Thoughts on seats with Internal Seat Suspension in an FJ40/43 (1 Viewer)

[Nordicaribe]

So I got a nice FJ43 that I'd love to make into my daily. It's got the original bench seat which I had restored, but it's still a spine destroyer on some back roads. Some of the best innovations in modern cars have come in the form of seats and seat padding and suspension. It makes the difference between a terrible 4 hour trip, and a relaxing 4 hour cruise. I was looking at these new Tacoma seats with Shock Absorbers internal -

And they look really neat. No idea how much of a gimmich they are - but they certainly look nice.

I'm wondering if anyone has put any modern seat+seat suspension combos in their rigs.

The Kodiak, Long Haul, and CDL guys have these seats with air suspension:

They are EXTREMELY comfortable. Like unbelievably smooth. 8-10 hour shifts become no issue even on the crappiest of roads.

I'd love to know if anyone has put any of these types of high-comfort seats in their FJ40/43s - to really put emphasis on the CRUISING part of Land Cruiser

(Air seats, Shock Abosrber seats, Spring Seats, or just REALLY comfortable seats). I remember in the old G-series chevy vans they had the Captains chairs. Maybe something in that vein?. I'd love to see what other people have done.

 

[1911]

I'd love to see what other people have done.

I'm thinking that the 40 cab is already pretty limited in space, and has a limited filed of view through the front windshield, especially for those of us over 6' tall. It's hard for me to see how something that tall would fit, or how you would see out of the windshield sitting in something like that. But I haven't seen the Tacoma seats; maybe they are lower than the big rig/bus driver seats?

I agree that the 40+ year-old stock seats leave much to be desired and can be punishing on a long trip. I've driven 750-mile days in mine, and by the time I was done I was ready not to drive it for a few days. My own solution was to buy more comfortable aftermarket seats that still fit relatively easily, but even with these, I still sit a couple of inches higher than stock and sometimes it is hard to see traffic lights if I am first in line at the intersection.

My Procar 90 seats. These are WAY more comfortable and supportive than stock.

 

[Nordicaribe]

I'm thinking that the 40 cab is already pretty limited in space, and has a limited filed of view through the front windshield, especially for those of us over 6' tall. It's hard for me to see how something that tall would fit, or how you would see out of the windshield sitting in something like that. But I haven't seen the Tacoma seats; maybe they are lower than the big rig/bus driver seats?

I agree that the 40+ year-old stock seats leave much to be desired and can be punishing on a long trip. I've driven 750-mile days in mine, and by the time I was done I was ready not to drive it for a few days. My own solution was to buy more comfortable aftermarket seats that still fit relatively easily, but even with these, I still sit a couple of inches higher than stock and sometimes it is hard to see traffic lights if I am first in line at the intersection.

My Procar 90 seats. These are WAY more comfortable and supportive than stock.

View attachment 3508428

I had seats like that in Colombian import FJ40, a Truck I named "El Caballito" or "The little horse" - It was a great shortbody truck, I think the seats I had were from a mid-2000s Tacoma or an Odesesy Van. Wish I had photos of it. They were great for my height (also tall). But they were not nearly as tall as the CDL type seats. I have a feeling that floor modifications would be needed for taller seats especially on driver side. Perhaps the indent from the internal gas tank on passenger would be a sufficient drop if the gas tank was relocated to the external (With the added benefit of no more gas smell when you fill up)

 

[B y r o n]

Try a search for suspension seats, they are used a lot in off-road racing.

 

[Living in the Past]

1/79 front seats sit almost right on the floor. Earlier the left seat has room for a suspension seat. Relocate the fuel tank and possible for the right side seat. Bought some early Mitsubishi Montero years years ago. Front driver side is a suspension seat. Back is a fold and tumble. The two FJ40s in year range (72-78) I have are very original and not sure I want to change from OEM seats.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Many of the early '90s LJ78 Prado models had front suspension seats, which would be a nice option to keep it Toyota, but as has been said, the suspension stuff occupies the under-seat space so one would likely need delete anything that's there currently, be it the fuel tank or tool box.