Options for Seats and Seatbelts / Harnesses?

[Rick2004LJ]

New to me 2004 TJ Unlimited we got for dedicated off-road rig (no DD for this one). Took it out on 1st shakedown trip off road and came home with a long list, but the most annoying thing we found were the seats and seatbelts (both stock). For comparison we have been wheeling a 2014 Unlimited Willys.
Seats are worn out and uncomfortable (miss the adjustable seats of the '14, dont like slope of seat) but most annoying is how low they sit - I am a little vertically challenged but it really limited vision over the hood when crawling. Not sure if a function of seat cushion breaking down or if that is just how they are mounted?
Second most annoying was how "rough" the seatbelts move/retract and how easily they lock up. Also learned the hard way that if you are sitting at much of an angle they will not release until you reach flat ground.

Seats - really dont want to spend $600 + on aftermarket seats if i can help it. Has anyone had the seats reupholstered with new cushions and did it improve the comfort, and could I have upholsterer add extra cushion to change the height/slope? Also assume there are risers available to raise seat height?

Seat Belts - Are any of the aftermarket replacements any better or operate any different (angle lockup)?
Harness - test drove another guys Jeep with 4pt harness and really liked it. This would fix the "Lock-up" problem. I know correctly mounting a harness is very important with level shoulder mount etc. Are the harness position straps that go around the stock seat/headrest acceptable or do you need seats with the harness slots? Are the Bolt in Harness Bars OK or do they have to be welded in?

What have ya'll done as upgrade?

 

[Rook]

You can definitely get risers to raise the seat. You can also have them reupholstered, however I don't think you're going to find anyone to do that for less than $600. Between time and materials to do so, I'd think it would be a bit over $600. It's worth asking around, but every upholstery shop is going to give you a different cost I suspect.

When you have them reupholstered, they can do anything you want to them. Change the shape of the foam, etc.

The factory seat belts work fine for me. I think @Jerry Bransford uses harnesses, and some others might as well. I can't comment on that one though.

 

[Fouledplugs]

New to me 2004 TJ Unlimited we got for dedicated off-road rig (no DD for this one). Took it out on 1st shakedown trip off road and came home with a long list, but the most annoying thing we found were the seats and seatbelts (both stock). For comparison we have been wheeling a 2014 Unlimited Willys.
Seats are worn out and uncomfortable (miss the adjustable seats of the '14, dont like slope of seat) but most annoying is how low they sit - I am a little vertically challenged but it really limited vision over the hood when crawling. Not sure if a function of seat cushion breaking down or if that is just how they are mounted?

Seats - really dont want to spend $600 + on aftermarket seats if i can help it. Has anyone had the seats reupholstered with new cushions and did it improve the comfort, and could I have upholsterer add extra cushion to change the height/slope? Also assume there are risers available to raise seat height?

What have ya'll done as upgrade?

Common complaint on the late TJ/LJ is the factory seat height. Some might point you to risers. However I would consider that the engineers designed the airbags to deploy with the factory seat height and factory seat in the tub.

Speaking of factory seats, you can most definitely add foam to them yourself if you feel confident in your upholstery craftsmanship. Or pay a reputable shop to do it. I find that you get what you pay for when it comes to furniture. Plus Im a perfectionist so i opt for high end leathers and cloths.

See my post in this thread for an excellent example of nice re-upholstery on factory seats from a JK.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...red-their-factory-tj-seats.10821/#post-170757

 

[Stockli]

Common complaint on the late TJ/LJ is the factory seat height. Some might point you to risers. However I would consider that the engineers designed the airbags to deploy with the factory seat height and factory seat in the tub.

Speaking of factory seats, you can most definitely add foam to them yourself if you feel confident in your upholstery craftsmanship. Or pay a reputable shop to do it. I find that you get what you pay for when it comes to furniture. Plus Im a perfectionist so i opt for high end leathers and cloths.

See my post in this thread for an excellent example of nice re-upholstery on factory seats from a JK.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...red-their-factory-tj-seats.10821/#post-170757

Fouled what brand leathers were those?

 

[Fouledplugs]

Fouled what brand leathers were those?

Arguably one of the top brands. Relicate

 

[Equilibrium31]

I use my Jeep as a DD for the most part right now, but the driver seat in my TJ just always felt too low even though I'm just about 6 ft tall, so I use a seat cushion that's about an inch and a half thick. It's comfy and works perfectly for adjusting the height of the seat.

 

[alittleoff]

When I got my Jeep it came with a Rock Hard Sport Bar kit. The dash bar is positioned a little above the dash and I couldn't see the front of the hood and I'm 5'8". I made my own spacers, 1" in the front and 2" for the back.
Concerning the seat belts, I didn't like the looseness or the lockup. So I just installed a pair of 2" lap belts with the quick release lever for when I'm slow crawlin.
As far as the seats, for the past few years I've been looking hard at the PRP Daily Drivers with the reclining feature, but recently the need for tires came up, so PRP's in the future.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

New to me 2004 TJ Unlimited we got for dedicated off-road rig (no DD for this one). Took it out on 1st shakedown trip off road and came home with a long list, but the most annoying thing we found were the seats and seatbelts (both stock). For comparison we have been wheeling a 2014 Unlimited Willys.
Seats are worn out and uncomfortable (miss the adjustable seats of the '14, dont like slope of seat) but most annoying is how low they sit - I am a little vertically challenged but it really limited vision over the hood when crawling. Not sure if a function of seat cushion breaking down or if that is just how they are mounted?
Second most annoying was how "rough" the seatbelts move/retract and how easily they lock up. Also learned the hard way that if you are sitting at much of an angle they will not release until you reach flat ground.

Seats - really dont want to spend $600 + on aftermarket seats if i can help it. Has anyone had the seats reupholstered with new cushions and did it improve the comfort, and could I have upholsterer add extra cushion to change the height/slope? Also assume there are risers available to raise seat height?

Seat Belts - Are any of the aftermarket replacements any better or operate any different (angle lockup)?
Harness - test drove another guys Jeep with 4pt harness and really liked it. This would fix the "Lock-up" problem. I know correctly mounting a harness is very important with level shoulder mount etc. Are the harness position straps that go around the stock seat/headrest acceptable or do you need seats with the harness slots? Are the Bolt in Harness Bars OK or do they have to be welded in?

What have ya'll done as upgrade?

-The front seat heights were lowered about an inch in 2003 to be better aligned with the air bags. I had a '97 and when I replaced that with an '04, I noticed it immediately even though I'm not especially short at 5-11. So I installed 1" tall spacers between the seat frame and floor.

I've seen a bolt-in shoulder harness support bar that appeared to be strong enough to use, though I can't remember its brand name at the moment. I chose to weld mine in though.

You can kind of see my 1" aluminum spacer pucks under the seat base in the first photo, they really helped.

If you install seat/shoulder harnesses, make sure to also keep the factory seat belts installed. The 3" 4-pt. harnesses I installed are too much of a PITA to use for daily-driver use. I do use just my 3" aircraft style lap belt on trails that are steep enough to lock up my factory 3-pt. harness, that works well and I use that far more than I do the entire harness as shown below.

 

[Rick2004LJ]

-The front seat heights were lowered about an inch in 2003 to be better aligned with the air bags. I had a '97 and when I replaced that with an '04, I noticed it immediately even though I'm not especially short at 5-11. So I installed 1" tall spacers between the seat frame and floor.

I've seen a bolt-in shoulder harness support bar that appeared to be strong enough to use, though I can't remember its brand name at the moment. I chose to weld mine in though.

You can kind of see my 1" aluminum spacer pucks under the seat base in the first photo, they really helped.

If you install seat/shoulder harnesses, make sure to also keep the factory seat belts installed. The 3" 4-pt. harnesses I installed are too much of a PITA to use for daily-driver use. I do use just my 3" aircraft style lap belt on trails that are steep enough to lock up my factory 3-pt. harness, that works well and I use that far more than I do the entire harness as shown below.

View attachment 44975
View attachment 44976

Sounds like 1 option would be to just add a 3” quick release lap belt and use only it when crawling? If I did that would I just add it to same anchor bolts as factory belts - can you use same anchor bolts for both? Just put the new lap belt on top of factory?

Thanks

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Sounds like 1 option would be to just add a 3” quick release lap belt and use only it when crawling? If I did that would I just add it to same anchor bolts as factory belts - can you use same anchor bolts for both? Just put the new lap belt on top of factory?

Your factory seat belts aren't attached to sharable anchors. You'll need to install new anchors for the 3" lap belts which are a great way to go for trail use. You could easily secure them to floor anchors which are simply special eye bolts that pass through a pair of holes in the floor you'd have to drill. Backing plates which come in seat belt anchor kits go under the floor. The only disadvantage to that method of mounting is the seat belt mounts don't move with the seat. I bolted mine to the floor for years but when I installed new seats a few years ago, I moved the mounts to the new seat bases so the seat belt stays in adjustment as the seat is moved up or back. It wasn't easy to do but it was worth it to me.

 

[Mr. Bills]

If you are not going to use a harness and find 3" lap belts uncomfortable, another option is to buy a set of aftermarket 2" lap belts with male connectors that are compatible with the existing inside buckles of your factory 3-point harness, Use the "outers" and toss the inners of the new belts. Be sure the aftermarket belts you purchase are long enough, especially if you use seat risers, and confirm that they are in fact compatible with your existing inner buckles before you start unbolting stuff.

I went this route on my CJ-7, using a set of rear seat lap belts that someone had thrown in the trash at my local jeep shop when they ditched their rear seat. They looked "factory" because they had the Jeep logo which saved me from a ticket when I was pulled over by a cop who noticed that my shoulder harness was not in use. I don't think he really believed that my jeep came that way, but he let it go. However, they were barely long enough and would not have worked with seat risers or if I weighed 20 lbs more.