Pilot, copilot chairs

Topic: Pilot, copilot chairs (Read 1267 times) previous topic - next topic

Pilot, copilot chairs

May 08, 2021, 10:00:18 pm

Is FOT still using the Villa seats? If not, what would they be using now.
It's time to upgrade our seats and thought one of the newer coach owners would chime in. TIA!

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #1 – May 08, 2021, 10:23:10 pm

What about new foam and leather?

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #2 – May 09, 2021, 12:29:40 am

Quote from: rbark – May 08, 2021, 10:00:18 pm

Is FOT still using the Villa seats? If not, what would they be using now.
It's time to upgrade our seats and thought one of the newer coach owners would chime in. TIA!

Since Fkexsteel is out of business we ordered new Villa chairs in a pattern like the IC37. Took about 6 months to get them but we love them.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #3 – May 09, 2021, 01:16:44 am

Bigdog, that would be nice but the copilots chair has been welded so you can't adjust the back and it's also the wide body style that doesn't suit the DW.
Floridarandy, six months!? Wow! But they sure look nice.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #4 – May 09, 2021, 02:05:24 am

Quote from: rbark – May 09, 2021, 01:16:44 am

Bigdog, that would be nice but the copilots chair has been welded so you can't adjust the back and it's also the wide body style that doesn't suit the DW.
Floridarandy, six months!? Wow! But they sure look nice.

The wife doesn't like the wide glide chair either. Our's at least aren't welded. Man, who does that anyway?

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #5 – May 09, 2021, 06:44:36 am

Can you tell me how the back was welded?

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #6 – May 09, 2021, 11:51:58 am

Randy. Those seats look really good. If we have much grief getting ours redone I'm liking yours.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #7 – May 09, 2021, 12:13:40 pm

Ernie, it looks like the back part of the chair, where it hinges to the seat part has been welded together sometime in the past. There's a switch for moving the seat back forward and backwards but it doesn't do anything. I hear the motor turn for a few seconds then stop. I'm going to take a closer look today so I'll post a picture later.
PS. Happy Mother's Day!

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #8 – May 09, 2021, 01:18:01 pm

When I bought this coach it has flexsteel seats and I don't know it they are reupholstered of not as they looked brand new. They are really comfortable. The couch and the recliner seat had been reupholstered. It all look new.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #9 – May 09, 2021, 02:17:19 pm

After more exploring under the copilots seat I found out that seat is a replacement for the original one and it has an electric recliner for the back, unlike mine that is a manual release where you pull a leaver then you can set the position of the back to your liking. With my left arm jammed up the inside of the back rest up to my elbow I could feel a motor, and when I activated the switch I could feel it trying to do something but no movement on the backrest. Either the motor is jammed or the mechanism that it operates is not moving and I can't see any way to get to the insides of the back to tell what's wrong. Can't even remove the arm rests. Copilot seat has a build tag of 2005 from Villa. Guess I'll call them tomorrow and find out what I can do about it.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #10 – May 09, 2021, 02:32:31 pm

I really like my Powerchief air ride seat upgrade...

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #11 – May 09, 2021, 03:23:19 pm

Air ride seats are nice

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #12 – May 09, 2021, 04:45:54 pm

Quote from: Bob & Sue – May 09, 2021, 11:51:58 am

Randy. Those seats look really good. If we have much grief getting ours redone I'm liking yours.

I can send you the build tag if you go that route.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #13 – May 09, 2021, 07:31:59 pm

Richard; had our chairs reupholstered in Mexico. Very happy with the results. $1200 for both!

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #14 – May 09, 2021, 11:29:16 pm

Very nice looking Joe, but our problem is that the co pilot's seat back won't adjust, it's stuck in the recline position.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #15 – May 10, 2021, 09:20:23 am

Quote from: rbark – May 09, 2021, 11:29:16 pm

Very nice looking Joe, but our problem is that the co pilot's seat back won't adjust, it's stuck in the recline position.

I crawled under our copilot chair and took some silicone spray and lubed all the worm gears there. Seems that they get pretty dirty, out of side, out of mind thing and all works good now. You may have an individual motor that has given up the life and needs a replacement. Just an idea!

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #16 – May 11, 2021, 10:13:19 pm

Talked to Mike at Villa about my problem. He thinks the plastic gears could be stripped out, which is a frequent problem.
So, I removed the chair and turned it upside down and pulled the covering down far enough to have access to the motor, clutch and worm gear. Not hard but time consuming because you don't know what tools you'll need.I found a post from 6 years ago on how to remove the arm rests on an "03 U320 which was very helpful and Mike confirmed the procedure. Putting the clutch in a vice I started rotating the gear shaft ever so slightly as it seemed stuck. With help from some WD40 everything started to work as it should. Called Mike back and told him what I'd done. He thinks I should get a new clutch as they are only plastic and will probably break sooner rather than later due to age. I asked about new chairs and he said they aren't taking anymore orders for awhile, they are really backed up. Now just waiting for the part to get here. Will post more pictures when I re assemble everything

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #17 – May 12, 2021, 07:03:05 am

On the renovation process, getting our captains chairs reupholstered by a local shop here in mineral Wells. The owner said I could buy new chairs for the price of upholstery. So I asked how much to reupholster these. He said 600 each- I said do it. Materials are extra. He has a week lead time.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #18 – May 12, 2021, 08:32:31 am

You should be good to go on the chair Richard, congrats on the fix!

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #19 – May 12, 2021, 11:54:57 am

. With help from some WD40 everything started to work as it should.

Richard, while you may indeed need a new gear you should also clean the gear area with brake cleaner and use a silicone based lubricant spray. As I also used wd40 the first time I got my chair working and it gummed up again after a year. Not sure who suggested it on here but seems to work better

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #20 – May 12, 2021, 05:51:15 pm

If you haven't tried Kroil in a spray from Napa- orange can. Just a little works wonders. Made in Tennessee.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #21 – May 12, 2021, 06:02:54 pm

Tommy and Ernie, I just used the WD40 to free everything up. Before everything goes back together I'll use the proper grease.
Thanks for the reminder.
On another note concerning my Aquahot, I sent my controller back to AquaHot for testing. T hey called today and said they tested it multiple times on different systems and it worked fine! They will send it back to me with no shipping charge because it took them so long to test it! Thanks AquaHot.

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #22 – May 13, 2021, 10:53:13 am

The inside armrest on my Villa copilot seat was loose. I took it off and found a split tube, but no other parts. There has to be at least one more part for making adjustments. Anyone know what should be there to reinstall it?

Thanks,

Trent

Re: Pilot, copilot chairs

Reply #23 – May 13, 2021, 12:14:05 pm

When you say split tube, do you mean a roll pin? I had to pry a plastic part off of the shaft that sticks out the side of the backrest. There's a roll pin in that shaft that is a "stop" for the armrest. The plastic piece looks like a big letter C and snaps on the shaft.

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