Upgrading Front Seats?

Make it comfortable inside
User avatar
Oldbagpipe
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 136
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 9:05 pm
B190 Year: 1989
WBCCI: 0
Location: PNW

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by Oldbagpipe »

They are holding up very well. We purchased them in May of 2017 and are just as pleased as then. We 'bit the bullet' when we bought them, but we would do it again.
Attachments
IMG_7582.jpg
IMG_7582.jpg (124.95 KiB) Viewed 10844 times
User avatar
Millennial Falcon
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 114
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 9:14 pm
B190 Year: 1994

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by Millennial Falcon »

I'm looking to re-upholster the couch and the captains chairs just to make the van look less "dated", and because some cracks are developing in the front seats.

Looks like the seats you bought are cheaper than re-upholstering the ones I have! I've been quoted $500 per chair, and $600 for the couch.

Hrmmm....
User avatar
okaynagan
Weekend Camper
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 6:56 pm
B190 Year: 1995
WBCCI: 0
Location: Arizona

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by okaynagan »

it is about 7 yards of fabric and a week worth of labor. I go into it a little bit on the a thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2807
I used the old cover for the pattern. It is a simple fix just labor-intensive. I even was able to wash out foam cushions and reused the zipper's. As I remember the whole thing was put together with the chain stitch; you pull the right thread stitch and the whole thing comes apart.
pulling a thread
pulling a thread
wilbur sofa thread.jpg (1.88 MiB) Viewed 10832 times
I also have a thread on making slipcovers for the front seats on the enthusiasts form too.
Attachments
wilbur sofa redo.jpg
wilbur sofa redo.jpg (2.5 MiB) Viewed 10832 times
User avatar
Oldbagpipe
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 136
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 9:05 pm
B190 Year: 1989
WBCCI: 0
Location: PNW

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by Oldbagpipe »

MarkP requested some more photos and I don't know how to attach them to a private message. He was curious about the frame and if it can be modified/removed. To me, it seems all one piece and other than the modification I made to fit around the wheel well, I am not sure what would be in store. Here are three photos of the frame and how the sofa folds out.
Attachments
IMG_1265.jpg
IMG_1265.jpg (79.63 KiB) Viewed 10662 times
IMG_1264.jpg
IMG_1264.jpg (88.24 KiB) Viewed 10662 times
User avatar
Oldbagpipe
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 136
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 9:05 pm
B190 Year: 1989
WBCCI: 0
Location: PNW

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by Oldbagpipe »

A third photo. Photos #2 and #3 need to be turned up to see how the frame sits.
Attachments
IMG_1266.jpg
IMG_1266.jpg (86.68 KiB) Viewed 10662 times
User avatar
190-b-651
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 333
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 4:35 pm
B190 Year: 0
WBCCI: 0

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by 190-b-651 »

Keep in mind newer b190s have the generator compartment mounted farther forward than where the furnace is sitting in the photos about 2 inches from the edge of the floor divider in my 93 just FYI.

Sent from my SM-J727T1 using Tapatalk

tallakguy
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2019 12:26 pm
B190 Year: 1996

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by tallakguy »

trying to figure out a front seat upgrade to include swivel bases. In looking at seat undersides, it looks rather simple to unbolt existing and replace with new. The round pedestal seats are bolted to appears welded to the floor. Anyone done this upgrade and how difficult was it? Did your new seats come with a swivel base or was that additional? I can't seem to get a straight answer from van seat place.
User avatar
skater
Site Admin
Posts: 2569
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:00 am
B190 Year: 1991
WBCCI: 13270
Location: Annapolis, MD

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by skater »

tallakguy wrote:
Sun Jul 26, 2020 12:41 pm
trying to figure out a front seat upgrade to include swivel bases. In looking at seat undersides, it looks rather simple to unbolt existing and replace with new. The round pedestal seats are bolted to appears welded to the floor. Anyone done this upgrade and how difficult was it? Did your new seats come with a swivel base or was that additional? I can't seem to get a straight answer from van seat place.
Usually the bases are separate from the seats themselves. I doubt Airstream welded them to the floor - bolted seems a lot more likely.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
tallakguy
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2019 12:26 pm
B190 Year: 1996

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by tallakguy »

double checked..pedestal is welded..its a Ford F-350 Clubwagon that Airstream built upon.
User avatar
Oldbagpipe
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 136
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 9:05 pm
B190 Year: 1989
WBCCI: 0
Location: PNW

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by Oldbagpipe »

Seat pedestals include swivels and are separate from the seats, with four bolts mounting to the floor.
Attachments
IMG_0482.jpg
IMG_0482.jpg (73.85 KiB) Viewed 8446 times
IMG_0481.jpg
IMG_0481.jpg (105.21 KiB) Viewed 8446 times
ThomasS
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2022 8:00 pm
B190 Year: 1993

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by ThomasS »

I needed new front seats in my rig as they were very frail from years of Texas sunshine. The dogs paws were popping holes the the material. I decided to do s search on Facebook Marketplace for “captains swivel chairs” and found a pair for $100 for the pair. They had the exact same bolt pattern on cross members that mount to the original swivel bases. We love them and now will make curtains to match the color:
Attachments
59630B0A-DAC8-4E93-9ABE-44191DDAF096.jpeg
59630B0A-DAC8-4E93-9ABE-44191DDAF096.jpeg (1.7 MiB) Viewed 3182 times
AndyI
Newbie
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:52 pm

Re: Upgrading Front Seats?

Post by AndyI »

For those of you that installed new front seats, did you keep the old pedestals? How did you modify the swivel function to work with the new seats?
Post Reply