Scheel-Mann Seats Installed in 2nd Gen Tacoma

After years of settling for discomfort before finding seat jackers which I used for a year or so, I finally made the big step to go with the Scheel-Mann seats in my 2010 Access Cab.

I purchased them through the folks over at @ToleranceSTACK who were very helpful and involved through every step of the installation process. The installers were the top-notch guys over at RPM Garage in Monrovia, CA (wish I had found these guys earlier).

During the installation of the seats, there arose an unexpected scenario with my truck's particular seat rail on the passenger side. The OEM seats had the fold-flat feature which only some of the select models of the 05-15 Access Cabs have, this made the Tolerance Stack mount incompatible with the existing seat rails. The Tolerance Stack mounts repurpose the OEM seat rails to retain the integrity of the Airbag and seat safety features.

Tolerance Stack and RPM did a full collaboration on this and came up with a new approach for Tacomas with this particular issue. They came out with an article on it:

https://www.tolerance-stack.com/post/navigating-the-toyota-tacoma-fold-flat-passenger-seat

I've only had the seats for a couple days now and will post future updates here. I can only say they definitely look sexier than OEM and have more ergonomic features.

 

Looks cozy.

 

Hate to be a party-pooper but does removing the stock SRS-enabled (side air bags) seats make a vehicle no-longer-road-legal? Nobody's likely to notice under normal conditions but I wonder if it might cause problems when trying to file an insurance claim for medical bills after a major accident.

Aside from that question: very nice-looking truck. 2nd gen access cabs good proportions. Double-cabs look a bit like absurd stretch limos and regular-cabs look comically short-and-stubby.

 

Also hate to be a party-pooper but that just isn't accurate. Much as going larger than stock tires, removing a safety crumble zone for a gnarly steel bumper, adding 1500lbs over your GVW, using wheel spacers, etc etc etc... Removing a seat with a side airbag is fine so long as it is disclosed with the insurance company. We've discussed this with a few different companies and all basically say the same thing. If it's disclosed, it's covered. Now removing a FRONT airbag (let's say an aftermarket steering wheel) is a little trickier with the insurance company but still doable. But in doing so you lose an insurance discount, for having airbags, taken away.

Now all this changes if you live in a province that has airbag checks as part of the inspection. There are ways around that but nothing that will be discussed here.

 

Definitely more comfortable than stock seats. They're a little stiff right now and from what I understand there's a break-in period involved.

 

I think Tolerance Stack answered your question best. Thank you for the compliments on the truck! I do agree about the AC, that's my preference since I especially value having a longer bed without ending up with limo-like proportions.

 

those look badass!!

 

Hmm, interesting.

I just thought/assumed, possibly incorrectly, that it was against the law -- at least, US Federal law, anyway, to modify or remove anything related to a) SRS / airbag safety systems b) ABS/skid control/traction control and c) emissions-related systems like SAIS, catalytics, etc.

 

The statute specifically does not say that an "individual" cannot modify their vehicle. Emissions though is its own animal with much much bigger teeth and unrelated to seats. But again, insurance doesn't need to be an issue.

 

If you would be so gracious to let me have a seat in the seats and ever make your way thru Coachella Valley send me a message, I would be grateful.

 

Noted, sir. Will do if I’m ever out your way.

 

Alright out of curiousity I went & read through a lot of the Tolerance Stack website. I see this is a very serious solution & they've thought through every last detail of these replacement seats & their mountings to make them fully Tacoma-compatible & copacetic with the SRS & other systems. Impressive.

(When I first read & responded to post, at that point I thought the seat was "just another cheap-ish generic drop-in race-car-style seat replacement.")

 

Seat Cost?

 

https://www.tolerance-stack.com/category/tacoma-products

Seats now start at around $2500 for the heat only Vario F, then goes up from there. Klima (heated and cooled) goes up another $600. Leather pups it up another 50% over base. From there you need the mounting kits.

Packages start at 3634.oo for the driver kit and 4434.00 for the passenger kit. Its for sure an investment but once you are in them on long drives it will feel worth it.

 

Glad I was able to get them before the tariffs kicked in.

 

This is a reasonable cost given a) the level of quality in design/engineering/construction and b) the inherently low unit sale volume of such products, as a percentage of all installed seats in the supported passenger vehicles.

I spent ~$6.5K on a 4-corners FOX 2.5's suspension upgrade for my 2nd gen and while I still feel the wallet ding from time to time, overall it is worth it for the increased safety & confidence on-road. Similar situation -- high quality premium product + relatively low installed base = higher cost.

In my case the FOX 2.5's aren't "medically necessary," but maybe they are considering that when carrying heavy loads, trailer, etc they do reduce the chances of my getting in an accident.

 

Not to mention you spend more time on the seats and interact with them than any other auto part or accessory. It actually alters your driving experience.

 

That's a very good point. Sort of like tires -- the only interface between your vehicle and the road.

This thread may be hazardous to my wallet. I might have to road-trip from northern CA to Portland to sit & drive around in Tolerance Stack't scheel-maan seat. (If I get serious I'll inquire about availability & scheduling before making the trip.)

 

Tariffs definitely do not help. A 25% tax doesn't help. At least our side of things is made here so no pricing increases...except for steel

 

If we had to guess, when we first started out it was easily 100% bad back issues. Some of them super serious. We had one customer that could not travel unless she was in the tacoma on a special bed her husband made here. It wasn't until the scheel-manns that she could finally be INSIDE the truck for any drive duration. It was a pretty gnarly situation.