Front seats

Topic: Front seats (Read 2932 times) previous topic - next topic

Front seats

May 18, 2017, 06:04:58 pm

I've noticed that the driver's seat isn't as comfortable after 500 miles as it used to be after 250 miles. My right hip gets sore a lot sooner now than it did even last year. Maybe I'm just getting old and creaky, but I'm wondering how difficult it would be to switch the driver and navigator seats. Jo Ann won't drive the coach, so for the past four years I've always been the one in the driver's seat and she's always been the one in the navigator's seat. I'm wondering if switching the seats around might be a bit more comfortable for each of us.

Yes, I know the real cure is to either replace or rebuilt the seats, but the budget won't allow that at this time. If/when we do that work we will want it to be the first step in other upholstery work, so we'd like to have a plan of what we want before we start spending money.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Re: Front seats

Reply #1 – May 18, 2017, 06:12:54 pm

I have switched at least twice no problem

Re: Front seats

Reply #2 – May 18, 2017, 06:16:05 pm

MOT un-upholstered our chairs, put in all new foam, re-installed the upholstery and cleaned the leather. A huge improvement. Less than $600. Took about two days.

But swapping might work. Try it out.

Re: Front seats

Reply #3 – May 18, 2017, 06:37:42 pm

I am replacing my Flexsteel pilot seat with a Villa pilot seat. Has anyone already done this?

The holes seem to be similar, but not the same. I will probably drill two additional holes to line up with the Flexsteel holes. Is there any need to weld up the unused holes to keep the original strength?

I assume the Villa wiring is probably different than the Flexsteel wiring. Does anyone have the wiring for each?

Would appreciate any additional thoughts on this project.

Thanks,

Trent

Re: Front seats

Reply #4 – May 18, 2017, 08:45:58 pm

David,

I've had my seats out a couple of times. I don't think there would be an issue switching except the controls would be on the left side not the right side. I'm sure you'll get used to that pretty quick.

Mine are held on to the pedestal with 4 bolts. Remove 8 bolts & 2 wires. Do some huff'n and puff'n then replace 8 bolts and 2 wires.

Trent,

I know on the FlexSteel seats the wiring is self contained. All it needs is positive and negative 12v which is already there. I'd be surprised if the Villa seats weren't the same. You will probably need to drill some holes or do an adaptor plate on the pedestals.

see ya
ken

Re: Front seats

Reply #5 – May 18, 2017, 09:30:52 pm

I noticed a Cadillac commercial the other day on tv and they were

telling about their cooled and heated seats, I know that is nothing

new but I wondered if any of the high end seat builders had added

the for coaches? Sure would make driving a lot easier.

Carter-

Re: Front seats

Reply #6 – May 18, 2017, 09:40:03 pm

Kenhat.......I switched my seats also. My question is......why move the pedestals?

Re: Front seats

Reply #7 – May 18, 2017, 10:00:39 pm

My Power Chief seat is heated and has fan cooling

Re: Front seats

Reply #8 – May 18, 2017, 10:32:33 pm

Quote from: Twig – May 18, 2017, 09:40:03 pm

Kenhat.......I switched my seats also. My question is......why move the pedestals?

No reason I can think of. Maybe I didn't write that clear enough. How about "Remove the bolts from the top of the pedestal"?

see ya
ken

Re: Front seats

Reply #9 – May 18, 2017, 11:04:09 pm

Quote from: TulsaTrent – May 18, 2017, 06:37:42 pm

I am replacing my Flexsteel pilot seat with a Villa pilot seat. Has anyone already done this?
The holes seem to be similar, but not the same. I will probably drill two additional holes to line up with the Flexsteel holes. Is there any need to weld up the unused holes to keep the original strength?
I assume the Villa wiring is probably different than the Flexsteel wiring. Does anyone have the wiring for each?
Would appreciate any additional thoughts on this project.

Trent,

Foreforums search is your friend:

Removal of Flexsteel Seats

If it is like our '98 Flexsteel and a pair of 2000 model year Villa seats, the rotation bearing races are identical, and therefore, that was the logical point to effect the changeout of the two seat styles. The one point to be aware of is that some Villa seats have much more padding and depth than the Flexsteels, so it is important to measure the bearing to seat cushion vertical height for both seats, to make sure the dimensions are acceptable. Our Villa was about 1/2" to 3/4" higher, which was not a problem for us.

If the seats are compatible, just unplug the Flexsteel 12Vdc plug (both are 12Vdc seats) and remove the four bolts that separate the seat from the top half of the rotating top-works. This makes handling the seat much easier. Then remove the turntable center nut (large wrench, 1 5/16" I think, one flat at a time) and separate the top and bottom halves of the seat "Lazy Susan". Remove the Flexsteel top half rotating platform (that has the dc motors, seat rotation detent pin, etc.) That exposes the bearing race, which for a '98 FT is the same race for Flexsteel and a 2000 model year Villa. Just reassemble in reverse, using the Villa top half rotating platform and seat.

The only dicey part is reworking the detent pin and the slot that the pin locks into (the pin that holds the seat locked in the forward position and is released by the lever on the side of the seat). That took some ingenuity and a bit of metal work. And I made my first pin out of metal that was too soft and the next owner had to remake it.

The Flexsteel to Villa conversion was well worth it to us, for all of the reasons enumerated in the original ForeForums post.

Quote from: Texas Guy – May 18, 2017, 09:30:52 pm

I noticed a Cadillac commercial the other day on tv and they were
telling about their cooled and heated seats, I know that is nothing
new but I wondered if any of the high end seat builders had added
the for coaches?

Carter,
The Knoedler Air Chief (no electric power seat functions) comes standard with heating and cooling. The electric powered Grand Chief and Power Chief (Power Chief has an additional electric seat-back rake motor and control) air seats can be optioned with forced ambient air and heated air cooling fan). Almost all of the FT's and Newells with air seats get optioned that way. When driving, I use the cooling most of the time and it works great through the seat bottom and back perforations. The only problem I have is remembering to shut the fan off at the end of the drive. I usually don't remember, so when shutting everything down for the night (and there is this quiet hum going on) I have to relearn all over again.

The seat "leak down" issues mentioned in my original post were resolved by replacing a leaking Knoedler controls manifold assembly.

Good luck!

HTH,
Neal

Re: Front seats

Reply #10 – May 19, 2017, 09:30:12 am

Neal,

Thank your very much for your link to a previous thread. It answered my questions about the steps needed to accomplish the change.

Trent

Re: Front seats

Reply #11 – May 20, 2017, 03:04:55 am

Neal,

Why not rewire from power that comes on with the key and then

go through your fan switch? That way the fan could never be left on.

Carter-

Re: Front seats

Reply #12 – July 04, 2017, 01:36:32 pm

Use plastic electric tie wraps around the 4 bolts to keep them from falling through the floor!
What a panic when you see the bolt disappear chuckles!

Re: Front seats

Reply #13 – July 05, 2017, 02:23:19 pm

Flexsteel driver chair to Villa chair may have surprises when completed.

Some have found the installed Villa to be different height, different seating depth, feet no longer reached pedals, may not fully rotate because of not enough open space behind chair, new floor holes may not be as crash worthy due to holes no longer going though in-floor frame support.

Even though FOT only installs Villa in place of Flexsteel, the above issues may still exist.

Because of too many unknowns, we chose to have Flexsteel make new chairs that are identical to our OEM chair and we installed them on our OEM base. Flexsteel told us our OEM swivel base is non-standard and much lower then what they offer.

Re: Front seats

Reply #14 – September 19, 2017, 03:08:48 am

Although not yet completed, here is a summary of what I learned and did to replace my Flexsteel cockpit seats with Villa seats.

After removing the old seats, I made templates for both of the old Flexsteel seats and both of the Villa seats.

Copilot seats:

My existing copilot seat had a much smaller footprint than the other three. It was only about 10" square, with four holes about 8" square. After removing the seat, I discovered that the four extra holes lined up exactly with the Villa copilot seat. Problem solved! (See related copilot pictures.)

Pilot seats:

The templates revealed that the two rear holes for both seats lined up pretty well. The forward two holes of the Flexsteel seats were about 1 1/4" further forward than the Villas. There were two straight forward solutions: drill two new 1/2" holes through my Foretravel floor, or drill two new 1/2" holes through the Villa base (3/16" steel plate). The decision was easy.

In the process of drilling the two new holes, I used a set of good Ryobi gold bits. I started with 1/8" and went up a 1/16" larger bit at a time. The larger bits were the type that had a smaller drill size at the tip, with the larger size a little further up the shaft. It took me a long time to get though the bigger ones and by break time, I had just finished the 5/16" size. During the break, my brain started functioning again and after the break, I went from there to a normal 1/2" drill bit. The (brand new) 1/2" bit drilled the two holes MUCH faster than the little steps I have been using. (I think my biggest problem was the bits were probably designed for use in wood, not steel plate.) (See related pilot pictures.)

I hope this information is useful to others considering upgrading your seats.

Trent

Re: Front seats

Reply #15 – September 22, 2017, 03:39:10 pm

Quote from: kb0zke – May 18, 2017, 06:04:58 pm

I've noticed that the driver's seat isn't as comfortable after 500 miles as it used to be after 250 miles.

Jo Ann won't drive the coach, so for the past four years I've always been the one in the driver's seat and she's always been the one in the navigator's seat.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I think the hardest part is going to be "explaining" to Jo Ann why she gets the crappy worn out seat.

Re: Front seats

Reply #16 – September 22, 2017, 05:27:45 pm

We tired of our still original, 1996 Flexsteels and decided to use the bones and throw away the label. Super comfortable and part of our overall renovation.

Quite a change!

Re: Front seats

Reply #17 – September 22, 2017, 05:31:05 pm

Alan, them look great, what brand

Re: Front seats

Reply #18 – September 22, 2017, 05:42:39 pm

Alan, them look great, what brand

Re: Front seats

Reply #19 – September 22, 2017, 05:44:40 pm

These are the original Flexsteels reupholstered. They used to be the off white leather with the rolled cushions that came in the coach in 1996.

Re: Front seats

Reply #20 – September 22, 2017, 06:47:05 pm

Alan who did you use for the reupholstering?

Re: Front seats

Reply #21 – September 22, 2017, 07:49:11 pm

Alan, did you redo the couch also

Re: Front seats

Reply #22 – September 22, 2017, 08:47:56 pm

I have the same problem with my front seats, the foam or whatever is in the seat is worn out. Thinking of removing the seat and getting a redo at an upholstery shop. In the meantime though, I bought a seat cushion at Costco for $20. Wish I had it on the last trip. Comfort Gel Seat Cushion

Re: Front seats

Reply #23 – September 22, 2017, 09:03:39 pm

Trina at MOT. We are reupholstering the couch in dark chocolate. Should be installed on Monday.

Re: Front seats

Reply #24 – September 25, 2017, 08:17:44 pm

Continuing our work, here is the original cloth covered couch reupholstered in dark chocolate leather in a more modern style.

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