Air Spring Gravely Seat

[pizzaman09]

My brother and I have been using the awesome 86 Gravely Pro Master 50 our grandpa had purchased new.  It's a beast of a 50" zero turn mower that does an amazing job of creating a nice finish cut to being a brush hog for our untamed property.  Basically it is a tricycle style zero turn with a rear steering wheel and left and right brakes on the drive wheels for making sharp truns.

 

The only real issue with it has been the incredible rough ride due to there being zero suspension in the frame or seat.  

To fix this we've engineered and built a seat suspended by air springs in the back and some compliance in the front by a rubber hose.

 

The system has two set of hinges configured in a Z to allow the seat to freely move up and down on both ends.  

 

The Z action also conveniently allows the seat to be folded up into the steering wheel for extreme access under the seat.  

 

Haven't tried it yet, as I am awaiting one replacement air spring as one of them leaks.  The system appears to provide soft compliant travel, exciting compared to the zero suspension it has before.  

[89 MJ]

Very cool! I like that idea a lot. On one of my Bolens 1556s, I used 4 small block Chevy valve springs to cushion the seat.