Suspension Seat for tractor

I ruptured 2 discs in my back pretty bad. Going to try to add a suspension seat to my mowing tractor so it rides a little easier. It's a little IH 244 (Mitsubishi) compact . I think I can make this seat work with some modification. Has anyone bought one of these and liked it?

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/TS1040ATSP_Universal-Seat_24575.htm
I think the same seats are at TSC.

I was also wondering how low it can go and still have vertical travel. Once I make it fit I think it'll still sit 3 or 4 inches above the old seat but I can't find any info on how far the seat actually travels downward to the base. I'm a big guy on a little tractor so 3 or 4 inches higher is ok, but 6 or 7 means a different seat is needed. Anyone have a better idea that worked? Any thoughts or info is appreciated.

Looks like it will work. Our compact JD has
a air seat. It has ruined me!. Also your
tires are as important as a seat. Air them
down.

I think I now have about 6 sets of tires, 2 air seats, 3 spring compression seats, numerous springs and adapters and who knows what else (collatteral
damage leftovers), and I am finally getting a ride that is comfortable on tractors and mowers.

Stick a couple of pictures on here showing your seat to tractor interface, picture of the tractor, rear tire size, so I can get some ideas as to what you are
trying to work with and I'll help you. How much do you weigh and how fat is your arse? I found a really good, comfortable, adjustable, spring
suspension seat for my Branson 2400 that's low mounting, based on the old Massy bucket seat but padded real nice. If you have a fat arse you won't fit
in it......but Ford has something similar, sits a bit higher and unlimited width that is real comfortable but not much back to it.....sorta like the old metal
pan seats but nicely padded and softly, adjustable springs, sits somewhat lower, is softer than the popular $99 tractor seats with the back with it's
extensions for arm rests.

Tires are part of the equation; soft sidewall, small diameter wheel, knobby for traction, fat tire with small diameter wheel for large balloon area run at
low pressure....5-8 psig type thing, counterbalance weight may be required to take the load off the front tires. If you have a FEL they need to be short
sidewall, rigid (max rated air pressure) making a counterbalance helpful.

Being a tractor vs a mower makes getting soft tires almost impossible.....even 4 ply turfs have stiff sidewalls which means no help in softening the ride
there. Low air pressure and lots of added weights helps a bit.

Just ad an old air ride seat out of an old semi cab. Mount a small air tank with a leveling valve on seat or just leave it be with just the air in tank going to seat. You can inflate tank to adjust the seat ride as desired. They make both low and higher style seat mounts.

I had the air seat in my '79, International cab-over. Works great but a huge seat for a smaller tractor. My 2007 Branson 6530C came with one as standard equipment, high back, variable lumbar, arm rests and all.

I also bought (www) a $100 LTV brand fabric covered air cushion that truckers use (fits big arses) which I move around to different machines as I use them when the going is really rough. You fill with an "oral" port, like an air mattress......BUT...it's far from that. Bottom is non-skid and top is heavy duty cloth so you don't sweat....much. The trick is low air pressure. If you blow it up hard, it's useless....just like a tire.....keep the pressure low to get some air compression to absorb the shock. This is really your cheapest insurance and quick fix, plus works with anything else you try, and as I said you don't sweat like on most vinyl mower and tractor seats. This and drop the air pressure in your tires to as low as you can and still keep the tire from spinning on the wheel, or going flat will get you started.....caution, fluid filled tires don't like low air pressures if you expect to keep the tires on the rims......BTDT.

I bought a 52" DR Pro Z and on my rough ground it beat me to death. Initially bought their low profile suspension adapter (2" dynamic range) and it put you right up under the control panel. Scrapped that $200 bit of guess work and then fabricated a bracket and put springs (soft springs I saw on a Cub Cadet ZT at TSC one day) under the seat which helped.

Then I got some air suspension cylinders (2) which are used on motorcycles, in place of springs. I rigged them up with an old acetylene tank I had from a portable brazing rig with gauge and Schrader fill port. Pumped it up to 10 psig and that worked pretty good. The tank was necessary to get some storage capacity. The cylinders didn't have enough volume to keep a steady air pressure for any length of time.

Want more stories, just ask. I have years worth of them. These stories cover 5 tractors, 3 ZTs and 2 conventional riding mowers; not all this relates to one tractor or mower.

(quoted from post at 02:34:07 07/15/18) I ruptured 2 discs in my back pretty bad. Going to try to add a suspension seat to my mowing tractor so it rides a little easier. It's a little IH 244 (Mitsubishi) compact . I think I can make this seat work with some modification. Has anyone bought one of these and liked it?

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/TS1040ATSP_Universal-Seat_24575.htm
I think the same seats are at TSC.

I was also wondering how low it can go and still have vertical travel. Once I make it fit I think it'll still sit 3 or 4 inches above the old seat but I can't find any info on how far the seat actually travels downward to the base. I'm a big guy on a little tractor so 3 or 4 inches higher is ok, but 6 or 7 means a different seat is needed. Anyone have a better idea that worked? Any thoughts or info is appreciated.

Click to expand...

I have that very seat on one of my tractors. It does sit a little higher, but not high enough you have to bend over to reach the steering wheel. The secret is in the adjustment of the knob for height/weight adjustment. You want it just tight enough where the seat bounces, but not bottom out. When it hits that bumper on the bottom it sends a shot up your spine. You'll have to fool with that knob until you get it just right.

Why not get your back fixed? I know the doctors don't like doing back surgeries until it's almost too late, but they are the ones not suffering with the pain.

I put the same seat from TSC on my 1550. The original deluxe seat but it was totally shot. I fabbed a mount from angle iron about the same angle as the original rails. The adjustment knob doesn't work worth a s**t. I'm around 210 and even at the lightest setting it doesn't bounce.

I put the TSC one on my 641 ford and didnt like it. It raised me up to much. I am 6'4" and 210 lbs. Took the seat back.