My father-n-law bought a 2001 xlt just like mine except his has 60/40 seat. His cushions are like sitting on concrete, no give when you sit on them. He can't ride very far because it hurts his back. Had it since april and only has 3,800 miles. Wonder if ford still offers 2000 seat cushions? any other suggestions welcomed. He really loves his truck

 

Ugh! Just went through that with a 2002........4x4 XLT ext. cab with the cloth captain's chairs. If your father-in-law's 60/40 is the latest version of the seat, the driver's side seating is very similar (if not idential) to the captain's chair. I also had issues with the seating position and the side bolstering....and some serious back pain. These seats are not made for a medium frame-type (IMHO, of course). My solution was to trade and upgrade to the Lariat (expensive, but worked with the dealer to make it tolerable). Seats are "supposed" to be the same in leather as the cloth version, but they really are different (padding, side bolsters, headreast, and more)....and the power seats in the Lariat also made a huge difference for me. Can't help you with seat pads but, before I made the trade, I did look into having the power seat version of the cloth captains chair installed (you didn't mention if your father-in-law had the power driver's seat). There is an aftermarket place here that could probably have done it (using Ford parts) for under $1000 (how far under I did not explore). I think I would have had a chance with the harder seats if I could have found a more comfortable driving position.

ernie

 

Not that i can help, just thought i would mention my buddy has 2001 reg cab and his seats are 1/10th as comfortable as my 99 reg cab. Mine might be on the soft side of things, and ford has then over compensated...

 

Thanks for your replies Looks like he going to trade for a crown vic sport with leather buckets, shame that is one good looking truck he has again thanks

 

This is really strange. I have a terrible back. When I was 35, had a slew of specialists because of the chornic back pain I was suffering from. The gist of what they said was I had the back of an 80 year old. Changes in my lifestyle and lots of physical therapy and training has helped me avoid the knife all these years, along with anti-inflamatory meds, pain meds, and electronics (TENS). I was so bad, I needed training to learn how to get out of bed!

I find the new firm seats a lot more comfortable. My '99's leather seats were softer than the '01's leather. I tilt the front up a bit to give me more support under my thighs. Tilt the back a bit from vertical and crank up the lumbar support.

I had to practically crawl out of my previous trucks after an hour, but even after spending 2 hours in my '01, I don't feel even half as bad as I used to.

For me, firm seats and beds with support in the right places is what I need. The new firm seats are just what I needed.

 

In my experience, those soft cushy seats cut off circulation in my legs and supported nothing properly.

Sometimes people just need to slide their seat forward or backward for the seat to be comfortable .

BMW spends quality one-on-one time with people @ driving school just to show you how to properly set your seat and steering wheel (and for good reason too)