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I wanted to share my install experience I had putting an LMI rear seat lift in my truck in the instance that someone else had similar issues or plans on installing a kit on their truck in the future. I want to note that I am not trying to bash LMI. This is simply the experience I had with them. However, I will say I was disappointed with the lack of customer support. The person I worked put little effort into my issues, basically a 'take it or leave it' type deal.
The seat lift was performed on my 2012 F250 CCSB King Ranch. Their kit fits a range of SDs. I believe 2005-16.
The installation is pretty straight forward in theory. Remove under seat storage tray (if applicable), unbolt rear seat from floor ((3) mounting points front, (3) rear), unbolt seat belt latches from floor, install seat belt latch lift brackets followed by the latches themselves, tighten hardware. Install the rear row seat lift brackets, tighten. Loosely install rear seat to the lift brackets. Install and tighten front row lift brackets, loosely install seat to front lift brackets, tighten all remaining hardware. Reinstall storage tray.
The first fitment issue was (2) of the the seat belt latch lift brackets interfering with my factory subwoofer. These needed to be trimmed shorter to create enough clearance between the end of the bracket and the subwoofer enclosure. This one I gave a pass as I know most of the people that install these kits do it to create additional under seat space for a custom sub set up and/or do not have a rear sub. I did it because I have a pet peeve about low positioned seats. They put all your weight on your butt instead of spreading it evenly throughout your butt and legs. It really agitates my back and legs, even to the point of going painfully numb. I refuse to sit in most smaller cars and non-powered seats due to this.
The second issue I had was the middle seat belt reel not wanting to retract by itself anymore. It had to be assisted every time due to the seat being taller and interfering with the seat belt reel. Again, a minimal issue.
The third and more important fitment issue was the fact that the seat lift actually pushed the rear seat back to where the powered sliding rear glass would barely function. The seat was putting too much pressure into the middle seat belt reel cover (positioned to the side of the middle headrest). This pressure on the reel cover translated to pressure onto the rear slider. When I pressed the button to open the slider you could tell the motor was working especially hard. It did not make me comfortable at all. At this point I contacted LMI for help. To keep it short, they gave me multiple suggestions and none of which helped or really addressed the clearance issue I was having. The most they offered was a return and refund. Not what I was looking for.
The first remedy I tried was just to remove the middle seat belt reel cover all together. Simple as that right? Nope. Although removing cover helped the belt retraction issue, it created another issue as well. Without the reel cover pushing the seat forward some, the seat back could now settle even further towards the back of the cab. The back of the headrests were now resting on the back glass. This inhibited the rear slider even more. Now it could only open about 1/2 way before it hit the drivers side rear headrest.
The remedy that actually got me to the finish line was to simply re-drill the holes in the lift brackets. This effectively brought the seat forward about 5/8" and solved all my remaining fitment issues. I ended up leaving the middle seat belt reel cover off. Even with the seat forward more, it still was too tight against the back of the seat for my liking. Attached are some pictures along the way.
Overall I'm happy with the results. What I'm not happy about is the time I had to put into altering the brackets just to get them to work for my truck. I'm not sure if what I ran into was the rule or the exception but for the cost of the kit I expected better. If I had access to a finger brake I could've made the same brackets in an afternoon.
The seat lift was performed on my 2012 F250 CCSB King Ranch. Their kit fits a range of SDs. I believe 2005-16.
The installation is pretty straight forward in theory. Remove under seat storage tray (if applicable), unbolt rear seat from floor ((3) mounting points front, (3) rear), unbolt seat belt latches from floor, install seat belt latch lift brackets followed by the latches themselves, tighten hardware. Install the rear row seat lift brackets, tighten. Loosely install rear seat to the lift brackets. Install and tighten front row lift brackets, loosely install seat to front lift brackets, tighten all remaining hardware. Reinstall storage tray.
The first fitment issue was (2) of the the seat belt latch lift brackets interfering with my factory subwoofer. These needed to be trimmed shorter to create enough clearance between the end of the bracket and the subwoofer enclosure. This one I gave a pass as I know most of the people that install these kits do it to create additional under seat space for a custom sub set up and/or do not have a rear sub. I did it because I have a pet peeve about low positioned seats. They put all your weight on your butt instead of spreading it evenly throughout your butt and legs. It really agitates my back and legs, even to the point of going painfully numb. I refuse to sit in most smaller cars and non-powered seats due to this.
The second issue I had was the middle seat belt reel not wanting to retract by itself anymore. It had to be assisted every time due to the seat being taller and interfering with the seat belt reel. Again, a minimal issue.
The third and more important fitment issue was the fact that the seat lift actually pushed the rear seat back to where the powered sliding rear glass would barely function. The seat was putting too much pressure into the middle seat belt reel cover (positioned to the side of the middle headrest). This pressure on the reel cover translated to pressure onto the rear slider. When I pressed the button to open the slider you could tell the motor was working especially hard. It did not make me comfortable at all. At this point I contacted LMI for help. To keep it short, they gave me multiple suggestions and none of which helped or really addressed the clearance issue I was having. The most they offered was a return and refund. Not what I was looking for.
The first remedy I tried was just to remove the middle seat belt reel cover all together. Simple as that right? Nope. Although removing cover helped the belt retraction issue, it created another issue as well. Without the reel cover pushing the seat forward some, the seat back could now settle even further towards the back of the cab. The back of the headrests were now resting on the back glass. This inhibited the rear slider even more. Now it could only open about 1/2 way before it hit the drivers side rear headrest.
The remedy that actually got me to the finish line was to simply re-drill the holes in the lift brackets. This effectively brought the seat forward about 5/8" and solved all my remaining fitment issues. I ended up leaving the middle seat belt reel cover off. Even with the seat forward more, it still was too tight against the back of the seat for my liking. Attached are some pictures along the way.
Overall I'm happy with the results. What I'm not happy about is the time I had to put into altering the brackets just to get them to work for my truck. I'm not sure if what I ran into was the rule or the exception but for the cost of the kit I expected better. If I had access to a finger brake I could've made the same brackets in an afternoon.
