LMTV Passenger Seats

[hank0311]

I've been shopping for some driver/passenger seats for my 2000 LMTV and can't seem to find what I'm looking for without spending over $1500 per seat. Can anyone recommend seats with arm rests for the cab?

 

[Keith Knight]

I found seats 5 years ago with arm rest on eBay that came out of a dodge caravan, they were the second row passenger seats. I’m guessing there is a company that makes the handicapped accessible vans and they take the seats out of new vans and someone is selling them.

 

[serpico760]

I found seats 5 years ago with arm rest on eBay that came out of a dodge caravan, they were the second row passenger seats. I’m guessing there is a company that makes the handicapped accessible vans and they take the seats out of new vans and someone is selling them.

That's what I have and they fit but they're a little bit chunky, I would say they barely fit. I hear the Chrysler Pacifica seats fit better a little slimmer.

 

[coachgeo]

IMHO dont put people you love in the cab. If your building a camper box.... built it stronger and put them in there. These cabs are tin-foil.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

IMHO dont put people you love in the cab. If your building a camper box.... built it stronger and put them in there. These cabs are tin-foil.

No one builds boxes that can survive 18,000 lbs of truck on top of them. Also I would guess that an individual in a habitat made of fiberglass, extruded aluminum, and glue that is not strapped into a seat is likely to suffer significant harm in a collision as they are violently accelerated towards the impact and the habitat turns to bark dust and extruded aluminum stakes around them.

Building the habitat "strong enough" in practical terms means buying a truck with a military habitat already on it or adding a military habitat like an S280 or S680 to a cargo variant. I don't know of anyone building habitat's the way these are built - the cost would likely be absurd. And even then - you see what that bridge did to that M1087?

 

[Guyfang]

If you want safety, then G.D.'s suggestion is the only way to go. Buy a Military habitat. Install bomb proof seats with seat belts. In 1990, I tried to render aid to an R.V. rollover on the autobahn. The driver lived long enough for the Dust Off to bring him to the hospital. The five members of his family who were unsecured in the rear part of the R.V. did not. The R.V. became a 100 meter debris field. I do not think your FMTV would do any better.

 

[Keith Knight]

Sorry but if you want safety stay home in the bomb shelter.
Myself I choose adventure and thats were my M1079 takes me. I do try to be as safe as possible by typically driving under the speed limits. But I drive it until it doesn’t fit down the road. Get out and enjoy our beautiful country. Just a couple of the pictures from this past week

 

[swiss]

How did we go from seat recommendations to death watch 2?

Get from Fleet Pride the following seat:

Ensign | National Seating

nationalseating.com

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Get from Fleet Pride the following seat:

Ensign | National Seating

nationalseating.com

That doesn't look like it will even remotely fit in an FMTV. The cabover design means the seats are VERY low profile.

You need Euro seats. Cabovers are much more common in Europe. This is why people use passenger car seats or Sheel-Mann seats that are $1500 each.

Mastercraft makes the A1P2 seats. They don't have arm rests though. But my truck doesn't have airbags either - Be uncomfortable and die like a real man I say! Keeps you young........ yeah

 

[Third From Texas]

Most any of them will require some modification for mounting. But making a bracket to fit the cab mouting points is pretty simple (I used the OEM sliding base from the truck and added a bracket to mount the seat).

There are a lot of options. Look to minivans, etc.

I went with Pacifica rear seats. They were take outs from a new van a couple had converted to wheelchair access.
I paid $50 each locally on FB market (and local means you won't have to pay shipping).
Bonus that they are heated.

My rule of thumb was to keep the seat the same height as the OEM S&S seats. any taller and people with short legs will just dangle uncomfortably.

Local junk yards will have tons of good seats, too.

 

[MatthewWBailey]

I got these for 900 off eBay. Audi prestige heated leather seats from a 5000 mileage wreck. Pretty similar items like this on eBay from salvage cars. Why buy new? Brackets are a minor level effort IMO. 3pt seat belts are straightforward.

I have nothing to contribute on death rolls aside from don't crash it without an ROPS.

 

[Ronmar]

How did we go from seat recommendations to death watch 2?

Get from Fleet Pride the following seat:

Ensign | National Seating

nationalseating.com

Yea that might fit if you strip all the air suspension below the positioner slides off of it

 

[swiss]

Gentemen,

National seat makes hundreds of variations.
It not my job to design what you are trying to do. Look up the catalog

move along nothing to see here

 

[Ronmar]

Gentemen,

National seat makes hundreds of variations.
It not my job to design what you are trying to do. Look up the catalog

move along nothing to see here

I have looked into National. You are correct, national does make hundreds of variations, unfortunately one WITHOUT several inches of suspension under it, is not one of them, No room for that in a LMTV cab, so you are right again, nothing to see here, move along…

 

[coachgeo]

No one builds boxes that can survive 18,000 lbs of truck on top of them. ...

Used Ambulance box and your good to go.... significantly less expensive than expedition boxes and 50x stronger. oh.. and seat belts required in the rear. In mine all habitat seats will be niceish junkyard automotive with belts. Likely Jeep Wrangler rear seats for bench/booth seat and front seats from Wrangler for single seats. e

and yes they make them much larger (freightliners etc.) and they also have to pass similar test.

 

[serpico760]

That doesn't look like it will even remotely fit in an FMTV. The cabover design means the seats are VERY low profile.

You need Euro seats. Cabovers are much more common in Europe. This is why people use passenger car seats or Sheel-Mann seats that are $1500 each.

Mastercraft makes the A1P2 seats. They don't have arm rests though. But my truck doesn't have airbags either - Be uncomfortable and die like a real man I say! Keeps you young........ yeah

Bostrom makes a low profile air ride seat that fits

 

[Reworked LMTV]

Used Ambulance box and your good to go.... significantly less expensive than expedition boxes and 50x stronger. oh.. and seat belts required in the rear. In mine all habitat seats will be niceish junkyard automotive with belts. Likely Jeep Wrangler rear seats for bench/booth seat and front seats from Wrangler for single seats. e

and yes they make them much larger (freightliners etc.) and they also have to pass similar test.

I looked at ambulance boxes. The two issues I found were a lack of height and thermal bridging. That being said, an ambulance box will work for many. However, if you plan on extreme hot or cold climate travel, they are no likely for you. Metal conducts thermal energy. Sounds minor, but it can become a mold nightmare.

Crash physics are extremely complex. It is all about reducing forces transferred to a body. Thus, common notions of bigger and heavier and more metal is safer is inaccurate. Take the the tale of two Chevys. One has a lot more metal and weight, yet the occupants are less likely to survive. Lets roll that beautiful bean footage:

 

[Reworked LMTV]

No one builds boxes that can survive 18,000 lbs of truck on top of them. Also I would guess that an individual in a habitat made of fiberglass, extruded aluminum, and glue that is not strapped into a seat is likely to suffer significant harm in a collision as they are violently accelerated towards the impact and the habitat turns to bark dust and extruded aluminum stakes around them.

Building the habitat "strong enough" in practical terms means buying a truck with a military habitat already on it or adding a military habitat like an S280 or S680 to a cargo variant. I don't know of anyone building habitat's the way these are built - the cost would likely be absurd. And even then - you see what that bridge did to that M1087?

I believe mine can, but mine is not your typical composite. It is hand-laid with a corrugated inlay. Each panel is a sealed cell. I will see if I can get a calculation on this, when I get time.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

I believe mine can, but mine is not your typical composite. It is hand-laid with a corrugated inlay. Each panel is a sealed cell. I will see if I can get a calculation on this, when I get time.

But what is the cost?

Truck pricing - cargo models vs. van models. The van's tend to be going for about double the price of a cargo. With a 4x4 cargo being in the $15k to $25k range and a 4x4 van being in the $35k to $55k range. Lets say a van is $20k more.

A 12' rectangular enclosure (same as the M1079) from Globe Trekker is about $25k. Oh you want a zero-torsion frame for that? Another $12k. Plus shipping. Plus assembly..... it's flat-pack like Ikea so you'll be putting it together. So with labor lets just round that $37k up to $40k.

So roughly twice the price. Probably 3x or 4x the price if you want a much larger box for a 6x6 (M1087 is cheaper). And *maybe* it's as strong? Yeah I'm not seeing the attraction unless you want/need more space than the 1079 (or M1087) has. You will be into it double the cost and double the time. And still composite. The aluminum construction of the military box allows things that composites have problems with - like sharp corners around windows and doors. I used windows designed for stick frame home construction on my 1079 box. Because stress points at the window corners don't matter. Also cosmetically - if you want to retain the military appearance..... M1079 is half the price, better quality, and turn-key.

Supply and demand is probably the biggest issue. Lots of guys end up with cargo's because they are impatient or don't want to spend the money up front. The quality remains long after the price is forgotten.

 

[hike]

But what is the cost?

Truck pricing - cargo models vs. van models. The van's tend to be going for about double the price of a cargo. With a 4x4 cargo being in the $15k to $25k range and a 4x4 van being in the $35k to $55k range. Lets say a van is $20k more.

A 12' rectangular enclosure (same as the M1079) from Globe Trekker is about $25k. Oh you want a zero-torsion frame for that? Another $12k. Plus shipping. Plus assembly..... it's flat-pack like Ikea so you'll be putting it together. So with labor lets just round that $37k up to $40k.

So roughly twice the price. Probably 3x or 4x the price if you want a much larger box for a 6x6 (M1087 is cheaper). And *maybe* it's as strong? Yeah I'm not seeing the attraction unless you want/need more space than the 1079 (or M1087) has. You will be into it double the cost and double the time. And still composite. The aluminum construction of the military box allows things that composites have problems with - like sharp corners around windows and doors. I used windows designed for stick frame home construction on my 1079 box. Because stress points at the window corners don't matter. Also cosmetically - if you want to retain the military appearance..... M1079 is half the price, better quality, and turn-key.

Supply and demand is probably the biggest issue. Lots of guys end up with cargo's because they are impatient or don't want to spend the money up front. The quality remains long after the price is forgotten.

Our issue is the size. We want a larger box than the 1079 and we enjoy building things. Though if I could design a 1079 to meet by better half's desires that's the way we would go. As it is, Globe Trekker appears better built and more affordable than the other boxes we have looked at for the DIY folks. You are right though $40m is our box budget for now, I am planning to go up and pick up the flatpak myself before we pull the cargo bed off.

Hopefully, I'll get to met you in person–