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Side by side, the added advantages of the RallyVenture become present.
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Heated seats are an added bonus for Canadian winters.
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We fabbed up our own adapters to help get the seat a little higher.
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The bench seat in the rear for the kids.
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The finished product met all the stringent criteria.
Words and photos by Bryan Irons
I have a few rules about seats and seating. I’m not trying to make you follow my ridiculous rules, or even understand them, hell sometimes I don’t get them, but here they are:
Rule 1: Pick-up trucks should have bench seats. Period.
Rule 2: Race seats are for racecars. Daily driving a deep race bucket gets old, FAST!
Rule 3: Two-door rigs with no access to the rear seats are just asinine. If they need to, make sure your front seats fold forward for passengers to enter and exit the back.
With my silly rules in tow, it was time to ditch the broken back crackers in Stinky Jeep. The metal springs and blown out padding seemed to act more like a trampoline then a catchers mitt. On top of that, the fold and tumble rear seat that I’d stuff passengers or even my own family into was not only uncomfortable, but with no real head or neck support, down right dangerous. Bringing up the, “But I’m only thinking about you and the kids safety,” line to my wife was a surefire way to get her to cave in and let me score a new set of seats I’d been ogling over from PRP… for her and the kids of course!
PRP’s new RallyVenture suspension seats caught my eye and met my goofy criteria with being able to recline and fold forward to allow passage to the rear seats. The seat bottoms at first had me scratching my head until I actually got a chance to sit in them and see the light. The problem with a deep bolstered seat is that, well… see Rule 2. A larger centre bolster locks your rear end in the seat that allows for easy ingress and egress. On top of that, it also allows your buddy with an extra 50 kg beer belly to not be wedged into the seat and your skinny girlfriend/wife/whatever/I’m-not-here-to-judge, to remain in place and not be tossed around like a salad.
PRP has a whole catalogue of fabric and colour options available as well as stitching options and additional add-ons that can be ordered at the time of purchase. I’m really glad I said “yes” to the seat heaters as it makes cold morning drives to the office much more bearable. Camelback water pouches and storage compartments are also available in any of the seats PRP makes, even the matching rear bench that was ordered up. My kids prefer to just hold their water and food containers during trail rides and spill whatever they happen to be snacking on all over the seats. After countless runs and numerous spills, the seats still look brand new. Having the bottoms of the RallyVenture seats come out make for easy cleanup too.
Our original seat sliders were still in good condition so we decided to save some coin and reuse them. The position of the factory seats was a little low and hampered our view over the hood so we spent some time designing an adapter to get us lifted about 3 cm. Simple bar stock was all that was needed, but your application may be different. Now our view is great and the angle of the seat bottoms keep us in place.
For belts, the original three-point belts were left in just for ease of use, but to get the most out of a suspension seat, you really do need a proper harness. We grabbed PRP’s 5.3x2, which broken down means a 5-point harness, with 3-in wide lap belts, and 2-in wide shoulder belts. The wider lap belt holds you firmly into the seat bottom without digging in like a narrower belt can. The 2-in padded shoulder belts are very comfortable and don’t restrict movement like some wider belts. Included with the belts is instructions for proper mounting of the harnesses, we had to install a harness bar which you can read about in the side bar.
Short wheelbase, leaf sprung trail rigs are not known for a smooth ride, to have a proper seat that cradles your body for the hard hits and high speed wash makes a day of wheeling much more enjoyable and less painful. Coupled with the harnesses, this combination keeps you firmly planted, and allows you to spend your time navigating tough trails, not sliding out of your seat. The proper suspension bench seat in the rear means my kids are protected and won’t look like a couple of bobble heads in the rear view mirror. The matching RallyVenture seats in the front mean I get to enjoy the trail and won’t need a kidney belt any time soon.
PRP seats