Bucket VS Captains chairs?

[Als69GT]

What is the difference between a bucket seat and a Captains chair?

Al

[jonrjen]

Not a thing. The term Captains Chair/Seat refers to an individual seat used by the Captain of his rig. It also sounds nice and expensive (even though it is a no charge item), much more so than the term bucket seat.

[Going_Going_Gone]

I think that a captain's chair is just a bucket seat with a high back and built-in arm rest(s).

[SmokeyWren]

The so-called captain's chairs and the 40 part of the 40/20/40 seat are identical - except for the inboard arm rest. The captain's chair has the too-small inboard arm rest attached to the seatback. The 40/20/40 seat uses the the folded down backrest of the "20" seat as the inboard armrest.

I'm a short guy at 5' 8", so neither inboard armrest is comfortable for me. But taller guys like the folded down armrest of the 40/20/40 seat. I can't imagine anyone liking the tacked-on inboard armrest of the so-called captain's chairs.

I say so-called captain's chairs because, way back when, I had a Ford van with "real" captain's chairs. They were about an $800 option for the two front seats. They were made by Flexsteel, and they were outstanding. But those "free" so-called captain's chairs in the '99-up PSDs are nothing to write home about. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[frobozz]

Don't "real" captain's chairs, like in conversion vans, also pivot on their base? Making ingress/egress easier for front seat passengers, and allowing rear van passengers to face each other for a conversation or game of cards or whatever? I've never understood why Ford calls their seats "captain's chairs"...

Duncan

[magnus1]

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...%20Chassis.pdf

[SmokeyWren]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't "real" captain's chairs, like in conversion vans, also pivot on their base?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. The Ford optional captain's chairs in my '77 Ford E-van pivoted 360º. And that was about 30 years ago. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Van conversion companies still offer those same Flexssteel captain's chairs in their higher-end models.