DIY Storage/Luggage Compartment under the bus??

[Lolo1]

Here’s what I’m doing. I took the old bus seats and cut off the back of them and am in the middle of welding them upside down under the bus. Then I’ll cut and hinge the very bottom outside panel to be a door. I’ll use the seat to be the frame. Then just throw some sheet metal down to make a box. I’ll post some pics when I’m done. By the way I have a 2000?e-450 stripped chassis 21 foot short bus.

[AraS]

great! please take pictures of the building process too.

[brokedown]

I'm looking at a similar thing for mine. I have lots of seats and I'd rather use the metal than discard it!

[Lolo1]

Here some pics so you can see how it looks. The one pic taken from out from under the bus is just to show you where your looking at in the other pics. It’s right after the door and the propane tank I put that there just so you could get some kind of idea of where I put it. I plan to hinge the section below the black line that goes across the outside of the bus to access what ever I end up putting there. Just have to throw some sheet metal down and around it you got yourself some more storage space.

[AraS]

Originally Posted by Lolo1

Here some pics so you can see how it looks. The one pic taken from out from under the bus is just to show you where your looking at in the other pics. It’s right after the door and the propane tank I put that there just so you could get some kind of idea of where I put it. I plan to hinge the section below the black line that goes across the outside of the bus to access what ever I end up putting there. Just have to throw some sheet metal down and around it you got yourself some more storage space.

Very creative! good use of materials. did you have to cut the seat legs a bit? I'm trying to find out how much storage that will be when it's all done.

[Rovobay]

Originally Posted by Lolo1

Here some pics so you can see how it looks. The one pic taken from out from under the bus is just to show you where your looking at in the other pics. It’s right after the door and the propane tank I put that there just so you could get some kind of idea of where I put it. I plan to hinge the section below the black line that goes across the outside of the bus to access what ever I end up putting there. Just have to throw some sheet metal down and around it you got yourself some more storage space.

I love the re-purposed use of seats. please post more (rotated pics) of the progress.

[jjhwick119]

Now thats how you repurpose! I would have never thought of that. Very nice!

[Yukon Cornelius]

The endless creativity and ingenuity here are awesome
would love more pics for sure

[oldntired]

Hate to show my ignorance... but...
how did you attach bench frames to the underside of the bus? Weld to the ribs or drill through the floor and put bolts down?
I saved my benches to re-purpose them, but not sure of how to "mount" them to the bus.

[Rawlings]

Hey, I would like to know when adding these frames for under storage, do most of you weld them into the bus frame/chasis or do you drill through floor and bolt?

[Sleddgracer]

VERY good idea - similar to the not fully formed idea I've had about skirting for aerodynamic reasons and using the skirting to cover storage compartments, acompanied with the specter of buying a lot of angle iron in the back of my mind - using the seat frames is a great idea, and sort of a 'DUH' moment for me with a 'why didn't I think of that?' feeling

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

VERY good idea - similar to the not fully formed idea I've had about skirting for aerodynamic reasons and using the skirting to cover storage compartments, acompanied with the specter of buying a lot of angle iron in the back of my mind - using the seat frames is a great idea, and sort of a 'DUH' moment for me with a 'why didn't I think of that?' feeling

I agree, would anyone have input if these frames or w.e material used to create a storage compartment would have to be welded to the bus frame or would it be bolted (drill holes in frame/floor above and held by bolts)

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

I agree, would anyone have input if these frames or w.e material used to create a storage compartment would have to be welded to the bus frame or would it be bolted (drill holes in frame/floor above and held by bolts)

not an easy answer because it would be a case by case situation - cross members would be my first choice - through the floor would be a 2nd but valid choice too

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

not an easy answer because it would be a case by case situation - cross members would be my first choice - through the floor would be a 2nd but valid choice too

I also found these that go inside garages on roof...would this also hold up, everything in the kit that is needed to build, at about 100-200 bucks and weight capacity of 600 pounds... I don't think that''s a bad deal if it can resist all the moving, I guess since the steel has holes to mount to a ceiling...it would be best to drill through floor above to hold it, I don't see how I would weld it??

https://www.homedepot.com/p/NewAge-P...0151/205003289

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

I also found these that go inside garages on roof...would this also hold up, everything in the kit that is needed to build, at about 100-200 bucks and weight capacity of 600 pounds... I don't think that''s a bad deal if it can resist all the moving, I guess since the steel has holes to mount to a ceiling...it would be best to drill through floor above to hold it, I don't see how I would weld it??

https://www.homedepot.com/p/NewAge-P...0151/205003289

That's a complete bolt together kit. I wouldn't trust it under load and movement of the bus. If you assembled it and then had all the joints welded it would be much more sturdy. The small cross brackets at the top can be bolted through the floor ribs or welded.

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by o1marc

That's a complete bolt together kit. I wouldn't trust it under load and movement of the bus. If you assembled it and then had all the joints welded it would be much more sturdy. The small cross brackets at the top can be bolted through the floor ribs or welded.

Yeah, I would definitely weld the kit together as much as I can, I was thinking of bolting through the floor above and possibly also welding, so its like double the safety, is that overkill? I will take some pictures of the underside of my crown, cause I don't know what I can weld onto and what I can't, I see one large beam towards the center of the bus and then I see bunch of smaller ones that hold the Marine Plywood subfloor above...am I safe to think that it's okay to weld to those? Does it matter if they are ALuminum or Stell and if the material is Aluminum..in other words can you weld aluminum and steel together, sorry I have no experience with this so I am going to be learning a lot. I will try to get these pictures up tomorrow

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

Yeah, I would definitely weld the kit together as much as I can, I was thinking of bolting through the floor above and possibly also welding, so its like double the safety, is that overkill? I will take some pictures of the underside of my crown, cause I don't know what I can weld onto and what I can't, I see one large beam towards the center of the bus and then I see bunch of smaller ones that hold the Marine Plywood subfloor above...am I safe to think that it's okay to weld to those? Does it matter if they are ALuminum or Stell and if the material is Aluminum..in other words can you weld aluminum and steel together, sorry I have no experience with this so I am going to be learning a lot. I will try to get these pictures up tomorrow

When I mounted my propane tank I drilled right up through the cross floor rib and through the floor. Then I drilled a 1" hole in the floor and using my stick magnet pushed the JB Welded bolts in the hole. This way the floor holes will be easy to patch and not have bolt heads or nuts on the floor. Every 3rd brace on the floor is a joint of 2 panels and have a flange you can bolt to.

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by o1marc

When I mounted my propane tank I drilled right up through the cross floor rib and through the floor. Then I drilled a 1" hole in the floor and using my stick magnet pushed the JB Welded bolts in the hole. This way the floor holes will be easy to patch and not have bolt heads or nuts on the floor. Every 3rd brace on the floor is a joint of 2 panels and have a flange you can bolt to.

ingenious for some reason I was thinking you push these bolts from the outside up into the the floor upstairs..but you did it from the inside down...then you bring up the storage and bolt them outside below the floor with nuts I am guessing am I right?

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

I also found these that go inside garages on roof...would this also hold up, everything in the kit that is needed to build, at about 100-200 bucks and weight capacity of 600 pounds... I don't think that''s a bad deal if it can resist all the moving, I guess since the steel has holes to mount to a ceiling...it would be best to drill through floor above to hold it, I don't see how I would weld it??

https://www.homedepot.com/p/NewAge-P...0151/205003289

you would have to modify the height of those racks - I doubt there will be close to 4' of clearance under your bus - if you don't weld yourself or have any experience with fabrication, or have the tools to do the job, you will need to hire someone that has skills with both welding and fabricating specialty objects

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

you would have to modify the height of those racks - I doubt there will be close to 4' of clearance under your bus - if you don't weld yourself or have any experience with fabrication, or have the tools to do the job, you will need to hire someone that has skills with both welding and fabricating specialty objects

I don't have a lot of experience but I'm handy and my father has over 25 years experience in construction residential and commercial and he has experience welding so I think we might be fine I just want to have information on techniques and to weld or just bolt..I'm guessing welding and bolting would be the safest as it would have double the safety in case one fails the other helps even if it's overkill.