after us, as you know there are always those in your profession that will destroy all the good work.

The same guy has been working his own farm now for a long time, so there is light at the end of the tunnel

The Ape

Hi Kev

have two in my isuzu truck - dramatic improvement on standard seats - the wheels are right under the seats - forward control - lots of bang and crash and much less of it transferred to occupants - couldnt be happier - you do need a few inches for the paralleogram type suspension to operate - no other suspension seat that I know fits in the isuzu - may be the bees knees for you but given yr conditions I would be looking for someone with them to have a look and maybe a try before buying.

Hope this helps

Hi Kev M,

In regards to the statos suspension seat, have had the same problem with my back, 5 ops including fusion.

I got a second hand seat from a mate, best thing i have done to my truck ( 80 Series). It made a big difference while driving, made it a lot more comfortable eg stopped all jarring and bouncing around.

I got the proper mounting bracket to fit my truck from opposite lock, it then fits into standard mounting holes.

The seat belt mounting ,stays the same as it was, as you are using the same mounts.

As far as the seat moves up and down a max of 10 cm at the most. The seat has an adjustment that you can use to make it as much spring as you like.

Mine came with the plastic lumbar support and so far have found this to be good enough, I also have the back of the seat fairly straight that suits me best.

I have been using this seat for the last 4 years without a problem and would recommend them to anyone at all.

Hope this helps,

David

Kev.
Do yourself a HUGE favour and mention to your Dr, that you want to go out and play, The biggest issue post fusion is the soft tissue swelling around the transverse processess(more esses than i need i think) and the fact that your muscles will need to retrain themselves as they are under pressure the most whilst in the sitting position. Give it time and the wait will be more than worth it. No one here on the forum would like to hear that as a consequence of jumping the gun that it may put your 4 wheeling days to an end. Another side effect depending on where your fusion was (usually L-4,L-5,S-1) is the ability to keep the missus happy, if you irritate the area(the fusion area) then this may also be a thing of the past. In a nutshell listen to what your body(back) is telling you. The wait I'm sure will be worth it.
Cheers 4 now
Ashley

Kev.
Go easy it all comes to he who waits. the seat issue will work out over the period of your rehab, if you twist or stretch the fusion , then the damage is done and there will be little prospect of the surgeon wanting to touch you again. Take it easy.
Cheers 4 now.
Ashley

Kev,

Im thinking about getting the stratos 3000 LTSS. Have you made a decission yet or found out much more info?

Cheers Shane