Putting Bus Seats Back In

[Chess]

Rather than waiting to find a suitable bench from an RV to make my dining area, I want to put bus seats back in. Should be easy enough right? Well the walls have insulation and are wooden now so the lip the side of the seat used to rest on isn't really there any more if that makes sense. Would it be a better idea to cut through the insulation and reinstall on the ledge like they originally were? Or would it be safer to bolt the seat to the floor instead? Eventually I will build a bench/cabinet around the school bus seat so it is not an eyesore and matches the decor.

[o1marc]

I would bolt a length of angle iron to the wall at chair rail height and secure the seat to the wall on that. Use a left and a right seat mounted there to make a booth.

[Chess]

This made sense! Thank you. Also I have read elsewhere to only attach seats with seatbelts to the interior of the bus and not to the chassis. The logic behind it is that the body is designed to detach from the frame in a major accident? Up until reading this I had thought the seats should be attached to the strongest part of the frame. Now I'm thinke just bolting them to the floor like the original seats were?

[djdalfaro]

Originally Posted by Chess

This made sense! Thank you. Also I have read elsewhere to only attach seats with seatbelts to the interior of the bus and not to the chassis. The logic behind it is that the body is designed to detach from the frame in a major accident? Up until reading this I had thought the seats should be attached to the strongest part of the frame. Now I'm thinke just bolting them to the floor like the original seats were?

The chassis would be the frame rails. The big steel box shaped beams that run from the front bumper to the back bumper. You should not be attaching your seats to the chassis, only to the body. The body is attached to the chassis. Originally did your seats attach to the chair rail on the wall (body), or did it have 4 legs all attached to the floor (also body)?

[PNW_Steve]

There was a school bus accident in Kentucky recently where the body detached from the frame.

Had there been frame attached seat belts the results would have been horrible. Imagine the body and seat moving forward relative to the frame.....

Definitely attach them to the body.

[Chess]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I would bolt a length of angle iron to the wall at chair rail height and secure the seat to the wall on that. Use a left and a right seat mounted there to make a booth.

So dumb it down for a blond if you have the time. When I walk into the hardware store what do I ask fo reside angle iron? Any guesstimate as to what additional hardware I would need to get as well. Or does that vary by the seats I'm using? Thanks!

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Chess

So dumb it down for a blond if you have the time. When I walk into the hardware store what do I ask fo reside angle iron? Any guesstimate as to what additional hardware I would need to get as well. Or does that vary by the seats I'm using? Thanks!

Seats are drilled for 5/16" hardware. Measure for how much angle iron you need. 1" should be enough.

[PNW_Steve]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...0917/204225760