Bench Seat Ride Height

[firebane]

I forgot when I was putting the buckets into my truck to measure the height of where you put your bum with a bench seat.

Wondering if someone can take this for me as I feel I am too low with the buckets.

 

[chengny]

I'll be out in the garage tonight - to get the snow thrower (more frickin' snow). I'll get you a measurement.

One question though;

Where do you want the measurement taken from?

The lower level - where your feet go - to the top of the stool (sorry, but that's the actual name for the part of the seat that accepts your butt cheeks).

Or from the upper level - where the frame is bolted to the floor - to the top of the... let's just call it the cushion?

My bench is currently just sitting on the floor (i.e. not bolted down), so if you want the upper level used, it is no huge imposition. But it may not be as accurate as if I measure from the pan up to the cushion.

I am not sure of how the differences in body styles between an 86 and a 74 will effect your final eye level (I would imagine that eye level above the dash board is the most important dimension when setting seat height).

I wonder if a more usable measurement might be from the top of the cushion to the top of the dash?

Let me know.

 

[firebane]

Well I was thinking from the floorboard to the top of the bench where you place your bum. I took a measurement in a GMT400 truck today and it measured out to 13" but that is also with carpet in the truck.

I haven't measured mine yet to see if its close to the 13" but I just feel its too low.

 

[chengny]

13" - yeah, that's pretty close to what I got. Maybe a couple of inches lower.

From the lower level - where your feet go - to the top of the seat cushion?

Trying to keep the tape perfectly vertical, I am getting about 15 1/2".

That's from the lower level of the floor (right were it begins to rise to the upper level) to the top of the seat - at the front edge.

Right now - as far as floor covering - I have 1/2" of jute padding and over that is a thin (maybe 1/8") preformed vinyl rubber mat.

So, I would say; that the height to the top of the seat (front edge) - from the steel floor pan - would be just a bit over 16".

Reason I keep mentioning the "front edge" is because the stool is not level. It has quite a downward slope as it heads back:

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BTW - that seat shown in the image is my old truck, not the one I just measured. It's just a stock photo.

 

[firebane]

Perfect I will check today but I have a feeling I am nowhere near 15-16 inches

 

[chengny]

Just as reference, I am 6' 2". The seat had recently been restored with original cloth when that photo was taken. Also, because one of my sons is not as tall as me, I had the upholstery guy add an extra 2" of foam over the stock seat padding.

The result was great. My son (the short one - he's about 5' 10") said he finally felt comfortable driving the truck.

As for me and the other boy, there was only a slight reduction in thigh-to-steering wheel clearance. I actually liked sitting up higher.

I am currently having another seat restored with the original GM cloth and (even though the boys don't drive my truck any more), I told Billy to make the same modification to this seat.

But don't misunderstand me, the measurements provided above were taken on a pure stock seat.