I conditioned them for the third time in eight days. They seem to keep fading after conditioning them. When I did it today, damn near burnt my hand. The leather on the passenger was HOT!!!! I am hoping they will be fine for the next three months. The rear seats do not seem to get the sun that the front seats get.


Lenny, how many times a year did you do yours in McAllen? Dallas is almost as hot. Maybe yours was garaged? My seats take a beating in the evening due to the setting sun, and it is the hottest time of the day. I am thinking of putting a cloth over the seats, and see if this helps. Thoughts?

 

I was actually down the valley on the coast at Port Isabel, and it may have been a tad cooler there. In the height of the summer when I was back in the UK the first KR 150's I had were stored in Houston at a friends automotive business on Westheimer,but they were kept outside but under a good quality breathable cover. The seats never seemed to suffer at all.

At other times of the year even in the winter of course it would get into the high 80's and the sun was still very powerful. I would condition maybe once a month and again the seats were fine.

I don't know quite what you mean by the ' seats keep fading '.

As you apply the conditioner the seats will look darker and then dry out to their natural colour.
Are you sure you are not expecting them to be darker than they should be, though as you say you have the back seats in good condition for comparison.

I'm sure you will find that most owners will say the backs are always in better condition, both because of lesser use and the windows at the back usually have a greater degree of tint lessening the effects of the sun.

However I am sure you don't need to condition 3 times in 8 days !!

 

tint the windows on the driver & passenger doors 20% to match the back and use a windshield sunscreen when the truck is parked. works great of rme.

 

A simple solution...that I never thought of.

Thanks, I am gonna have to do that.

 

I ordered the leather care lotion from King Ranch Saddle Shop and also some of the King Ranch logo towels to put on the seats for additional protection for those times when they may be exposed to harsh sunlight.

 

KR logo towels. Sounds like something else to waste my money on...not that there is anything wrong with that.

I am gonna take a look.

 

My '07 KR was spent mostly in the garage (at work, and at home). Nonetheless, it does seem the KR leather dries out from direct sunlight and from body heat. Keep it conditioned as best as you can, use sunshade (for the windshield) and tint the windows. But these actions will minimize not prevent drying of the leather.

 

When I got my 2001 KR I wanted to keep the leather looking as fine as I could so I found these fantastic window shades made by an aircraft company - Cee Bailey's Aircraft Custom Auto Shades. - links to their page for F150 SuperCrew (2001 - 2003).



The best overall investment I've ever made for keeping my truck cool and the seats protected. I recommend to all KR owners. I have the full front set and it is not that much of a problem to set up and take down - as my truck is worth it!

 

I could not agree with you more! I got a set within a week of getting my '02, and while mine is in the garage at home all the time, when I'm not at home, these are in the windows! I do not know if they have them available for the new body style yet or not? It would be well worth the time to check and see!

 

You need to let your seats cool off, dont put the conditioner on when they are hot, works better when they are cooler gets into the leather better.