Swivel seat on tractor

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Being a bit taller than the average compact tractor (and car... and truck... and about everything else) user getting comfortable with enough leg room has always been a problem. I find as the years pass it's more of a problem as my knees become less and less tolerant of being kept at the same angle for very long.

I've been thinking of modifying my seat base on my 4200 as well as the seat on my backhoe to give me more room. I'm now looking at eliminating the backhoe seat altogether and putting a swivel base underneath the tractor seat so I could just turn it around when I need to use the backhoe.

Has anyone done this or considered it but turned away from the idea for some reason they can share? Any thoughts on the subject or things I should consider? Thanks for your input.

I also posted this on the JD Owning/Operating board.

 

[Kodiak]

When the seat on my old Kub. L345DT wore out. I replaced it with a swivel folding aftermarket seat for a Bass boat. Its lasted over ten years, very comfortable, and waterproof. Also was reasonably priced, compared to a replacement tractor seat.

 

[Ozarker]

After I read what you wrote it struck me that there is no way that someone like NBA player Shack could even sit on, let alone drive my little Yanmar.

 

[Kodiak]

Thats because "Shack" can afford to pay somebody else to sit your Yanmar.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Totally off topic, but a few years ago I was in Daytona with some friends for the race. We stopped at the local Harley dealer as one of our group is a biker wannabe.

As I was looking around a manager came up to me and asked me if I rode, my level of experiene, if I had my M/C license with me, etc., then asked if I'd mind doing them a favor. They had a new dress bike in the shop they'd completely dismantled, extended the frame and reassembled for a customer but weren't able to road test. While I wasn't as big as their customer, I was bigger than anyone there so they wanted me to just take it down the road and check it out for them.

The bike with all of it's modifications was $54,000+ and was actually a little too big for me but I could ride it without any problems. It had been built for Shaq, who was playing for Miami at the time. They had another one in process for Rony Seikaly there but it wasn't ready to ride yet.

 

[MarkV]

Gary,

The seat on my B21 swivels around for backhoe use, you may want to take a look at one for ideas. What comes to mind to me is that in the backhoe position the seat sits higher than when it is in the tractor position. Is that the case with your backhoe? Kubota does this by mounting the seat frame, which extends up ward when released, on a swivel base and then relocks at a higher point when in the backhoe position.

Was the bike made for Shaq made by West Coast Choppers? I saw a show about their owner when he was making a bike for Shaq and they ended up at bike week in Daytona.

MarkV

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Mark,

That's a great point about the seat height. Honestly, I hadn't considered that part of the equation one way or the other. I've got a Kubota store right down the road so I'll have to see how they do theirs. Thanks for the input on that. In my case, I could use each seat even higher than they are now. Currently, for the backhoe I actually sit on the top edge of the seatback to get both further back and higher (bad knees are a terrible thing).

As to the bike, outside of the frame extension and cosmetic additions pertinent thereto, it appeared to be a stock, full dress Harley touring bike so I'm guessing all of the changes were made at the Harley dealer there, but I don't know. I'll also hazard a guess that an outfit called 'West Coast Choppers' isn't much in to keeping things looking stock like this one. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif That was probably a different bike. Imagine having multiple $50,000+ motorcycles. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

 

[tdenny]

Just think of all that seat time he's missing out on. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[cheshboy]

When the seat on my old Kub. L345DT wore out. I replaced it with a swivel folding aftermarket seat for a Bass boat. Its lasted over ten years, very comfortable, and waterproof. Also was reasonably priced, compared to a replacement tractor seat.

Terrific idea. I have a customer with a New Holland TT75A who was complaining about not being able to turn round and look at his baler/ haybine, as he is of generous proportions. $9.99 solution and he might buy a new Haybine off me now. Thanks

 

[mwb]

Terrific idea. I have a customer with a New Holland TT75A who was complaining about not being able to turn round and look at his baler/ haybine, as he is of generous proportions. $9.99 solution and he might buy a new Haybine off me now. Thanks

Great! Nice to solve a simple problem and create loyalty.

This thread is a little old though!