Scheelman seats, who to go to? (1 Viewer)

[repentsinner]

Anyone who wants to test out the Scheel-Man Vario F is welcome to sit in my troopy! come down to Oceanside, California.

I'll take you up on this (though it'll be come up to Oceanside, I'm in Normal Heights)! Have been looking at the Vario F. Are both the Scheel Mann and Recaros all manual adjust? I have a 24V system, and 12V seats sound like yet another wiring hassle.

 

[prwillard2]

I'll take you up on this (though it'll be come up to Oceanside, I'm in Normal Heights)! Have been looking at the Vario F. Are both the Scheel Mann and Recaros all manual adjust? I have a 24V system, and 12V seats sound like yet another wiring hassle.

shoot me a message and we can discuss via text.

Mine are manual adjust.

 

[joekatana]

They're super nice and super pricy

Back in the day I pulled a pair of sweet seats out of a late 80's GTI and mounted them in my 40 for under $200 at the time

Drove across the country and back in that GTI seat in total comfort....aside from the mud tires, 90 degree temps....and lack of radio except for an am/fm walkman that sqwauked about tornado warnings incessently from one end of nebraska to the other.

I'm getting ready to re-rebuild that 40 and pondering what will replace those old GTI seats

I'd love a pair of Scheels and I may go that route if I ever plant my backside in one.....but 5k buys a lot of iron

Get a set of Recaro seats , your old GTI seats where made by Recaro

 

[dbbowen]

Get a set of Recaro seats , your old GTI seats where made by Recaro

hard agree. I have SM seats. once i sat in a set of recaros in a restored defender, im pretty bummed on my SM seats

 

[joekatana]

hard agree. I have SM seats. once i sat in a set of recaros in a restored defender, im pretty bummed on my SM seats

I tried Scheelmann seats in my troopy and yes they are good but the Recaro's fit me better at half the cost

 

[dogfishlake]

Anyone have a Scheel Mann VarioF in a 75 series? I’m wondering how they fit in the smallish cab.

The "Sportline " seat is 2" thinner on the seat back by eliminating the lumbar. That may or may not be a big deal to you. They may find their way into my fj45 someday to gain some room. I have the Vario XXL in my 61, if you want a thickness measurement at any point on the seat back, let me know. They are near the top for mods I took a chance on and won big in satisfaction

 

[wngrog]

The "Sportline " seat is 2" thinner on the seat back by eliminating the lumbar. That may or may not be a big deal to you. They may find their way into my fj45 someday to gain some room. I have the Vario XXL in my 61, if you want a thickness measurement at any point on the seat back, let me know. They are near the top for mods I took a chance on and won big in satisfaction

I have set in my 60. The best. We are going to try one in this 75 I have coming. The owner likes to sit more upright that I do. I think it will work out.

 

[dogfishlake]

I absolutely love my Scheel Mann seats and they are going in my wife's 40 directly. That said, it is tough to dislike Recaro since they helped get the Porsche 356 off the ground! I don't see a loser in this race. The big deal is convincing yourself to come off the cash. As I age it becomes money well spent!

 

[Lo2aY]

Scheel Mann international distributor here.

They are one of the best seats for the 70 series without a doubt.

A few things to keep in mind:

the 70 sits tall compared to other vehicles, so you want the seat to be as flat as possible for getting in and out. The vario F is a great option here.

The seats can be configured to be a close match of the interior (personal taste, but black doesn't look good inside the 70). So the S158 and grays are all nice. We configure both specifically for the 70.

You can fit two seats and a center console fridge. this is the most popular option for my customers. They want a frdige/cup holder between the two scheel manns. With that, you can also fit one armrest on the driver's side (LHS) and the passenger will have the fridge closer to the seat.

Delta makes great utilitarian covers for the scheel manns. You can also attach things to it so it keeps your things well organized.

The bottom part of the seat is quickly removable to give access to the area under the seat.

Whatever seat you choose. Just make sure the seat part is flat so that it's easy to get in and out.

I have them in my 80, 74 and 75 Troopy. All are Vario F

My 78 Troopy has the recaro Ergomed E. I wish I didn't go for this seat. It's good when your driving. But getting in and out is not that great.

I have the recaro Ergomed in my 62. and because of the height (car sits lower than the troopy). Getting in and out is much better in the 62 compared to the 7x

 

[coldtaco]

Seat back is too thick for the 75 Ute unfortunately. Still trying to decide if I want to keep mine or sell them. They are a nicely made seat though.

 

[prwillard2]

Scheel Mann international distributor here.

They are one of the best seats for the 70 series without a doubt.

A few things to keep in mind:

You can fit two seats and a center console fridge. this is the most popular option for my customers. They want a frdige/cup holder between the two scheel manns. With that, you can also fit one armrest on the driver's side (LHS) and the passenger will have the fridge closer to the seat.

What center console fridge works between the seats? I've been looking for one forever.

 

[Lo2aY]

What center console fridge works between the seats? I've been looking for one forever.

Dometic CFF 12

Dometic CFF 12 - Portable fridge or freezer, 13 l

www.dometic.com

 

[prwillard2]

Dometic CFF 12

Dometic CFF 12 - Portable fridge or freezer, 13 l

www.dometic.com

Where are you finding this in the United States?

 

[Lo2aY]

You may want to check with Dometic in the US. Not really sure who sells it there.

 

[Whoosh]

Please allow me to add some experience at an angle, so to speak.
I've kept the original seats, but:
I've had a shop look at them where they make hand crafted solutions for handicapped people. I simple asked what they would advise.
The specialist there started with telling me that the chairs were fine in principle - no need to consider any fancy stuff.
He did observe that some steel links in the driver seat were broken, so that was an easy welding repair.

The main thing was, he added small inflatable/deflatable cushions at the lower back of both chairs, just above the hips. They each consist of three interconnected air bodies, plus a hand sized bellow to inflate te cushion and a push valve to let the air out. We are therefore able to adjust (while driving) for fatigue, individual preference etc. The interconnected air bodies let the air find the right spot where the back is most hollow.

Last year we've made a journey of over 10.000 km travelling on and off road, and the chairs are excellent as they are now.
My wife's back pain had vanished from the first hour driving and has never returned.

Paid just €500 for the job.
In total.

 

[Bad Mojo]

Please allow me to add some experience at an angle, so to speak.
I've kept the original seats, but:
I've had a shop look at them where they make hand crafted solutions for handicapped people. I simple asked what they would advise.
The specialist there started with telling me that the chairs were fine in principle - no need to consider any fancy stuff.
He did observe that some steel links in the driver seat were broken, so that was an easy welding repair.

The main thing was, he added small inflatable/deflatable cushions at the lower back of both chairs, just above the hips. They each consist of three interconnected air bodies, plus a hand sized bellow to inflate te cushion and a push valve to let the air out. We are therefore able to adjust (while driving) for fatigue, individual preference etc. The interconnected air bodies let the air find the right spot where the back is most hollow.

Last year we've made a journey of over 10.000 km travelling on and off road, and the chairs are excellent as they are now.
My wife's back pain had vanished from the first hour driving and has never returned.

Paid just €500 for the job.
In total.

Do you have any pictures of this? It sounds like a cool idea and it make a lot of sense to be able to customize it over time.

 

[Whoosh]

Do you have any pictures of this? It sounds like a cool idea and it make a lot of sense to be able to customize it over time.

I wish I could make this more impressive to watch, but from the outside this is all there is to see. In de back of the chair you have to imagine a plastic bag about 25 cm in height consisting of three horizontal compartments - also quite unassuming. It works.

 

[Bad Mojo]

Thanks for the photo. Makes perfect sense.

 

[se7en6]

Haven't read all the thread, but scheel mann seats was very difficult to test-seat-drive, the dealers in Europe behave like they are dealing with gold, delivery takes months, and custom changes (no logos please! and same color as vehicle interior) cost quite a few dollars extra.

Instead I went with Recaro Specialist M and Delta Bag seat covers on N4 offroad consoles. Plug&Play. It's much cheaper than SM and readily sourceable. The Recaros are also lighter and thinner, which you may consider in the single cabin pickups.

To me this is a clear case for the Recaros and against Sheel-Manns.

 

[FJ73Texas]

Yup

View attachment 3556269

Wow, I just got another set installed in my regular cab Tacoma not long ago and I was kinda afraid of this outcome initially but I have slightly a bit more room to tilt mine back and can make adjustments. Looks like you have zero room in that ute.

Did you keep these or swap them out?