What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Thanks to DJ!

Ironflight

VAF Moderator / Line Boy
Mentor
I’ve just got to give a public Thanks! To DJ Lauritsen at Cleaveland (which, interestingly enough, is in Iowa…). Over six years ago, I went to her for custom seats for the RV-8 I was building. The design and workmanship was outstanding, they have always been very comfortable, and she easily incorporated the design I wanted to embroidery on the seat backs.

1350 hours and close to six years of flying later, I am still totally impressed with the seat and aside from a fuzzy spot that got grabbed by some Velcro, they looked like new. Unfortunately; time, temperature, and sun take their toll….and a couple of weeks ago, I was getting out of the airplane after a short cross-country and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted…FOAM! I did a double-take, and sure enough, there was a tear, right across the middle of the pilot’s-seat back, right next to a seam. Closer examination showed that the material had simply pulled apart – and I could see that sun and sweat had done their damage to weaken the fibers.

A quick call to DJ the next morning confirmed that yes indeed, they could fix it – and that they could turn it around the day they got it! While they still had the same fabric, DJ couldn’t guarantee that it would match the stuff that had been in the field for six years, but replacing the entire center panel would at least make it uniform. I shipped it off on a Tuesday and DJ called me on Thursday to tell me that it was ready to return – and they’d replaced the side panel with the Velcro damage for good measure. The cost? Well, all I can say is that I hope they make their living selling tools, cause s he’s not going to get rich doing repairs for this price!

The repaired cushion arrived in a couple of days, and looked like new – and it matched the old fabric perfectly – no fading! I was impressed with the whole process – the fact that the cushion could be repaired, the speed and cost, and the cheerful, “can-do” attitude of DJ and her team. I don’t think you can go wrong if you’re looking at them to do your interior!

Paul
 
Last edited:
I love my DJ seats. I am more comfortable in the airplane than in any car I have ever had, and no problems here over the last 12 years.
 
They are great folks there, Mike has helped me out several times over the years, but Paul, you bring out the spelling police in me! They do not spell their name like the city......................
 
For those of us on the front end of the learning curve...

...it would be great if, as a routine part of any review or vendor rec, the OP could offer the vendor's URL, assuming there is one. (Google 'DJ seats' to see what led me to post this). Just suggesting a bit of forum hygiene...:)

Paul, your post led me to your Valkyrie 'introduction' thread; somehow I'd missed seeing that before. What a wonderful combo of pics, workmanship, thoughtful cockpit design and functional work space. The follow-up Q&A with all your 'the rest of the story' commentary was like cherries on the cake. Thanks - once again - for your contributions here.

Jack
 
DJ ROCKS.... she did my interior and oh so comfyyyyy!! Hands down, awesome service. :) oh, and did I mention the "Price is Right" .
 
Thanks everyone for your proofreading skills....mine, obviously, have never been up to par! (I should never be let out of the house without a copy editor following behind me... ;) )
 
I'll second the service quality...

I have always been extremely satisfied with the service and products DJ, Mike and Annette (and Buzz too) have provided over the years. Cleaveland will always be my number one source for tools and interior products.
I had a thread problem with one of my countersinks after 6 months of service. I called up Mike and asked him if there was a way to fix it. He said "Sure, I'll send you a new one!" The charge...nothing. He explained there were several of a certain part number that had a bad thread on it and he was just going to assume that mine was one of those.
That kind of service means more to me than anything else...of course their tools are second to none in quality. Those two characteristics make them top choice in my book.
 
Thanks to all for the wonderful comments. It has been a couple weeks since I have had time to look at the forum, what a great first post to read!

The website for DJ's seats is: http://www.cleavelandtool.com/rvinteriors/catsub4.html
This webpage was made in the late 1990's so it is not much to look at. I need to do some modifications for her I suppose. If those of you that have DJ's seats, and have good photos of them to share, please send them to mike.toolman (at) gmail.com and I will try and incorporate them. Also comments on what you would like/expect to see on the page would be welcome as well. Please email them rather than adding to the forum post.

Thanks,
Mike
 
Back
Top