Rear headrests in a TJ?

[SkylinesSuck]

I used headrests from a Ford SUV of some type. Smaller than an explorer. Welded them in and had an upholstery guy make them look OEM. Wanted the tip forward feature so I could still tumble the seat. Didn't forget rear seat heaters while you're in there!

 

[xXDavidCXx]

would be nice if you could just turn off the front airbag.

What do you mean? I can turn off the front passenger air bag.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

What do you mean? I can turn off the front passenger air bag.

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that feature wasn't universal. My 97 Sahara had it, my 05 and 06 Unlimited's did not. Someone told me once that it has to do with whether there's enough room in the back for a car seat, but if that's the case then all short TJ's should have it and I don't know if that's true. My Silverado has the disable which makes sense because I don't think a rear facing infant type seat would go back there.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I used headrests from a Ford SUV of some type. Smaller than an explorer. Welded them in and had an upholstery guy make them look OEM. Wanted the tip forward feature so I could still tumble the seat. Didn't forget rear seat heaters while you're in there!

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they look great. Edge or Escape I would guess if it's smaller than Explorer. The tilt feature is good, I do fold and tumble mine fairly often.

 

[xXDavidCXx]

I was lucky enough to find a Bestop rear seat with built in head rests.

 

[red02tj]

I was lucky enough to find a Bestop rear seat with built in head rests.

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are you putting adults or kids in it and how much space did you loose?

 

[xXDavidCXx]

are you putting adults or kids in it and how much space did you loose?

No space lost as far as I can tell, head rest only high enough for kids

 

[SkylinesSuck]

Yes, it was an Escape now that you remind me of it, thanks. And for what it's worth, if you want matching upholstery (which I do) I think just having one of those Bestop seats reupholstered to match is probably the easiest way to go. I had already dropped my gas tank and modified the rear seat mounts (with totally overdone reinforcement) to move it back a couple of inches so the boys have enough room sitting behind 6'2" Daddy with his seat slid all the way back. I was determined to work with what I had. I also plan to do the in seat subwoofer mod some day.

And my '98 didn't come with the airbag switch, but I added it. It wasn't plug and play, but damn close to it.

 

[deadbeat son]

that feature wasn't universal. My 97 Sahara had it, my 05 and 06 Unlimited's did not. Someone told me once that it has to do with whether there's enough room in the back for a car seat, but if that's the case then all short TJ's should have it and I don't know if that's true. My Silverado has the disable which makes sense because I don't think a rear facing infant type seat would go back there.

I've seen the airbag switch in '99-'02 TJs, but I've never seen it in the '03-06s. However the manual does show that the switch was offered in the later models, but it was moved to the dash.

Have you seen an '03+ with it? Or a '99-'02 without it?

 

[Coadster32]

The looks of the ones posted here look great!! Well done folks.

I have interest in doing this now as well, and have a question for those who have done it.

I notice driving my TJ, that the tire obstructs quite a bit of the view out back. It looks like these would obstruct even more though. Does it really, or adjusting to them goes pretty easy?

 

[SkylinesSuck]

Mine block a lot of view when up. Another reason to use forward tumbling head rests.

 

[mjonesjr84]

I was lucky enough to find a Bestop rear seat with built in head rests.

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How is the quality of the Bestop seat? I'm debating on one of those or a PRP rear seat w/headrest to match my fronts.

 

[wigsajumper]

How is the quality of the Bestop seat? I'm debating on one of those or a PRP rear seat w/headrest to match my fronts.

It is about as good as the OEM seats. But I am not a big fan of the latching system they used or the seat mounts. I prefer the OEM style.

 

[mjonesjr84]

It is about as good as the OEM seats. But I am not a big fan of the latching system they used or the seat mounts. I prefer the OEM style.

Care to elaborate on the seat mounts? I don't fold my rear seat so the fold/tumble feature doesn't effect me. I know if I go with the PRP seat I'll have to build a custom mount.

 

[wigsajumper]

Care to elaborate on the seat mounts? I don't fold my rear seat so the fold/tumble feature doesn't effect me. I know if I go with the PRP seat I'll have to build a custom mount.

Not able to get pictures from my jeep since it is currently getting new frame sections welded on. But here is a clip from the manual.

The hinge is just that small bar with a eclip. If you take the seat out for any reason you have to pull that clip and risk losing it. Also you will have the posts sticking up which can catch on gear or snag a dog's foot.

The latching system is just loop and hook. I haven't had any issues with it yet I just prefer the oem style. But this seat was the quickest way for me to provide head support for my boys once they were out of highback booster seats.

 

[Jacket4256]

What do you mean? I can turn off the front passenger air bag.

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I have seen that on a lot of TJ but I think I read somewhere that they stopped that somewhere in production my 03 does not have it unfortunately

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Yes, it was an Escape now that you remind me of it, thanks. And for what it's worth, if you want matching upholstery (which I do) I think just having one of those Bestop seats reupholstered to match is probably the easiest way to go. I had already dropped my gas tank and modified the rear seat mounts (with totally overdone reinforcement) to move it back a couple of inches so the boys have enough room sitting behind 6'2" Daddy with his seat slid all the way back. I was determined to work with what I had. I also plan to do the in seat subwoofer mod some day.

And my '98 didn't come with the airbag switch, but I added it. It wasn't plug and play, but damn close to it.

I finally got around to buying some, and I believe these are actually from an Explorer. I couldn't find any Escape headrests that looked like yours but the 2006-2010 Explorer looks like a perfect match.

The sleeve guides that go into the seat back to accept the posts are discontinued, but I poked around in FordPartsGiant until I found something that might work and ordered some. My oldest has outgrown the back on the booster so I need to get this done for him this summer.

There's also some from a 2021 RAM pickup that look like they'd work but they're 3x the price. Many other models I looked at with the fold-down capability had kinks in the posts that made me think the head rest would be too far forward if put on the relatively thin TJ seat back.

It's a 90 minute round trip to my nearest salvage yard, and it's been over 100 all week which was not motivating to go be poking around on an unshaded dirt field littered with hot metal so all my searching was done on eBay.

 

[SkylinesSuck]

I think spending the time to find the fold forward style is going to be worth the searching. Looking forward to seeing somebody with better fabrication skills knock this out!

 

[TJ-RUBI-03]

Here's mine. I picked up a set of Corbeau headrest from Xtreme Terrain as open box items for around $35/each-they were missing the posts/sleeves. I drilled holes in the seat frame then had my nephew weld some angle iron for additional support. They fit really snug and definitely add an extra level of safety for my special needs son in the backseat. BTW, this is my first post, so I added a pic of my 03 Rubicon.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

somebody with better fabrication skills

Now I know you're not talking about me