Before continuing with the seat installation coverage, it only makes sense to spend some time on the seats themselves.
This quartet of Mastercraft seats is a comfy lot. The two Baja RS front seats will be used the most, so they're the most feature-loaded.
The Baja RS spans the gap between OEM-style seating and off-road only racing seats. How so? The Baja RS reclines rearward and dumps forward just as many factory seats do. Seats that tilt are particularly well-equipped for a variety of occupants and a variety of vehicles.
Do you have an extended-cab pickup truck? The forward-dump feature allows easy access to the rear of the cab.
If you've got a Jeep, you'll appreciate the Baja RS for the height of the side bolsters. They're just high enough to hold you in place on the trail, yet are low enough for easy ingress and egress. During a day on the trail, you'll enter and exit the Jeep at least two dozen times. Lunch has to be eaten, trailside scenery (waterfalls, cabins, and mining equipment draw me in closer) has to be explored on foot, and the occasional repair has to be made. Deep-sided racing seats become more of a headache than a benefit here. The Baja RS rules on the trail.
In the 4Runner, we've taken several trips long enough to mandate pulling over and taking naps. We'd be upright, sleepless, and cranky without the reclining feature.
Tilting the seats is done via a slick-looing billet aluminum knob attached to a heavy-duty steel actuator. The tilt actuator mechanism can be mounted on either side of the seat.
The Baja RS has slots for racing harnesses, but will work just fine with stock-style three-point restraints.
The Baja RS has more in common with racing seats than racing harness compatibility. The Baja RS is built with racing-style suspension. Suspension seats are favored for their ability to cradle your body and protect it from the hard terrain-induced jolts that otherwise leave you sore and exhausted at the end of the day.
In addition to the custom color scheme, we went for a few options for our Baja RS seats.