Folding Driver's Seat

[Melibird]

Hi, I'm still in early planning stages but wondered if anyone has run into a way to do a driver's seat that folds flat? My idea is to use a rear entrance with a bed on a pulley in the front, but having a folding driver's seat would make that a lot easier and more pleasant. Thanks!

[Biscuitsjam]

Never seen that done, but it looks interesting.

Some folks have done drivers seats on a swivel and detachable passenger seats if you search the archives. I also saw somebody that had a boat seat for his driver and another guy with a lawn chair (!?!) though I wondered about safety.

[Simplicity]

So many questions.

How are you hoping the driver seat folds?

After folding, is the drivers seat going to be used in any capacity, or just fold out of the way?

Sorry, yet I'm not able to picture what you're describing. You said "rear entrance", "bed in front on a pully" and "folding drivers seat". I'm not sure how a rear entrance come into play with a drivers seat folding??

Can you detail your layout, better yet, maybe draw it out and attach the drawing, so your plan is more clear.

[Biscuitsjam]

This is my interpretation - correct me if I'm wrong:


-The rear door will be the main entrance to the bus
-The bed will be raised up to the roof using a pulley system, moving it (mostly) out of the way while driving and during the day. It will be located somewhere in the front of the bus, near or over the driver seat

-At night, the bed can be lowered.


Am I right?
If so, your main problem is probably not the driver seat (solvable), but rather that with a short curved roof, the bed couldn't be suspended high enough to make things work the way you want (without a substantial roof raise)

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

This is my interpretation - correct me if I'm wrong:


-The rear door will be the main entrance to the bus
-The bed will be raised up to the roof using a pulley system, moving it (mostly) out of the way while driving and during the day. It will be located somewhere in the front of the bus, near or over the driver seat

-At night, the bed can be lowered.


Am I right?
If so, your main problem is probably not the driver seat (solvable), but rather that with a short curved roof, the bed couldn't be suspended high enough to make things work the way you want (without a substantial roof raise)

I didn't think about a bed on a pulley system because of what you stated, the roof height. It seems like a lot of effort to try and fit a square peg in a round hole, or a rectangular bed into a curved roof.

I suspect you're right that he would want to use the rear door as the main entrance door, yet all you have to do is enter and exit through those small emergency doors to discover it's quite cramped.

The thing I've always enjoyed about the buses with rear doors is how you can section off part of the back of the bus to make a storage area with access through the rear door.

[Biscuitsjam]

Most people tend to follow similar designs because we all have similar design constraints. With a width of just under 8 feet and a height just a little over 6 feet, there are only so many configurations to put things. That's why I'm always interested when someone thinks out of the box. Every now and then, you'll see an unusual design that was put in practice and works.

I drew dozens of different designs before I started building. Most looked promising and didn't quite work once I started calculating clearances. A few unusual designs I think would have worked pretty well, but my ultimate decision was to go with something traditional.

[Cheezewhiz]

My bus had a drivers seat that folded down. Stock. Old Crown, of course

The seat itself inserted into a fat chunk of square tube, so you could pull it all the way out.

I'd look at junkyards for strange old vehicles, and find a seat you could at least make into a folding seat

[BarnYardCamp]

would there be room for the drivers seat to fully recline? If so, maybe you could use a seat from a van.

[Truffles]

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

If so, your main problem is probably not the driver seat (solvable), but rather that with a short curved roof, the bed couldn't be suspended high enough to make things work the way you want (without a substantial roof raise)

This was my exact plan, except I installed a center door and will use the back door to access a storage area. I did do a 24” roof raise though. So that helps a lot.

For the bed, I have decided on a memory foam mattress, since I can suck that much further toward the ceiling as it compresses and conforms to the shape. And I am planning on using roller chains (bike-chain style) as the lifting apparatus, so that the chain can remain very tight at all times.

Here is the layout I chose, if it matters.

[Melibird]

You all have given me quite a bit to think about- thank you especially for the person who posted the layout and thought about memory foam which was my plan as well. Bottom line is I need two bunks for a live in/road school unit and I'm not sure about driving a 40 footer everywhere we want to go. The pulley bed is my hope for a solution.
One of the things I'm most excited about on joining skoolie life is the community around it and the willingness of that community to act in benefit to one another. Hopefully my daughters and I will see you all on the road soon!

[Biscuitsjam]

A 40 foot bus is just fine driving cross country. You're a little limited in campgrounds you can stay at but not too bad. Sometimes, you need someone to ground guide you into a campsite which is easy with two people but hard with one.

Where a long bus is terrible is anywhere with congestion and lots of people, like city streets, urban gas stations, and the like.

[Melibird]

--- "Where a long bus is terrible is anywhere with congestion and lots of people, like city streets, urban gas stations, and the like." [/QUOTE]

Yeah, I know we're going to want to go to museums and parks and that kind of thing as part of our learning tour. But I'm also going that when we find land on that journey that feels like home, we can still live in the bus long enough to build (ourselves, with natural materials... So a long time). It's a tough balance, necessitating a lot of creativity!

[Biscuitsjam]

Museums are usually fine. They have big parking lots and bus parking. Parks are usually fine too for the same reason.

[Diryco]

I know some passenger seats were built to fold flat the only one that come to mind is the Chevy hhr maybe grab a set and swap the tracks . . . Hope this helps