Trucker seat pads/cushions

Thank you nj diesel for starting this thread, and for Criminy Jade and others for chiming in. Today I got motivated to open up the cloth cover on my Magic Gel and start to work cutting down the front edge that has been cutting off the circulation in my legs. It was a Catch-22, if I lowered the seat enough to avoid getting leg problems then whenever I hit a bump I would still get quite a jolt on my spine in spite of the thick gel cushion. If I raised the seat enough to allow the air ride to soften impact on bumps then my legs suffered.

I spent about an hour cutting away the thickness on the front of the gel pad (mine is about 1.5" thick) using the scissors on a swiss army knife. I'm excited to get on the road for a real test tomorrow morning. Testing it in a stationary truck today after my work I think I've solved the problem. I think I'll have enough cushion on my posterior and have feeling in my legs with the seat raised to a position to soften the impact of hitting bumps.

I'll report back after riding this for a while and let all of you know. I think the Magic Gel cushion is really a great product, they just didn't consider leg circulation when designing the shape.

Actually I bought my original Magic Gel last summer, the thinnest one because I didn't know they had thicker ones. That was fine but didn't really take care of the impact of big bumps. The thicker one I bought about 4 months ago and it really takes care of impacts, but that leg problem has been an issue.

 

I will have to look into one of those pads I guess, I know adjusting the seat also gives me issues, if its lowered then my legs suffer and the impacts are much harder when I hit a bump and the seat bangs, if I raise it too high then for some reason the angle of holding the steering wheel gives me shoulder pain and cramps where im always having to stretch and pop it. I can never find that happy medium it seems.

 

Well I just had an excellent test this morning, running from Mira Loma to Moreno Valley on notoriously bad freeway, the "California Concrete". My modification of my Magic Gel pad worked great! Now I can raise the seat high enough to have the air ride absorb the shock of the bumps while not cutting off circulation in my legs. I'll keep you all posted how this works on longer hauls.

Basically I cut down the front edge of the pad to about 3/4" to 1" and left the back half of the pad alone. There really isn't any need for that thick padding in the front. I think I took at least half a pound of honeycomb gel off the front.

It might be worthwhile to look into purchasing the thickest pad and cutting down the front edge in the same fashion, that would provide the greatest amount of impact protection.

 

More California Concrete driving LA to San Jose yesterday, and to Sacramento today. So far the modified Magic Gel, with the front cut down to about 3/4" to 1" thickness seems to be working just fine. For the first time I'm able to inflate the air ride in the seat to avoid getting my back hammered from jolts and my legs aren't hurting from having the circulation cut off (almost)...

... I need to shave down maybe a little more off the front outside edges.

I'm also considering shaving a little off the tail bone area as well to relieve a little pressure there as well. After I'm done and road tested this for a while I'll take out the honeycomb gel pad and take a picture so you can see what I've done.

 

I am running a 2003 International until I get another partner. My Extreme WonderGel cushion is worth it's weight in platinum after the rough roads I encountered on Friday.

 

So far I've been running a couple of weeks with the modified WonderGel, having cut down the front of the pad to about 3/4" to give more circulation in the legs. This has eliminated the problem of pain in my legs from lack of circulation. I'm considering further modification to even reduce the front edge a tad more and perhaps remove some material under the bony part of my bottom to reduce some pressure. No matter what, the WonderGel is an investment that I think is instrumental in my continuing to be able to drive long hours.

 

Update after modifying my WonderGel by cutting down the front edge to create channels for my legs to have more circulation, after a few months of driving with it:

I had been seriously considering whether I might need to stop driving altogether. Most days I had been finishing my shift with a LOT of lower back pain and pain in my legs from lack of circulation. After modifying my seat cushion the pain was reduced, but still not gone. Some days I found it difficult to walk, looking like an old man crossing the parking lot.

Then I discovered something about my seat I hadn't paid attention to before, the controls that allowed me to do two things that made a WORLD of difference:

1. I found that I could adjust the length of the seat. My truck has a bar that releases so I could then shove the seat part all the way back, leaving the front of the seat short of my knees and giving me much better circulation.

2. I also found that I could tilt the entire seat forward, completely taking pressure off my hamstrings and now have great circulation and no more pain in my legs.

These two adjustments THEN allowed me to raise the seat enough that I no longer bottom out on hard potholes. It is now very unusual for me to experience back pain anymore and I can drive much longer without taking a "leg shaker" break.

With shorter legs (30" inseam) these adjustments were critical. I'd encourage everyone to really become familiar with the seat adjustment options on your truck. Together with the WonderGel cushion modifications I'm much more comfortable.

 

Thanks so much Lepton1! I came here because I sit all day working from my home at my computer and my butt was getting so sore, I thought if anyone knows how this feels and has any cushion advice, it would be truckers! I will definitely be trying this cushion and my fingers are crossed!

PS - glad you found your seat adjustments!

 

Hi Lepton1.

I'm considering buying a Wondergel cushion due to the occupational hazard of sitting at a drawing board day in and day out for the last 30 years.....
In this case the occupational hazard has been Prostatitis.

....can you offer any tips on trimming the cushion, and also, is it still performing well since your last post?

Thanks