Both my seats in my cat loaders are getting in bad shape. I think the seats are the same in my 963a and the 973. Anyone put after market seats or big truck seats in one of these machines?
we have removed bottom cushions from several of our big trucks and had them re foamed and covered for about $100. Never done the cat loader seat but was thinking about trying to fix it the other day as it is rotting off the frame pretty bad. Curious what others may have done.
Depending on the exact seat it is hard to know if original cushions are available or cost effective. As Wastepro says sometimes you can find a local shop that will recover and replace foam pretty cheap. This is assuming when you say "getting in bad shape" you are just referring to the cushions and not the suspension, assuming they are suspension seats. While we never dealt with this company the place I might start would be this place as they seem to have many type available: https://www.industrialseats.com/CatSearch/41/all
This is just one instance and could very well not be the case most of the time...A few years ago I ran a 963 for a couple of days that had some sort of an old mechanical suspension truck seat retrofitted in it. It was a disaster to operate the machine with that seat in it. IIRC I ended up taking a couple of bungee cords and pulled the seat down and back to try to keep it from bouncing so much. That helped some but still was not very comfortable. If I were you I would seriously look into getting the original seats repaired. Just my $.02
That's how mine are. One broke the slide and won't stay back all the time. Other one has no suspension left and sets low. Cushions aren't very bad but need replaced.
Any chance of full s/n for these machines? many of the Cat seats have parts available to fix them. I know I fix quite a few back at the quarry, most on haul truck and front end loaders. Sometimes it is cheaper to replace everything but other times if you don't mind some work they can be repaired.
Might be worth replacing...GWHammy. I can say that it makes a HUGE difference jumping into a machine with a nice, pretty seat! that dont collapse under you.
Converting the seat section of a highway truck seat assembly is not that tough either. Sometimes comes to make a better seat. I use a local furniture upholstery shop and have had good luck on re-foaming and re-covering.
I redid the seat on the old 941 a year or so back & it does make the operating experience much nicer with a good seat under you for sure! Just used a local upholsterer for that.
Wastpro, Yes it does make a day go better having a comfortable seat! Had one boss that was about the cheapest tight wad there ever was, he might have you spend half a day trying to find a good used front wheel bearing for a Mack Truck. The one thing he just about never hesitated about was when you told him the seat was bad in a machine! Said "You can't expect a guy to sit on a five gallon pail and do a days work!"