Bus Seat Upgrade

[Veloc]

Originally Posted by TMartineau

Not to mention would an insurance company insure the bus with an office chair as a drivers seat...

Good luck.

He won't have to tell the insurance company about it. As soon as they see that seat after an accident, they'll void the policy as improper equipment. The most that might get paid is liability for the other party, but forget about any medical bill coverage from either side's insurance company.



But, as everyone else says, that'll be the bus owner's problem. What will be interesting is if someone else drives the bus and is injured. That's where we'll (well, he'll) start hearing terms like "criminal liability."



Mind you, I'm a fan of repurposing things, doing your own thing and saving a few bucks, but there are some places where you spend the money and use what's correct. A seat on a moving vehicle is definitely one of those places. That seat would be better used somewhere else in the bus, like as extra seating when parked. Office seats have a typical weight limit of 250lbs, and they will break if a 300lb person uses them. Hell, I'm 225lbs and those 250lb seats make sounds quite a lot like a submarine hitting the red line on the depth gauge if I sit down in them too hard.

[shorthair]

Originally Posted by Veloc

He won't have to tell the insurance company about it. As soon as they see that seat after an accident, they'll void the policy as improper equipment. The most that might get paid is liability for the other party, but forget about any medical bill coverage from either side's insurance company.



But, as everyone else says, that'll be the bus owner's problem. What will be interesting is if someone else drives the bus and is injured. That's where we'll (well, he'll) start hearing terms like "criminal liability."



Mind you, I'm a fan of repurposing things, doing your own thing and saving a few bucks, but there are some places where you spend the money and use what's correct. A seat on a moving vehicle is definitely one of those places. That seat would be better used somewhere else in the bus, like as extra seating when parked. Office seats have a typical weight limit of 250lbs, and they will break if a 300lb person uses them. Hell, I'm 225lbs and those 250lb seats make sounds quite a lot like a submarine hitting the red line on the depth gauge if I sit down in them too hard.

Agree with the above!!!@

[dozr62]

I was lucky enough to find a new Peterbuilt driver seat with air ride , heat and lumbar adjustment armrests and swivel

[shorthair]

Originally Posted by dozr62

I was lucky enough to find a new Peterbuilt driver seat with air ride , heat and lumbar adjustment armrests and swivel

Most truck dealers should have take outs from time to time

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by (902)

Nice...looks comfy
I used the drivers seat out of a 06 Chevy Avalanche.
Seat belt comes outa the left shoulder side of the seat,very comfy...

those seats were mounted down into a pretty stout part of the body in the chevies.. on your bus id plate the floor under the seats and also use big washers and youll be good to go.. the seatbelt coming out of the seat was nice on those trucks.

[ChurchBuz]

Flat tracker; Shorthair; and 902:
Thank you for the encouragement!

I am glad to learn all I can! Especially the inertia switch, and the heads up about the floor!

Will be posting about the floor thoughts in the next post (not directed at anyone, but more for everyone).

[ChurchBuz]

The one place I did not take up the wood and rubber was under the drivers seat.

I have just pulled up the seat pedestal. I am pretty sure that the strength of the wood was factored in to the equation.

There was one nut in front and one in the rear, the rest were tapping 5/16” bolts.

If I plan to insulate that area as much as the rest of the floor, I am going to take extra care to make sure that there is some integrity there. .

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by ChurchBuz

The one place I did not take up the wood and rubber was under the drivers seat.

That was the one spot in my bus I was planning on ignoring, but I'm glad I finally pulled up the rubber and wood because it turned out to be one of the worst-rusted spots in the whole bus. People with rusty buses usually find damage in all the spots where water will end up due to gravity: the rear, the wheel wells, the step well, and under the driver's seat.

[ChurchBuz]

Managed to get it close enough on the first stick.

Steel is so expensive now , that it would have been a drag to have ruined a 100” piece.

I did put a kink in the top/ middle bend (slightly off center). It is not bad, but it is fine for where it is. Now if it were on one of the side bends, I would have written it off. The side bends are where all the stress will be.

Keeping a complicated shape like this symmetrical is challenging for sure, especially with relatively primitive tools.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

for my first bus i was able to get 3-point belts and the attachments including grade 8 bolts from JC WHITNEY.
havent seen them until recently and that add said they are now sold under another name.
they were not the retractable but that is not what i was looking for at the time to restrain kids.
good luck

[ChurchBuz]

So… I changed plans a couple of times (in favor of stronger and better), but here it is.

The headrest is adjustable just like factory, because it uses the factory sockets and steel substructure right out of a seat.

Turns out that the OE tube is about the same diameter, only thinner wall.

It is crazy comfortable, just like my chair at work.

And it will breathe as much as mechanically possible! So in the unfortunate event that I can not secure driving AC, at least my bodies natural cooling system will be less inhibited.

Again, thank you to all who rightfully engaged me to raise the safety bar!

And for those who need relief from the heat because of no AC, this is doable, but not for the entry level DIY’r.

Oh, and just before posting, I previewed and realized that I had not given the steel specs.

1/8” wall 2 1/2” square, cut and made into channel that fit over the mount and seat sliders (so that the headrest moves with the seat)

And 1 1/4” OD .083 wall tube. The factory tube appears to be .056”

[cadillackid]

I have AC in all my busses and I still may do this! I love it

[ChurchBuz]

A picture for clarity.

I left the end whole for strength. It is not channel all the way down the length.

Looks like my seat has dual exhaust with square tips. lol

[ChurchBuz]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I have AC in all my busses and I still may do this! I love it

lol 😂

You just made my day!

Thank you for the affirmation

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by ChurchBuz

A picture for clarity.

I left the end whole for strength. It is not channel all the way down the length.

Looks like my seat has dual exhaust with square tips. lol

It probably will if you stop at Toxic Hell (Taco Bell) on your trips

[magnakansas]

Nothing crossing the spine, nothing inline with spine. Distribution of loads. Diameter and wall thickness look like should be able to take loads high enough to deform but likely of other damage to the body by the time we have to worry about other stuff…. We’ll short version is. Looks good to go. Lap belt to keep you in the seat, shoulder belt to help keep from damage from the steering wheel/ column….

William

[ChurchBuz]

I plan on a 3 point belt. Will most likely attach the upper loop to the structure of the bus instead of the seat. Sort of a belt and suspenders approach to spread the load out. Especially after seeing the steel under the floor!

The seat had been leaning to the left. Not much support for the steel, rust and warped plywood.

I want it both insulated and strong. I have some 1”honeycomb fiberglass. That I am thinking of using. But I am not going to think seriously until all the wood is out, and the floor is structural, and true, because it needs anything “special” it will have been wasted thought.

[magnakansas]

I think the steel sheet of the floor in good condition is enough. Look into mounting methods if you are going for through bolts in a composite structure..

If the floor was composite to start with yea, but mild steel sheet is enough.... hell, just about every road car and truck out there mounts belts in steel sheet structures.

william

[ChurchBuz]

Originally Posted by magnakansas

I think the steel sheet of the floor in good condition is enough. Look into mounting methods if you are going for through bolts in a composite structure..

If the floor was composite to start with yea, but mild steel sheet is enough.... hell, just about every road car and truck out there mounts belts in steel sheet structures.

william

Yes true, but those mounts are strategically placed in places where the shape of that steel is advantageous. I would argue that once it is stamped into a shape, it is no longer a sheet.

The sheet I have is warped and far from flat. It buckles and moves a lot when I put my foot on it.

I agree that it is strong enough not to come out if through bolted.

My concern is that the foam that I would be otherwise inclined to insulate it with, will neither take the crush force of the bolts, or keep the seat from moving with the looseness of the warped and buckling floor.

I’m not too worried, twill figure it out.

[Veloc]

Much better, although I still think there will be legal complications in an accident using an office chair even if it's framed as it is.

A separate seat belt, ie not integrated into the seat, is a plus on this.

If it helps on reinforcement, a long time ago in a county far away I had an S10 that I installed Caddy CTS seats into. Belts were integrated into the seat. As the Caddy had a flat floorpan and the truck did not, I had to have a custom floorpan made for the truck by a race car builder. They used flat sheet metal with grooves rolled into it for strength, and that was where the seats were mounted. I never felt secure with it so I installed 1in angle iron under the floorpan. The seat bolts went through the angle iron, through the floorpan, and into the seat mounting points, and the angle iron connected the two seat mounts across the width. Anyway, a year later I was involved in an accident in that truck (not my fault, other driver had a stop sign and I didn't) that had me go from 40MPH to 0MPH within less than 10 feet. Totaled my truck because the frame warped pretty badly on it, but the seat didn't budge the floorpan even a little bit even though my 225lb butt was driving, and the seat belt was integrated in so the rear seat bolts and floor pan took the full stress. A bus with its much larger mass than just about anything else you might hit, combined with the seat bolts not taking the load, should be good with a similar arrangement.