Bus seats! What can I do with them?

[KC10Chief]

I worked for 5 hours tonight on stripping seats from my bus. I started in the back and got 8 of the 20 seats out! I might have been able to get more seats out, but it was a nice day and the neighbors were out stopping by asking questions. About 2 hours of that was probably spent BSing. These seats are a real PITA to get out! Bolt heads on top inside the bus, and nuts underneath. I loosen them up if I can and then just angle grinder them out. I remember when I was a twerp little kid back in the day and I used to tear up seats or shoot spit wads all over the bus. What goes around comes around and I guess I'm getting what I had coming to me. Anyways, I tore all of the foam off the seats and put it out for trash day in the morning. I'm going to take the metal down and sell it for scrap unless anybody can suggest a use for it. There's lots of metal tubes and sheet metal on the back. The sheet metal isn't in the best shape though. It has lots of cracks in it or it's dented or whatever. Anybody got any ideas? Thanks! Matt

[the_experience03]

I tried for a long time to think of a use for my seats, but in the end the plywood was put on the burn pile, the foam and vinyl went to the dump, and the steel went for scrap.

[Roasting8]

I remember someone using the old foam, for their comversion. Forthe life of me, I can't remember who.

Try Vonslatt, I think he might have found some use for them.

[the_experience03]

I was going to use mine for the beds (I think Jake used his for the dinette), but they smelled too much like....well...bus.

[oldog12]

Try giving them to the local bus barn, if they can use them, or need them, you score some points with them that could come in handy down the road...

[GoneCamping]

I was gonna try using the stuffing for carpet padding, but decided it wasn't worth trying to piece them all together. Everything went in the trash dumpster except for the frames...they went to the metal recyle place for a couple bucks of pocket money!!

[the_experience03]

That is worth noting. On my bus, atleast, the seat bottoms were identical and then just either had a left or a right side of aisle legs bolted on with clamps. You could bolt a set of right and left side aisle legs to a seat and it would be free standing without the need for that rail that runs along the outside.

[H.Gilly]

I know nothing about welding or if the metal would be strong enough for this, but could you use the metal to make one of those storage compartments at the bottom of the bus, and then just add sheet metal to it to make a box?

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

yes you could.
get you a small welder and practice yourr fabrication skills with half of the frames
learn a valuable skill set and use the other half to make storage bins underside and scrap what you dont use
the feet with the mounting plates would make good attachment points to the bus chassis body to keep from having to weld on the chassis or bogy ribs underneath
if nothing else plenty of scrab to chop up and learn welding and fabrication skills whether you actually use the material on your build or not
you learn a skill that will help in areasof your build at some point and you can still take the scrap to the dump when your done playing with it

[Gdog 5651]

If one had the time they could join a left and a right together and after an hour they would have a crappy love seat that no one wants and they will have wasted an hour and still have to haul the remains to the scrap yard, bus seats served their purpose before their sale to us and in my estimation and many others on here are best left to the scrapper. Gene

[cadillackid]

I had a few 4 post seats that I ended up making battery Cages out of the frames... otherwise my seats are still in the bus


-Christopher

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by H.Gilly

I know nothing about welding or if the metal would be strong enough for this, but could you use the metal to make one of those storage compartments at the bottom of the bus, and then just add sheet metal to it to make a box?

You maybe could, but you'll find that you have to do so much cleanup and prep work on the material before you can weld it that it would be much easier to just buy new metal. The way the seats are designed, they don't really have good long stretches of square tubing that you can use for anything - it's either bent into the legs or else has a long stretch of the sheet metal back welded on that you would have to cut off to use. The sheet metal back itself has a number of bends in it for stiffening, so you can't get a single very large flat piece out of it.

[Frogpondfoug]

Screw them to a car hood. Then ride it down snowy hill

[Homeschool Theater]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I had a few 4 post seats that I ended up making battery Cages out of the frames... otherwise my seats are still in the bus


-Christopher

This is perfect. Maybe the deck support on the top too

[musigenesis]

I guess KC10Chief hasn't been around in a while, but that paint job is sweet.

[AprilFouday]

Thats what I like...this is a journey building a bus! Learn something new everyday. I posted my seats for anyone to come and get because of the cost of fuel taking to scrap yard. Nobody came. So ...now I'm gonna borrow a buddies flux welder and play around. Learn a new skill and mayb make something for my bus! In the end by the time I'm done deciding I may not be a welder, gas may be back down and scrap they go!
Thanks for reaffirming my optimism about trying to make something!

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

yes you could.
get you a small welder and practice yourr fabrication skills with half of the frames
learn a valuable skill set and use the other half to make storage bins underside and scrap what you dont use
the feet with the mounting plates would make good attachment points to the bus chassis body to keep from having to weld on the chassis or bogy ribs underneath
if nothing else plenty of scrab to chop up and learn welding and fabrication skills whether you actually use the material on your build or not
you learn a skill that will help in areasof your build at some point and you can still take the scrap to the dump when your done playing with it

[Veloc]

A different poster here had put feet on the bus seats and sold them as "time out seats." Apparently they went pretty fast. I plan to do the same, eventually.