[ranxerox]

6' 8" And a medium roof, I could not stand fully erect in high roof so I chose a medium roof because I liked the way it looks.
Bucket seats have always hurt my back although the transit seat may not be a bucket seat.

I was just putting the Bus Driver Position out there so anybody else reading this thread might try that first.

 

[ksvan]

I have to imagine riding down the highway in some nice aftermarket seats like Scheel-Mann would make the transit feel very luxurious. It would really bring a build that took a lot of hard work from nice to awesome.

 

[memck]

I don't find the factory leather 10-way seats quite as uncomfortable as some, but I still find myself tempted by the Scheel Mann seats given how much everyone raves about them.

If they came out with a ventilated/cooled version that might be enough to convince me to drop the $$$ and make the switch.

 

[johnfox123]

To those who have installed Scheel-Mann's, did you get double arm rests? According to this video:

the double armrests fit. But I'd love to hear from others who have also installed them to make sure there's no clearance issues.

 

[Jordan Motown]

I was surprised when Toby at Scheal-mann said the double arm rest fits, but if he's selling the things I trust him. Shipping says it should arrive tomorrow, installed Monday with the help of my Pops. Will keep you updated!

Jordan

 

[Orygun Tranzit]

I am also wanting the Scheel-man seats. They are just north of me in Portlandia. It is a massive investment @$5k for a pair. Corbeau is also a consideration @half that price, but they say no fit! Scheel-Man it seems to be

 

[GotDiesel?]

I would need to know whether they would still work with the swivel base and can they be had without arm rests. We swivel the seats often to better use the build out space. I have removed the arm rests from the stock seats to make getting from the driving position to the rear of the van easier. Cannot go back on these uses.

 

[Tuckie]

I'm currently waffling between the Scheel-mann or the OEM 10 way leather seats... Has anyone done a comfort comparison of the two?

Powered seats are not a must, but I'm not sure how annoying the recline knob is going to be for swiveling them and general use.

Also, which specific model are people going with? I assume the Vario F is the best fit for most cases, but I might be mistaken.

 

[Damaskinos_of_Athens]

Those seats do look good.

Not a fan of the OEM seats either.

I keep the seat fully reclined and sit on a big fat butt pillow.

 

[Covid van de Mic]

I don't have back issues ... in any case, with car seats YMMV. I think the OEM leather seats are the most comfortable seats of any vehicle that I've owned in the past 35 years for all day comfort. My only complaint with them is the lack of any appreciable bolsters in the bottom cushion. Go around a corner too fast and I feel like I'll slide off the seat if it weren't for the seatbelt.

I do like to sit upright, and my seat is raised high enough that when my feet are off the pedals and adaptive cruise is turned on, my knees are at close to a 90 degree angle. The seat pan is close to level so my thighs are close to horizontal, but tipped back enough gravity keeps me in the seat. My seat back isn't bolt upright, but it's pretty close. My steering wheel is adjusted so that when my hands are on the wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock'ish my elbows are close to 90 degrees (and most importantly, the steering wheel is close enough to my knee that I can brace against it and not put my drink down to eat my Big Mac with the other hand). My seating position is a lot like my office ergo that I sit in all day long.

I can drive my Subaru all day (more like sitting on the floor with my legs stretched out in front), but it isn't nearly as comfortable.

I don't think the OEM seat will look as nice down the road as our other cars though ... even new the bottom cushion looked pretty worn/stretched/janky, but as far as comfort goes, I'd take it over any other seats I've ever sat in.

 

[jondrums]

Anyone have concern about the loss of the airbags in the stock seats for side impact protection? I was thinking about aftermarket seats, but this is kind of a big deal for me from the safety side of things.

 

[ArgonautVans]

I still find this fascinating. The transit seats are the best seats I’ve ever sat in for my back. (I have two herniated discs, lowest two). Most other car seats (fancy, “comfy”, power leather seats, from multiple brands) cause me agony on long road trips. Not the transit seats. They let be have a great upright and good posture with good support and my feet firmly on the floor.

Maybe it’s because I have 10 way power seats that they’re better than the manual Transit seats?

A lumbar support pillow from Amazon also helps a lot, so I’d recommend people try that before buying a $2500 seat.

Everlasting Comfort Lumbar Support Pillow for Office Chair, Car, Desk - Back Pain, Posture Cushion https://a.co/d/9IF3XZS

This helps a ton in all seats for me, especially planes

 

[simple]

I have the manual seats in a crew van. They are the worst seats ever. Adding the swivel platform made it worse. I'm ready to put a VW GTi seat in mine. I don't care about losing the airbag or the dash light being on.

 

[pbethel]

I have the manual seats in a crew van. They are the worst seats ever. Adding the swivel platform made it worse. I'm ready to put a VW GTi seat in mine. I don't care about losing the airbag or the dash light being on.

You won't get lay down passenger car seating no matter what seats you put in. Still going to be upright bus driver position but in seats designed for reclined driving.
Let us know how it works out.

 

[Orygun Tranzit]

I'm currently waffling between the Scheel-mann or the OEM 10 way leather seats... Has anyone done a comfort comparison of the two?

Powered seats are not a must, but I'm not sure how annoying the recline knob is going to be for swiveling them and general use.

Also, which specific model are people going with? I assume the Vario F is the best fit for most cases, but I might be mistaken.
[/ leather and the Scheel-Mann?

I'm currently waffling between the Scheel-mann or the OEM 10 way leather seats... Has anyone done a comfort comparison of the two?

Powered seats are not a must, but I'm not sure how annoying the recline knob is going to be for swiveling them and general use.

Also, which specific model are people going with? I assume the Vario F is the best fit for most cases, but I might be mistaken.

Have you done a cost analysis between the two seats? Is the stock leather seat cheaper than the Scheel-Mann?

 

[Vanaroo]

I have the manual seats in a crew van. They are the worst seats ever. Adding the swivel platform made it worse. I'm ready to put a VW GTi seat in mine. I don't care about losing the airbag or the dash light being on.

You may already know this but since you said "the" airbag I wasn't sure. But anyway, when the airbag dash light is on due to a fault in any one part of the system, NONE of the airbags will work at all. IOW the whole system goes down. So you would be driving a vehicle with zero functioning airbags.

At least on the older vehicles I'm used to, you can fix that by "letting the system know" that the one airbag you have removed is still there (even though it isn't) and then the rest of the system keeps functioning. Not sure if new vehicles can do that, but perhaps others who have installed the Scheel-Mann seats have done that. (If this can be done, then onnce the light is off and the system is happy, then you would just be missing that one particular seat airbag vs. the whole system -- if it works like older systems.)

 

[simple]

Are you 100% positive that is the case in a modern Transit?

I've seen that on older vans like my Econoline but I would expect systems now to be smarter than that.

 

[Vanaroo]

Are you 100% positive that is the case in a modern Transit?

I've seen that on older vans like my Econoline but I would expect systems now to be smarter than that.

I would say 99% sure but not 100% sure for a Transit. 100% sure for an E-Series, a 2014 Subaru, or a mid-2000's Honda CR-V.

 

[Vanaroo]

Okay, now I'd say I'm 100% sure.

Here is a link to a "Just Answer" query for a 2015 Transit airbag issue, answered by a Ford mechanic. Excerpt:

"As for the functionality, as long as the light is on the airbag system is shut down."

Link to convo:

https://www.justanswer.com/ford/apwfa-2015-ford-transit-van-airbag-warning-light-on-passenger.html

But of course if you find out different, please report back. You actually have a Transit in hand and I don't.

 

[carringb]

I did the upgrade to the Econoline a few weeks ago. I actually didn't find the stock seats uncomfortable until 400,000 miles. And by a half-million, they were completely shot.

IMO - if you are a 25-75th percentile person with proportional limbs, you probably won't notice a dramatic improvement compared to a new stock high-trim factory seat. If you fall out of that range, you have less-than-typical proportions, you have the base-level factory seats, or have a lot of miles on the factory seats (Transit seats seem to wear faster than Econoline seats), then I think you'd find a substantial improvement with the Scheel-Mann seats.

One note of caution... I normally like highly-bolstered seats. I would caution against high seat-bolsters in a van, because you tend to swivel for egress. I've gotten used to the higher bolsters, but mine aren't the tall ones, plus I'm pretty limber.

Plus, they look cool!