Marathon Seat Covers +Review (1 Viewer)

[ERG80]

2/12/21 update: The cruiser has been my daily driver since I installed the seats and the covers still look perfect besides being a little dirty.

On 10-29-18 I installed a set of manual seats from a 1994 into my 1996 fzj80 and wanted to protect them so I began the search for seat covers. I wasn’t a huge fan of the tuffduck color choices and the gt seat covers I have in my t100 just didn’t do it for me. There are a few threads which were very complimentary of marathon seat covers but I couldn’t find any great pictures of them in an 80 and the ones I did see were for gray interiors. I ordered dark tan and coyote color samples Thinking they’d be the closest. Not long after their customer service emailed me saying they were including coffee because it was a popular brown. I settled on dark tan for my cruiser. Here are the three color samples compared to oak and tan from my 96 and a dark brown center console from an earlier 80 sitting on a seat covered in their dark tan.

 

[ERG80]

The seats fit well but there are a few wrinkles which have formed since installation. They look worse in the pics than they are and I can probably work most of them out if I worked on it. The covers don’t move at all crawling in or out and haven’t given me swamp butt even though they’re waterproof.
The cut is perfect for the seat adjustment, headrest holes etc. and the front seat pocket is a nice addition.
Front seats, headrests, and center console cover.

 

[ERG80]

Rear seats are the same. They fit nicely but probably need a little more time adjusting to get the wrinkles out. The cuts are perfect and reinforced around the seat belts. The adjuster holes line up perfectly and tightly. I still need to trim the Velcro.

 

[ERG80]

The only issue I ran into was with the headrest covers. They were cut for a leather power seat and much larger than the manual seat headrests. I contacted Marathon because of the issue and they paid for me to ship a manual headrest to them so they could measure and redo all four headrest covers. They were extremely nice and had the headrests and new covers back in a week.

 

[FJ40JOHN]

Cost? I'm a bit disappointed in my Duluth generic cover and am looking at options.

 

[ERG80]

Cost? I'm a bit disappointed in my Duluth generic cover and am looking at options.

$530 for What I show above. the front covers with optional front and back pockets, headrest covers for both rows, second row seat covers, and center console cover. I caught one of the deals they posted on Facebook for % off and free shipping to get that price.

Info on the seats from marathons site:
Marathon Superhides Seat Covers are Made from genuine Cordura® Nylon fabric available in over 30 solid colors and camouflage patterns. This material is direct dyed to make the color last the longest of any seat cover material available. Cordura® Nylon is some of the worlds most durable fabric being used widely in the outdoor equipment industry, motorcycle pants and jackets, hunting gear and Military backpacks and tactical gear. Our Cordura® Nylon is coated with a polyurethane backer and a DWR top finish for 100% waterproofing.

Marathon Seat Covers are patterned directly off of the seats themselves. This is NOT a one-size-fits-all cover. We take great care and bring each year model vehicle into our shop and custom design each pattern for a precise custom fit. We have our covers cut with an aerospace grade computer controlled machine producing extremely small tolerances. Each cover is sewn by a real person in our factory in Bozeman, MT USA.

Constructed using 100% Cordura® nylon fabric.

• Custom-fit to your seats exactly—no wrinkling or sagging.
• The backs of the seats are fully covered.
• Fast, secure installation—put them on once, not every time you get in your truck!
• Waterproof, rugged, durable, Cordura® nylon protects your seats from hunting dogs and hunting buddies.

Extremely Durable

• 100% Cordura® Nylon. NO stretch cloth or vinyl.
• Wears like iron.
• 100% waterproof Polyurethane backed DWR finish
• Cordura is ideal for high traffic environments with kids and dogs and construction personal.
• Cordura is the toughest material available for seat covers.
  • Three-year limited warranty.
  • Available in camouflage and solid colors.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

I did my front seats 4 years ago, I have loved them. They have held many a spill in place until I could pull over and soak it up. I also love the front pocket. These are great heavy duty seat covers. I need to figure out how to clean them next.

 

[ERG80]

I did my front seats 4 years ago, I have loved them. They have held many a spill in place until I could pull over and soak it up. I also love the front pocket. These are great heavy duty seat covers. I need to figure out how to clean them next.

The front pockets are great and they also offer gun loops on the back covers. I didn’t need them but it’s a unique option if someone does.

Luckily I haven’t had any spills yet but any water that’s gotten on mine has just beaded up until I can get to it.

Cleaning info from the site if you need it.
EASY TO CLEAN

Care and cleaning of your Cordura Superhides Seat Covers is quick and easy.

In most instances simply wiping down the seats with a damp towel will remove dirt, debris and pet hair easily. Seat covers can be cleaned in place with a wet mildly soaped cloth, spray on upholstery cleaners can be used and vacuumed off.

The Cordura Superhides Seat Covers are very difficult to stain. If the material becomes soiled simply
machine-launder with lukewarm water and a mild detergent and drip-dry, do not put them in the dryer. Avoid the use of fabric softener or bleach in the wash. Coil and bind the fastening straps with a rubber band for washing. This way the straps will not flail loosely and perhaps be ripped of in the washer.

 

[mingles]

I've had mine in for 3 yrs and 70K miles. I love them.

They hold up well to dogs claws, mud, hair, and general kid tracked dirt. I have pulled them off and thrown them in the washer and they came out just like new (I rolled up the Velcro like they recommend and air dried them). They are not cheap, but they do wear well.

Here is what they look like on the LX power seats. I did get the "gun loops" and they make good towel, pillow, blanket holders for the backseat passengers.

 

[ERG80]

I've had mine in for 3 yrs and 70K miles. I love them.

They hold up well to dogs claws, mud, hair, and general kid tracked dirt. I have pulled them off and thrown them in the washer and they came out just like new (I rolled up the Velcro like they recommend and air dried them). They are not cheap, but they do wear well.

Here is what they look like on the LX power seats. I did get the "gun loops" and they make good towel, pillow, blanket holders for the backseat passengers.

View attachment 1821065
View attachment 1821066

View attachment 1821067

Great pics!
I like he gun loop idea.

 

[clx16]

I've been looking at these and wondering how the second row worked out. Looks like it is pretty good on the second row. I have replaced the front leather and have been considering covering them with these to keep them nice.

 

[ERG80]

They have a discount code for Veterans Day.

 

[MrMikeyG]

I just ordered a set for my front row. Discount code was like a no sales tax and free shipping promo. I will be sure to update when I get them in hand.

 

[nigelsiam]

Looks nice but the best seat covers I've ever seen/used for price, style and durability are the ones you can get from Cabela's.

Only $19.99 per seat.

 

[MrMikeyG]

Heck, for 20 per seat, if they last a year that's a decent deal. I went this route as a I had already decided to shell out for the Lseat option, but had yet to pull the trigger. I really didn't want to retain leather, but also didn't want to fab something (or in my no shop/welder status), have someone fab something for me for a seat swap. Especially since the wedge or planted brackets will send you towards $300 pretty quick without any seats.

 

[Will Van]

So glad I stumbled upon this. I hate my SOR seat covers, and they weren't cheap. I'm going to give Marathon a hard look. Love the coffee color too.

 

[ERG80]

So glad I stumbled upon this. I hate my SOR seat covers, and they weren't cheap. I'm going to give Marathon a hard look. Love the coffee color too.

I narrowed My choice between the brown SOR and these. Went with these because of the customer service.
Out of curiosity Why don’t you like the SOR’s?

Please post up pictures if you decide to get the coffee seat covers. I thought about that color too.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

I wish you could get the center console cover on it's own... it looks like that is only part of a package... anyone ever contacted them about just the center?

 

[ERG80]

I wish you could get the center console cover on it's own... it looks like that is only part of a package... anyone ever contacted them about just the center?

I asked them:

“Hello ERG80,

Yes they can purchase the console lid only. It is $15 for the lid, $10 for shipping and taxes may be applicable. Single piece orders needs to be placed over the phone with a sales representative.

Thank you!

Vanessa”

 

[Will Van]

Out of curiosity, why don’t you like the SOR’s?

A variety of reasons:

First, their color chart/consistency sucks. The first set of covers I ordered in "brown." When I received them they were closer to an olive drab. Not the coffee/chocolate color pictured on their website. I ended up returning them. During the return process they mentioned something about color variance between dye batches (maybe its on their website?). Regardless, for the price, the color should be spot-on.

"Brown" color on their website...

vs. Olive Drab I received the first order. The color was really hard to capture in a photo, but it was definitely not chocolate brown.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/1993-fzj80-3x-locked-introduction-and-build-thread.1041700/page-3#post-11493682

I still wanted seat covers to protect the leather, so I settled on their tan color. The second set of covers were fine, aside from the color, except they didn't finish the stitching on one of the velcro patches that holds the driver's side seat cover in place. So I had to send that seat cover back for replacement.

The stitching is supposed to go around all four sides of the velcro patch. In the photo you can see they only stitched two sides. When you would try to cinch down the cover, the velcro would just pull away from the canvas seat cover, and you couldn't get any tension on the seat bottom.

Finally, after having used them for a while, the fitment just isn't that great. The DS seat cover moves around a bit. After a few trips in and out of the truck I have to readjust the cover back in place. It constantly requires adjustment. And the velcro loops that hold the cover on the seats just don't work that well. Also, there is no cutout on the second row seating for the locking lever to move the seats to the "down" position. You have to pull the cover off the side to move the seats into the "down" position.

There are also no cutouts for the second row armrests, so you lose that feature with the covers on.

I'll take some photos of the fitment and update when I have a chance.

Really disappointed I didn't know about the Marathon covers because they look way nicer. I may pull the SORs and sell them. Budget is tight right now though.