Replacing my tired uncomfortable seats with PRP suspension seats

Jerry Bransford

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Fleming Island FL
I often come home from several days on steep off-camber & rocky trails with a tired & aching back. My TJ was off-camber enough that my OE seats just weren’t able to hold me well enough and my back was sore & tired by the end of the day. Not to mention the shocks & jolts from the rock crawling took their toll… my back was toast by the time I sat down at the campfire. It was then I decided to look into better and more supportive seats.

It didn't take much research to figure out that a suspension seat with better bolstering looked like the way to go. Bolstering is simply a fancy word for support which I needed more of. Suspension seats have an internal support system that helps to isolate you which reduces the shocks & jolts of a rough trail. So this type of suspension seat doesn’t use shock absorbers like make truck seats do, it uses an internal support system I show in photos further below.

Deeply bolstered racing seats first caught my eye; they were initially very impressive to sit in and they really held me in. Then reality set in, that wouldn’t be the best choice of seat for me since I have to get in & out of the Jeep all day. The high bolstering of a true racing seat is a PITA to have to climb in and out of repeatedly.

There were several brands that had the type of seat I felt would work well for me, After a lot of research, I zeroed in on PRP Seats after reading many positive posts & opinions on their seat design & quality. Then I discovered they were just 45 minutes up the road from me in Temecula California so I took a quick drive up to see their seats.

PRPBuildingExterior_zps9e0282b6.jpg


They have a lot of seat models available to choose from, that is for sure.

Showroom1WideFromDoor_zps37cec73d.jpg


Showroom4FixedBackSeats_zpsdf58bc08.jpg


It wasn’t long before I picked out PRP’s Daily Driver seat shown below. It was designed for weekend warriors like me who have to climb in & out too often to use a pure racing seat. The Daily Driver’s bolstering & seatshape was just what I wanted. I also chose the fixed seat back angle since it was less expensive. PRP makes adjustable seat back angle seats but after thinking that decision over for several weeks & seeing how seldom I adjusted my OE seat back angle, it was an easy decision to go with the fixed seat back design.

DailyDriverShowroom_zpsa90744bf.jpg


I had the pleasure of meeting PRP’s founder Aaron Wedeking that day, he founded the company in 1997. Aaron was an offroad racer whose seat manufacturer was late with his seats for the upcoming 1997 Glen Helen race. His seat manufacturer said his seats were anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months out so Aaron decided to make his own. He tore various racing seats apart to see how they were made, figured out that he could do better than that, and the rest is history.

Aaron graciously gave me free run of the manufacturing floor so I was able to see how their seats are put together. Close examination of the frames showed first-rate welding, fabrics were high quality, so it was clear they had figured out how to make a comfortable high quality seat that is more than up to what we like to do with them. Hardware is up to the intended use with Grade 8 nuts & bolts.

DailyDriverSeatFrame1_zps9039b163.jpg


DailyDriverSeatFrameBack_zpsaf597408.jpg


DailyDriverSeatFrameBottom_zps5784e039.jpg


The above three pics show the Daily Driver’s suspension seat frame. It is the combination of the steel frame design, construction, vinyl coated nylon, and the 750 lb. parachute cord that gives the seat its shockabsorbing qualities. There is ‘give’ in this type of seat design which makes rough, bumpy, and sometimes tortuous offroad courses far easier on the body.

Based on my research and what I saw that day at their manufacturing location, I placed a pair of Daily Driver seats on order. The standard width 22" wide Daily Driver seat is perfect for me at 190 lbs. but not always knowing who might be riding shotgun, I chose the 2” wider 24" wide version for the passenger seat.

The next most difficult part of the order was choosing the fabric & colors, they have an unbelievable selection from simulated suedes & leathers to tweeds or all vinyl. I ordered mine with Black Vinyl for the sides & back, and a mix of Black and Gray Tweed in the seating area which will brighten up my dull all black interior. Most of their seats are custom made to order which means you don’t have to accept cookie-cutter colors & fabrics.

The below is part of their manufacturing floor… one large section of it is devoted entirely to custom orders. For custom orders, PRP assigns a person to that seat to build it from start to finish. They found by doing it that way instead of via a less costly assembly line type of construction significantly improves quality and order accuracy.

SewingRoom1_zps84d03b3f.jpg


LacingBottomOn_zpsf05977dc.jpg


Aaron & I talked about quality & he was proud of his, pointing out for example the huge contract they won to build seats for Polaris who has “extremely stringent” quality requirements. PRP had to come up with processes to satisfy Polaris on their Quality Control, Documentation, and Work Flow procedures. Those processes turned out to be so good that PRM uses them for building all of their seats.

I noticed lots of cool pics on their walls before I left for home, here are two of my favorites…

NicoleJohnsonTubes_zpsae2f0f90.jpg


ShaunRacing_zps4b4a0082.jpg


Not long afterward, I got an email from PRP that my seats were ready. WOOHOO!!!

That’s my TJ at their back door…

BackDoorWithMyTJ_zps99e69e39.jpg


And there they are… I was stoked!

BaggedUpAtPRP_zpsc0927195.jpg


PRP makes seat adapter brackets for various vehicles and Jeeps so I picked up two adapter bracket kitsdesigned for 2003 and newer Wrangler TJs. Their adapter brackets made installing my seats a bolt-in process.

My tired old OE seats with their Bestop covers.

OldSeats_zps58e07691.jpg


Removing my old seats didn’t take long, four floor bolts hold each seat in.

RemovingFrontBolt_zps68ce6bf6.jpg


RemovingRearBolt_zps292089f7.jpg


The amount of crud that was under and behind my seats was gross, I spent 30 minutes with a vacuumcleaning things up.

EmptyInteriorDriversSideWit_zpseccb498c.jpg


PRP’s seats bolt to the factory seat base so they slide forward & back as normal. If your seat base can also flip forward, it will still be able to but you’ll have to reach underneath to release the flip forward lever.

Removing the seats from their bases on 2003 and newer TJs has a little more to it than when I installed seatsinto my previous ’97 TJ. Keep removing bolts & the seat will come off. There won’t be much of your old seatleft afterward if you have a 2003 or newer, it probably can’t be considered sellable by the time it is off the seat base.

½” bolts hold the OE seats to the seat bases. After they are removed, those same bolts will be reused to hold the new PRP seats to the seat base.

RemovingTopSeatToBaseBolt_zps6f22768e.jpg


The below is what your seat base will look like once it is ready to mount PRP’s adapter brackets. The adapterbrackets are laying to the left of the seat base.

SeatFrameSeparateAdaptersLa_zps561840cd.jpg


The adapter brackets are bolted onto the seat base & the seat is ready for mounting. Pay attention to the photograph on PRP’s supplied instructions that how the brackets face to make sure their width matches the seat width. The hardware supplied is all Grade 8.

SeatReadyForMountingWithFra_zps71dac323.jpg


OldSeatFrameWithAdapters_zpsfdaed0ce.jpg


MountingNewSeatToBaseTighte_zpsea4c30b7.jpg


The inboard side of the seatbelt mounts to the seat on 2003 and newer TJs. It was mounted to the floor in my previous ’97 TJ. So if you have a newer TJ, you’ll need to add a simple angle-bracket to hold the inboard seat belt. This is how I did mine using Grade 8 bolts and nyloc nuts. I used an older Ford Mustang inner seat belt ordered from a classic Mustang parts website.

SeatBeltMountCloseUp_zps8c2d63ec.jpg


SeatBeltMountedNewSeat_zpsef248788.jpg


I'm pumped, the seat is ready to be bolted in.

PRPOnBaseReadyToInstall_zps01d62dd3.jpg


PRPOnBaseCloseUpReadyToInst_zpsc5f28550.jpg


NewSeatsInstalledWideViewDr_zps561783cf.jpg


That color combination really brightened up my interior, compare it to the ‘before’ photo above.

PRP added options to my seats to make the use of 5-pt. seat harnesses easy. They added two different ways to accommodate shoulder harnesses… via the narrower slots in the seats or by the wider straps to the side of the headrest. These are optional, order them in the seat if you want them. 5-pt. harness openings aren’t standard, they are optional.

NewCrotchStrapOpening_zpsa162f287.jpg


SeatTopShoulderHarnessOpeni_zps3ef1033a.jpg


After driving with the seats for two weeks, going with the Daily Driver model was a great decision. They are unbeliveably comfortable, hold me in securely, and I already feel more relaxed just driving on normal roads. They'll get their first trail test in two weeks so I can't wait to see how they feel on the trail. I'm betting my tired back after a day on a rough trail are over. Not to mention how great they look... my TJ looks downright inviting now!

I give them two thumbs up, I love these things. If you’re looking at new seats or have a tired back at the end of the day & never thought about new seats to help, its my personal opinion that this type of seat would be a good decision.

PRP’s website is at http://prpseats.com
 
Nice write up and awesome seats! So I have a 97 TJ with the taller of the tj seats, how do these compare to the height of the stock seats? I'm 6'2 and have to hunch down a little sometimes and I wish I had a lower seat.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
I often come home from several days on steep off-camber & rocky trails with a tired & aching back. My TJ was off-camber enough that my OE seats just weren’t able to hold me well enough and my back was sore & tired by the end of the day. Not to mention the shocks & jolts from the rock crawling took their toll… my back was toast by the time I sat down at the campfire. It was then I decided to look into better and more supportive seats.

It didn't take much research to figure out that a suspension seat with better bolstering looked like the way to go. Bolstering is simply a fancy word for support which I needed more of. Suspension seats have an internal support system that helps to isolate you which reduces the shocks & jolts of a rough trail. So this type of suspension seat doesn’t use shock absorbers like make truck seats do, it uses an internal support system I show in photos further below.

Deeply bolstered racing seats first caught my eye; they were initially very impressive to sit in and they really held me in. Then reality set in, that wouldn’t be the best choice of seat for me since I have to get in & out of the Jeep all day. The high bolstering of a true racing seat is a PITA to have to climb in and out of repeatedly.

There were several brands that had the type of seat I felt would work well for me, After a lot of research, I zeroed in on PRP Seats after reading many positive posts & opinions on their seat design & quality. Then I discovered they were just 45 minutes up the road from me in Temecula California so I took a quick drive up to see their seats.

View attachment 37094

They have a lot of seat models available to choose from, that is for sure.

View attachment 37107

View attachment 37108

It wasn’t long before I picked out PRP’s Daily Driver seat shown below. It was designed for weekend warriors like me who have to climb in & out too often to use a pure racing seat. The Daily Driver’s bolstering & seatshape was just what I wanted. I also chose the fixed seat back angle since it was less expensive. PRP makes adjustable seat back angle seats but after thinking that decision over for several weeks & seeing how seldom I adjusted my OE seat back angle, it was an easy decision to go with the fixed seat back design.

View attachment 37085

I had the pleasure of meeting PRP’s founder Aaron Wedeking that day, he founded the company in 1997. Aaron was an offroad racer whose seat manufacturer was late with his seats for the upcoming 1997 Glen Helen race. His seat manufacturer said his seats were anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months out so Aaron decided to make his own. He tore various racing seats apart to see how they were made, figured out that he could do better than that, and the rest is history.

Aaron graciously gave me free run of the manufacturing floor so I was able to see how their seats are put together. Close examination of the frames showed first-rate welding, fabrics were high quality, so it was clear they had figured out how to make a comfortable high quality seat that is more than up to what we like to do with them. Hardware is up to the intended use with Grade 8 nuts & bolts.

View attachment 37082

View attachment 37083

View attachment 37084

The above three pics show the Daily Driver’s suspension seat frame. It is the combination of the steel frame design, construction, vinyl coated nylon, and the 750 lb. parachute cord that gives the seat its shockabsorbing qualities. There is ‘give’ in this type of seat design which makes rough, bumpy, and sometimes tortuous offroad courses far easier on the body.

Based on my research and what I saw that day at their manufacturing location, I placed a pair of Daily Driver seats on order. The standard width 22" wide Daily Driver seat is perfect for me at 190 lbs. but not always knowing who might be riding shotgun, I chose the 2” wider 24" wide version for the passenger seat.

The next most difficult part of the order was choosing the fabric & colors, they have an unbelievable selection from simulated suedes & leathers to tweeds or all vinyl. I ordered mine with Black Vinyl for the sides & back, and a mix of Black and Gray Tweed in the seating area which will brighten up my dull all black interior. Most of their seats are custom made to order which means you don’t have to accept cookie-cutter colors & fabrics.

The below is part of their manufacturing floor… one large section of it is devoted entirely to custom orders. For custom orders, PRP assigns a person to that seat to build it from start to finish. They found by doing it that way instead of via a less costly assembly line type of construction significantly improves quality and order accuracy.

View attachment 37105

View attachment 37087

Aaron & I talked about quality & he was proud of his, pointing out for example the huge contract they won to build seats for Polaris who has “extremely stringent” quality requirements. PRP had to come up with processes to satisfy Polaris on their Quality Control, Documentation, and Work Flow procedures. Those processes turned out to be so good that PRM uses them for building all of their seats.

I noticed lots of cool pics on their walls before I left for home, here are two of my favorites…

View attachment 37091

View attachment 37106

Not long afterward, I got an email from PRP that my seats were ready. WOOHOO!!!

That’s my TJ at their back door…

View attachment 37080

And there they are… I was stoked!

View attachment 37081

PRP makes seat adapter brackets for various vehicles and Jeeps so I picked up two adapter bracket kitsdesigned for 2003 and newer Wrangler TJs. Their adapter brackets made installing my seats a bolt-in process.

My tired old OE seats with their Bestop covers.

View attachment 37093

Removing my old seats didn’t take long, four floor bolts hold each seat in.

View attachment 37097

View attachment 37098

The amount of crud that was under and behind my seats was gross, I spent 30 minutes with a vacuumcleaning things up.

View attachment 37086

PRP’s seats bolt to the factory seat base so they slide forward & back as normal. If your seat base can also flip forward, it will still be able to but you’ll have to reach underneath to release the flip forward lever.

Removing the seats from their bases on 2003 and newer TJs has a little more to it than when I installed seatsinto my previous ’97 TJ. Keep removing bolts & the seat will come off. There won’t be much of your old seatleft afterward if you have a 2003 or newer, it probably can’t be considered sellable by the time it is off the seat base.

½” bolts hold the OE seats to the seat bases. After they are removed, those same bolts will be reused to hold the new PRP seats to the seat base.

View attachment 37099

The below is what your seat base will look like once it is ready to mount PRP’s adapter brackets. The adapterbrackets are laying to the left of the seat base.

View attachment 37102

The adapter brackets are bolted onto the seat base & the seat is ready for mounting. Pay attention to the photograph on PRP’s supplied instructions that how the brackets face to make sure their width matches the seat width. The hardware supplied is all Grade 8.

View attachment 37103

View attachment 37092

View attachment 37088

The inboard side of the seatbelt mounts to the seat on 2003 and newer TJs. It was mounted to the floor in my previous ’97 TJ. So if you have a newer TJ, you’ll need to add a simple angle-bracket to hold the inboard seat belt. This is how I did mine using Grade 8 bolts and nyloc nuts.

View attachment 37100

View attachment 37101

I'm pumped, the seat is ready to be bolted in.

View attachment 37096

View attachment 37095

View attachment 37090

That color combination really brightened up my interior, compare it to the ‘before’ photo above.

PRP added options to my seats to make the use of 5-pt. seat harnesses easy. They added two different ways to accommodate shoulder harnesses… via the narrower slots in the seats or by the wider straps to the side of the headrest. These are optional, order them in the seat if you want them. 5-pt. harness openings aren’t standard, they are optional.

View attachment 37089

View attachment 37104

After driving with the seats for two weeks, going with the Daily Driver model was a great decision. They are unbeliveably comfortable, hold me in securely, and I already feel more relaxed just driving on normal roads. They'll get their first trail test in two weeks so I can't wait to see how they feel on the trail. I'm betting my tired back after a day on a rough trail are over. Not to mention how great they look... my TJ looks downright inviting now!

I give them two thumbs up, I love these things. If you’re looking at new seats or have a tired back at the end of the day & never thought about new seats to help, its my personal opinion that this type of seat would be a good decision.

PRP’s website is at http://prpseats.com
Never would have figured you to be a TT Submariner guy.
 
Ha yep, bought that 28 years ago when I had a little more $$$. It's my daily time keeper, even when working on the Jeep. :)
Yep, these 5 digit references are the best. I have the SS version, it's an invincable little tank that can take a beating! I used to wear mine all the time working on my vehicles, but now I tens to misplace my phone a lot, so I wear my Garmin watch so I can locate my phone via bluetooth.
 
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@Jerry Bransford I either hate you or love you for pointing out PRP seats to me and I'm not quite sure which emotion it is, I'll blame that on my bipolar ;)

These seats are INCREDIBLE! I'm a fan boy of theirs now after reading up on their materials and quality and I don't even have the seats. It's a huge deal for them to be acquired by Bestop too so it's good to see their hard work rewarded.

I have been looking for seats to replace my very tall 97 model seats and I think these might be what I save for. Can you please keep this updated on how the fabric types you chose hold up? I am in Vegas, aka Satan's Butthole, where it gets 118 so I am thinking that vinyl is out so that I don't burn my legs when I'm in my daisy dukes so that leaves me with the fabric options like Cordura or tweed which will be cooler in the sun. I wish they had a really good FAQ/material comparison that would outline pros and cons. What what you have changed now that you have them, If anything?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
My seating area is tweed. What you DON'T want to have added is piping in the seams as I ordered in my seats. The piping doesn't hold up where you slide over it getting in/out, I had to cut my piping off there as it exposed the inside plastic 'rope' under the piping's vinyl cover. PRP no longer recommends piping for their seats for that reason, at least those with higher than normal bolsters like the Daily Drivers use. For your hot Vegas conditions, I'd use a fabric like tweed any place you'll touch it... which basically says vinyl on the back & sides is fine. My tweed is holding up fine. Great seats, love them!
 
Nice seats. I’d like to see how the folding seats operate with the fold forward function of our Jeeps. My back seats get used a lot so I would not like to lose that option.
 
@Jerry Bransford I either hate you or love you for pointing out PRP seats to me and I'm not quite sure which emotion it is, I'll blame that on my bipolar ;)

These seats are INCREDIBLE! I'm a fan boy of theirs now after reading up on their materials and quality and I don't even have the seats. It's a huge deal for them to be acquired by Bestop too so it's good to see their hard work rewarded.

I have been looking for seats to replace my very tall 97 model seats and I think these might be what I save for. Can you please keep this updated on how the fabric types you chose hold up? I am in Vegas, aka Satan's Butthole, where it gets 118 so I am thinking that vinyl is out so that I don't burn my legs when I'm in my daisy dukes so that leaves me with the fabric options like Cordura or tweed which will be cooler in the sun. I wish they had a really good FAQ/material comparison that would outline pros and cons. What what you have changed now that you have them, If anything?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

PRP will send you free fabric samples if you email them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
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My PRP Seats are in thanks to @Jerry Bransford

They really are comfortable and seem well made. The weather in the Northeast has been wet\cold the past week or so, I can't wait for a nice day to take them out for a test drive.

PRP must be making a killing on those adapter brackets but they made the job so easy it was worth it.

IMG_0700.jpg
 
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Hey folks,

Jerry, thanks for taking the time to do the write-up! I'm curious how the tweed or Cordura is to keep clean. I ride in a lot of dusty conditions, which makes me want vinyl for easy cleaning. But I'm in Texas and that vinyl will surely get uncomfortably hot! So while I've made the decision to get some PRPs, I have a tough decision ahead of me regarding material selection. Anyone care to share their experiences? Thanks!
 
Hey folks,

Jerry, thanks for taking the time to do the write-up! I'm curious how the tweed or Cordura is to keep clean. I ride in a lot of dusty conditions, which makes me want vinyl for easy cleaning. But I'm in Texas and that vinyl will surely get uncomfortably hot! So while I've made the decision to get some PRPs, I have a tough decision ahead of me regarding material selection. Anyone care to share their experiences? Thanks!
@Jerry Bransford
 
I purposely avoided vinyl seating surfaces which would be really uncomfortable in hot or humid conditions.

My cloth seating surface is holding up well, it has barely had any care since installing the seats. They might have been kinda vacuumed a couple times but that's it. And pretty much every trail I do is really, really dusty.

My only recommendation is to avoid piping between the seams. My piping is pretty much destroyed and PRP no longer recommends it for that reason.