Deleted member 28614
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In the interest of information, even when nobody asked, I thought I would relate my experience of installing these Smittybilt seat covers into my Overland. First off, the bottom seat covers went on in minutes, fit like a glove, were easy to secure and look great. And the quality almost matched my cloth interior seat covers one for one. The problem I had was trying to secure the front side of the upright seat covers to their rear side. The covers have flaps on the front and back, that are supposed to go through the gap between the bottom seat and the upper, meet on the back side, and then are held together with Velcro. This is what pulls the seat cover tight over the back and keeps it in place. I will say, that was a hassle. It took me almost an hour to get the left and right seat back covers on and secured. And the flaps just barely met, which caused some problems when moving the back of the seat forward and back; as the upper seat back moved, it would catch the tape and pull it apart. So, in the interest of brevity (yeah right, shot that idea already), I will list my thoughts and recommendations for anyone who may want to do this in the future.
1. I contacted Smittybilt about this, they couldn't have been more helpful. Tech Support and I were on the phone together for over an hour trying to figure out where the issue for fitment occurred. They were the first to admit, it may be that their R&D may have to re-look at the seats and seat covers in case there may have to be a modification to make them easier to install. Actually, just about two inches more of material on the front flap, would make all the difference. They asked for a detailed email on what I had to do to get them installed.
2. If you can avoid it, do not do this on a cold day. It does recommend that it be at least 60F, and allow them to sit in the sun, not unlike putting on the soft top. Unfortunately, where I live in upstate NY, we won't see these temperatures until June, and I wanted to get them on ASAP. The day I installed them was 35F. I did put them in the drier on medium low for about 20 minutes, and ran the truck with full heater, and seat heat on, but after an hour of playing with them, any benefit from putting them into the drier was wasted.
3. Easier with a 2nd person. Probably could have done it in half the time. My wife came out for 5 minutes, said it was to cold, wished me luck and went to the casino.
4. They have been installed about 4 weeks now, really look great, and now that they have stretched out some, they really conform to the seats. Haven't had any issue with slipping, or having to re-secure. But will probably do so once the weather heats up.
5. Bottom line is after having many covers on many jeep's, these are as good as any I have purchased, and some, for much more than I paid for these, particularly since the cost included 7 MOLLE bags.
1. I contacted Smittybilt about this, they couldn't have been more helpful. Tech Support and I were on the phone together for over an hour trying to figure out where the issue for fitment occurred. They were the first to admit, it may be that their R&D may have to re-look at the seats and seat covers in case there may have to be a modification to make them easier to install. Actually, just about two inches more of material on the front flap, would make all the difference. They asked for a detailed email on what I had to do to get them installed.
2. If you can avoid it, do not do this on a cold day. It does recommend that it be at least 60F, and allow them to sit in the sun, not unlike putting on the soft top. Unfortunately, where I live in upstate NY, we won't see these temperatures until June, and I wanted to get them on ASAP. The day I installed them was 35F. I did put them in the drier on medium low for about 20 minutes, and ran the truck with full heater, and seat heat on, but after an hour of playing with them, any benefit from putting them into the drier was wasted.
3. Easier with a 2nd person. Probably could have done it in half the time. My wife came out for 5 minutes, said it was to cold, wished me luck and went to the casino.
4. They have been installed about 4 weeks now, really look great, and now that they have stretched out some, they really conform to the seats. Haven't had any issue with slipping, or having to re-secure. But will probably do so once the weather heats up.
5. Bottom line is after having many covers on many jeep's, these are as good as any I have purchased, and some, for much more than I paid for these, particularly since the cost included 7 MOLLE bags.
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