Ow My Aching Back ... Seat Question

[94Rangerfcb]

I put 2005 seats in my 94 extended cab 5 speed. My back is still killing me. I've got knee and ankle problems too. When I get away from the truck it clears up. My physical therapist said the seats are too low in the back. My knees sit too high.

I'm thinking of raising the back of the seats 4 inches to level it out. I talked with one other Ranger owner who said he sold his because his back was killing him. I really like mine, and I just spent a $1000 on air conditioning.

Any one else have this problem with these trucks?

 

[flyingbrick]

Yeah same here i am looking for nicer seats in the junk yards dont even care if i have to make new mounts, i want better seats.

 

[Zorro]

4 inches????????? That's like ... a lot!

I have some euro sedan seats in my Ranger (long story). They were laying around, bolted on reasonably easily, and showed me how crappy Ranger seats are. And I think I had the good ones, with lumbar air, adjustable in every direction and whatnot.

Go to a scrapyard and find some good seats. I'm not talking Ford Tempo GT seats ... I'm talking Mercedes S Class seats. I don't know about your back issues, but perhaps sportier seats with more support all around that keep you from bouncing around could be helpful?

 

[hihoslvr]

Any one else have this problem with these trucks?

Not me, I think mine are okay. I'm curious though, (and yes, I'm kind of an a-hole): what's your height/weight?
The only soreness I've had is from driving cross-country for a few days straight, at 12+ hours in the saddle. Made me kinda wish I had cruise.

 

[94STXRanger]

man i did something to my back last summer pouring conrete. If i am in my truck for 20+ minutes i cant stand it. I was thinking of getting newer model seats also.

 

[flyingbrick]

Not me, I think mine are okay. I'm curious though, (and yes, I'm kind of an a-hole): what's your height/weight?
The only soreness I've had is from driving cross-country for a few days straight, at 12+ hours in the saddle. Made me kinda wish I had cruise.

I'm 6'. 240lbs i think the seat would be OK if it had lumbar, but what ever i'll just go find something diff.

 

[hihoslvr]

Right on, see I'm 5'11" and abt 142#. I use to drive an E-450 for work, that seat got blown out cuz we had a lot of large drivers.

 

[flyingbrick]

Right on, see I'm 5'11" and abt 142#. I use to drive an E-450 for work, that seat got blown out cuz we had a lot of large drivers.

Trust me my seat is far from blown out, i've driven everything from a then new 2007 with no miles on it to a 1998 with 254xxx KMs on it. and Ranger seats just suck. IMO

 

[colinrmitchell]

I'm young and "agile", and the seats in my 97 really killed my back on long rides.

I recently put in the plastic buckets seats from Summit, and being solid and with little padding, I find them to be MUCH more comfortable than the stock seats. I was also able to adjust them to how I liked when I installed them.

 

[colinrmitchell]

Oh, and they have great lumbar/lower back support, too.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM-G1100&N=700+115&autoview=sku

 

[Maverick]

I really liked the seats in my 05 and im a fat bastard. I drove down to southern CA and back straight (about 1000 miles/15 hours) with no complaints.

 

[reno]

I was rear ended by my idiotic B.I.L. while on the clock where I (we) worked last year and blew out 3 of my discs in my lower back. Your knees have to be lower than your hips when sitting,remove the wallet from the back pocket and keep it that way,sleep with a pillow between your knees and in the fetal position. Will this cure you? No, but helps.

My Ranger does not seem to have the seat problems as others here, but if I had to raise the back of the seat, you bet your bottom dollar I would. But dont go overboard, raise it to high and you are leaning forward more which is a safety concern.....crash + heaviest amount upright leaning forward = more momentum = more chance of injury (i.e. air bag, seat belt holding you.etc...)

 

[JamesC]

I took the bench seat out of my 86, The bench seat sure fixed my failing asleep at the wheel on long drives problem but it was killing my back. I got some second row buckets from a caravan that someone was throwing out after alot cutting bolting and welding I got tracks on them and bolted them in the truck. I think they are a huge improvement.

 

[reno]

I took the bench seat out of my 86, The bench seat sure fixed my failing asleep at the wheel on long drives problem but it was killing my back. I got some second row buckets from a caravan that someone was throwing out after alot cutting bolting and welding I got tracks on them and bolted them in the truck. I think they are a huge improvement.

The wife has a Chevy Venture mini van, maybe she won't notice and if she does I'll probably wind up like this and get this see she is telling me to look at her van.

 

[JohnPi]

You need to be careful when messing with the seats in a vehicle (like, raising them 4"). The safety systems (seat belts, airbags, etc.) are all designed with the specific seat that comes in a vehicle. Stuff like changing the h-point, mounting strategy, etc. can all adversely affect the overall safety of the vehicle. And I would not recommend disarming safety devices (belt tensioners, airbags) in a vehicle, they're there for a reason.