The TraXion BigFoot ProGear Roll Seat features large 4” Speed Casters to provide excellent mobility on most shop floors, and an upholstered seat padded for extra comfort. The large Spinning Gear Tray spins making it easy for technicians to locate tools and parts, and is also removable and portable so users can take the tray along to the tool bench, load it with the tools and then head back to the seat to work. The deep well center accommodates cans or other tall items, and the tray spins for easy access to all of its contents. The seat has a non-porous material for easy cleanup.
The review
In shops that don't use overhead lifts, a seat at the right height is the difference between a technician working comfortably or having to spend hours sitting on their knees to work on vehicles.
For Eric Moore, owner of DeMary Truck in Columbus, Ohio, the TraXion Bigfoot ProGear roll seat is at the optimal high to sit and work on the vehicles in his shop, which are jacked up around 18" to 23" on average. At that height the vehicle's axle is about waist high, making it too high for technicians to work on them sitting on the floor, and too low to stand and work.
Because of this the ProGear Bigfoot was mainly used for brake- and battery-related jobs, and it saw a lot of use when replacing caliper pads and rotors on the Mitsubishi-Fuso trucks DeMary Truck often services
Moore said the seat is very sturdy, and rolls seamlessly under any type of weight from the technician.
Moore's shop floor has some cracking and pitted concrete which caught the wheel of the Bigfoot seat, but, as Moore says, "anything less than a pneumatic tire will always get caught that way." He says his other mechanic seats in the shop, which have little casters, do much worse combatting the pitted concrete.
There is some assembly required before using the Bigfoot roll seat, and it comes with a round plastic tray, called the Spinning Gear Tray, that spins 360 degree and sits on the lower frame of the seat.
For Moore, the removable Spinning Gear Tray feature needed some improvement to work in his shop. He suggests a more secure, trimmed back tray, so the tray wouldn't get caught on work boots, which he saw happen occasionally. Ideally, he would rather have a clip or spring-loaded bearing with a lip so it can still be removed.
"While [the tray is] a nice feature, and very usable, our environment didn’t support it," Moore said. "The tray is not secured to the chassis, so it was knocked off a lot, and eventually we just removed it. One of our guys put it on his tool cart and uses it for a parts tray. We considered putting a couple screws through it into the chassis to secure it, but that takes away from the design for it to be able to spin 360 degrees."
Aside from the suggested changes to the tray, Moore confirmed the TraXion Bigfoot ProGear roll seat was a “good product” and “very simple and easy to use.”
Manufacturer's note: TraXion Engineered Products values the feedback from technician reviews. In the PTEN review of our Bigfoot ProGear Roll Seat we understand the reviewer’s frustration with the tray, and have redesigned the tray. The tray is now removeable with carry handles, and fits within the frame. The updated tray will be available in early November 2016.
