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Best aftermarket crawler seat, air or mechanical

shaunw7708 ยท 2014-04-22 09:05

I am currently running a D7h, mainly clearing trees off of farmland. The seat in my crawler is a Kab 301 and is a little tired, I could get new cushions but would like a little better seat. Should I go with the mechanical suspension or the air ride, and what brand is the best for Cat replacement seats. My local supplier has suggested an Ultra seat mechanical suspension J732 with medium backrest. Driving over stumps, rock piles,and blow dirt ridges, thought air maybe a little too bouncy

Replies21
  1. #1Nige2014-04-22 10:58

    We install air-suspended seats in all our tractors. The damping mechanism cuts out the bounce to almost nothing and operators swear by them, or at least their spinal columns do..............

  2. #2shaunw77082014-04-22 19:37

    do you know what brand you are using?

  3. #3Nige2014-04-22 20:38

    We use Cat seats. I can get you the Part # if you want. No idea who makes them.

  4. #4shaunw77082014-04-22 21:03

    Yes if you could, then I'll phone cat get a price, around $1500 for aftermarket so if cat is close I'll just get theirs. thanks

  5. #5Nige2014-04-22 21:06

    It'll have to be tomorrow. Can't get on the system right now.

  6. #6Nige2014-04-23 07:52

    The air suspension mechanism is 191-2933. Various offerings in seats. 184-6012 is brown fabric, 160-7186 is the same seat in grey. 159-2950 is the same seat again but in vinyl. All seats mate with the 191-2933 suspension group. You may be able to get something from a dealer to buy the seat and suspension gp together.

  7. #7crookedwrench2014-04-27 08:50

    Crookedwrench I retrofitted a $600 adjustable spring (mechanical) truck seat on my '67 D4D. It has made a huge difference in my comfort level. It requires some effort to remove and service the area under the seat. I can look up manufacturer later if you are interested. [email protected]

  8. #8shaunw77082014-04-27 09:05

    Think I'm going to go with an ultra air seat, called about the cat one, its $2600, the ultra is around $1200, and its the alternative that cat sells here as do the jobber shops.

  9. #9Karl Robbers2014-04-27 10:44

    You won't be sorry opting for an air seat. I assume your chosen seat has its own air compressor. Having run both spring and air seats in a seriously bumpy environvent, (underground mining haul roads), there is no comparison, particularly if multiple operators are utilised.

  10. #10pafarmer2014-04-27 12:42

    The CAT seat is top of the line but the Ultra Air was my choice .....they are a decent seat. I have one in my D6 and it's holding up real well...I have about 1700 hours in it , so far so good....mechanical seat kill my back , go with the Air your back with thank you....

  11. #11catman132014-04-27 20:54

    i put a air ride seat out of a semi truck in our 4 wheeldrive tractor , it has 5 different air adjustments in it, for the air i got a cheap 12v. compressor from harbor freight total cost was about 150.00$ [ best thing ever]

  12. #12shaunw77082014-04-28 08:34

    thought about going with a semi seat, I have a little compressor, but I think I'll buy the proper one from Ultra, $1200 isn't really that bad considering what everything else costs for it. I was going to replace one of the doors and it was $1000 with no glass or seal

  13. #13markshr1512014-04-28 08:54

    I have bought cheep seats and they busted to pieces in weeks.

  14. #14Nige2014-04-28 09:33

    A good-quality suspension seat should have the air compressor built into the suspension mechanism and therefore included in the purchase price of the seat IMHO - effectively it's plug & play, you hook 24V up to it and away you go. Beware of any seats that don't ............... and FWIW I wouldn't even consider using a 12V air compressor on a 24V machine.

  15. #15Cmark2014-04-28 16:19

    To the best of my knowledge, modern Cat seats are made by Sears. http://www.searsseating.com

  16. #16shaunw77082014-04-28 16:58

    The ultra seat is a proper construction seat with a built in 12 or 24 volt compressor. Most highway truck seats don't have compressors built in because they run off the truck compressor. I can't imagine a seat that is built for an air ride cab, driving on paved highways being as tough as a seat designed for construction equipment, let alone the height difference.

  17. #17shaunw77082014-04-28 17:06

    They are handled by ultra in Canada, not sure if it is the same seat or not. I am going to give them a call.

  18. #18Nige2014-04-28 17:35

    I would agree with you 100% ......

  19. #19Nige2014-04-28 17:37

    As usual CM is right on the money ....... :notworthy

  20. #20shaunw77082014-04-28 19:41

    Only two distributors for sears in Canada, and the one out west only sells the cheaper ag version for the D7h because they sell the ultra seat for the high end type for crawlers. The ultra seats are assembled in Canada, out of foreign parts I assume, just like everything else. But looks like thats the way everybody goes around here, unless they want to order out of country. Got one more supplier I will check with first though. Snowed about 10 cm and some rain so won't be working for a bit yet anyways

  21. #21DJK2014-04-28 20:16

    The ultra seats seem to hold up well, even in a wiggle wagon! (Articulating dump truck)