PEASHOOTER's M109A3 CAMPER Build Thread

[rustystud]

Aaron do you have any pictures and part numbers of the air bag you installed in the springer seat ? I was thinking of doing the same thing. Thanks.

 

[59apache]

Hi Aaron,
if you want to stay with the bench seat, a Jeep CJ bench fits very well...also availible with headrest....

 

[peashooter]

Aaron do you have any pictures and part numbers of the air bag you installed in the springer seat ? I was thinking of doing the same thing. Thanks.

Sure Greg, Here is a link to my post on the Airbag, but HERE is the link to what I copied and where all the part numbers are.

Hi Aaron,
if you want to stay with the bench seat, a Jeep CJ bench fits very well...also availible with headrest....

Thanks Juergen, I forgot about the seat project you had done. I just checked it out again though thanks to your handy links on your signature box. I really like the flip forward bench seat and toolbox area you made.
I'm not sure what my ideal seat setup would be. I sure do like some of the green MRAP seats that are out there, but a green MRAP seat is tough to find and most of them are not the style I'd like. I think I'd really like to have 2 nice bucket seats, and some type of fold up jump seat in the middle for the rare times when we have 3 people in the front. I also really want to keep the space underneath the passenger area for storage. Having a flip up middle seat would be nice to make room for a removable/ or flip up console of some sort also. Did you ever come across anything that might work well as a flip up/down middle seat if I did go with bucket seats on both sides?

 

[59apache]

Aaron, with 2 buckets seats i'm in doubt about it....
The CJ seat is 23,5" wide (i assume they are all more or less the same) with seat belt...a second one the same...~ 10" left.
Maybe a bench off a Pickup....but if i remember correct even the passenger section is wider than a CJ bench.

The CJ (Bestop) bench is very comfy, the bucket seat also. 6 hours without problems

 

[Darkrider]

Phew....just finally got a chance to read this thread all the way through. I had started reading it awhile ago but wasn't able to read more then 3 pages at that point. Great attention to detail and tons of info to use for future reference! Def going to be looking into those handheld controls for a couple of my projects.

 

[VPed]

Hey Aaron, did you catch where I had posted my MRAP seat install quite a while back? I cannot find it now but here is a picture of the troop seats I installed three across in my truck. As you can see, the space underneath remains usable and the seat bottoms do fold up. I can get more of these.

 

[peashooter]

Hey Aaron, did you catch where I had posted my MRAP seat install quite a while back? I cannot find it now but here is a picture of the troop seats I installed three across in my truck. As you can see, the space underneath remains usable and the seat bottoms do fold up. I can get more of these.

I do remember that picture, just forgot it was yours I like that setup. Is it comfortable? Can you get those seats in a color other than tan by chance? Hard to tell from the pic, but how did you mount the drivers seat... is that to a springer base?

 

[srodocker]

I second that question if thats mounted to a springer base. Also Pea cant wait for your review on those oreillys seats once some seat time is in them. Thanks.

 

[VPed]

I do remember that picture, just forgot it was yours I like that setup. Is it comfortable? Can you get those seats in a color other than tan by chance? Hard to tell from the pic, but how did you mount the drivers seat... is that to a springer base?

It is a buttload (pun intended) more comfortable. the foam is much denser so you do not completely compress it to the point of resting on the base like you do with the stock seat. Plus, the foam is contoured to "cradle" you. I do not know of another color choice but it would seem easy enough to paint them with plastic and vinyl spray paint. Could even camo them that way. I did adapt the driver's seat to the springer base using a simple adapter plate. The base for the passenger seats had to fit my criteria that it simply replace the stock setup without extra holes and reuse the inboard support from the stock seat (it has the chain for locking the steering wheel welded to it). Here's a picture of the bases.

Edit: The notch in the plate is to clear the stock springer's slider adjust lever. It is 3/8" aluminum plate because I had it laying around. I did have to change the angle of the seat back in relation to the seat base by drilling new holes for the lower bolts that attach the backrest to the bottom.

 

[59apache]

More comfortable than stock is easy. I thought the bench is filled with a mix of potsherds and corncobs

Just Kidding...
Your seats looking good!

 

[peashooter]

Well I jumped the gun a bit with the Oriley auto seats. I installed my test one and it seemed fine while just sitting in it (not driving) so I got a second one and installed it and also bought a rear flip up jumpseat from a 99 Chevy s-10 out of a junkyard to use in the middle. I didnt install the middle jumpseat, just started fitting it to see how I could get it to mount and I took some pictures. FYI-It turns out I dont think it would be too easy to mount this jumpseat.


Anyway, took the truck on another camping trip and decided I did not like the oriley racing seats. The only thing I really didnt end up liking was the tall seat bottom side bolsters. They made it difficult to get into and out of the truck and also really anoying when using the clutch. I'm 6'3" and have about a 35" waist, I think these seats would work better for shorter skinnier guys but it proved to not be too good for me.
So I sold the center jump seat and will be selling the oriley racing seats soon and hopefully not loosing too much $ on the whole ordeal. I ended up buying 3 used green flip up mrap seats from a site member for a good price. They are just like the ones VPED has shown in post 186 & 189. The price was right and what made it work out is that I was introduced to a new shipping option that cost me $95 to have 3 of these seats shipped from Georgia to Minnesota (its still a lot of money to ship something, but its a great price considering the size and weight of these, the next cheapest option was about 2-3x the price!) It turns out Fastenal company has a less than truckload shipping service. Basically you get it quoted on their website, but then you bring the palletized items into one of their stores and they ship it to another store near the recipient. So I just had to drive 10 miles to pick it up, and it took about a week.
Anyway, the seats will need a bit of work to get them into the condition I'd like. I'll probably re-upholster them over the winter as I only have 2-3 more short camping trips planned for the year with the truck.
Thanks to VPed for doing the legwork and sharing on how to make them fit the deuce though! Below pics are of the same type of seats I just purchased (these pics are off ebay though and not the actual ones I got). I'll probably still try to make some type of console underneath the center flip up seat bottom with some cup holders, maybe a storeage bin and maybe a spot for the lightbar pendant.



Also I'm doing some garage cleaning and trying to get some space back so I decided to downsize the WMO filter pump setup I have (its listed in the classifieds if anyone local is interested). I was given a 18 gallon used oil self extracting tank that I'm going to use instead. Basically you just hook up an airline to it and it pushes the fluid out of the tank through a hose, so I'll just route it to a couple filters and that will be my new smaller, simpler (albeit slower filtering) WMO storeage tank filter setup.

 

[Gunnermac]

I am in the process of installing a MRAP seat in the M109 we are currently working on. We are building an adapter from square tubing to mount on the springer base. This should clear the slider on the base and the belts on the seat. I will let you know how it works out and post pictures if it is successful.

 

[VPed]

Glad to see they are working out for you. I think those seats in deuces and the older five tons are the bomb! Cruised around in the desert for hours this past Sunday and I just love the comfort level (comfort in a deuce?). I found the hole in the seat for the crotch strap is a good place to hold a handgun while out there too (middle set, not the one I was sitting on).

I am putting the driver's version of the MRAP seats in my M927 but that is only because of the wider cab. Those are the ones with non-flip seat bottoms but the backrest is adjustable. If I had crewcab, it would be all about reclining. Maybe could even sleep on them. Darn, now I have to think of a crewcab mod.

 

[olly69]

Hi guys, love what you are doing on your babies. It inspired me to try to enclose my deuce, so we could "camp" in it if we had to. But I need your opinion: do I try to enclose the back end with the tailgate outside of the rear wall, or include it into the back wall? I am thinking of leaving the tailgate straight out View attachment 518302View attachment 518303View attachment 518304

 

[brianp454]

I cannot get the attachments...

Hi guys, love what you are doing on your babies. It inspired me to try to enclose my deuce, so we could "camp" in it if we had to. But I need your opinion: do I try to enclose the back end with the tailgate outside of the rear wall, or include it into the back wall? I am thinking of leaving the tailgate straight out View attachment 518302View attachment 518303View attachment 518304

 

[olly69]

Let me try to attach them again.

 

[Scottd9990]

I like it!!!! Just got mine last week.

 

[brianp454]

can see them now!

 

[Scottd9990]

Here is my project truck

 

[olly69]

If I knew better, I would have bought one like yours! You are already there!