Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 05-08-2021, 09:09 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
MeasureThrice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Edmonds, WA
Posts: 13
Year: 2006
Coachwork: International
Chassis: 6-window short bus
Engine: VT365
help w/ wheelchair track screw removal

Hi all! There are 4 wheelchair support tracks on the floor of my short bus (see photo 1, right side). The 1/4" finely threaded screws are inlaid in the tracks. I've tried leaving WD-40 overnight (twice) using a hex driver and an impact wrench and they're not budging. I haven't used a screw extractor because (1) the hex driver fits (no corrosion or damage to the screw head itself) and (2) the screw is not spinning (aka it's not stripped). I'm assuming the screw ends and bolts I see underneath the bus are the ones I'm trying to remove (see photo 2). Using an angle grinder on the bolts doesn't seem like a good idea since I can't get a good angle to grind/cut efficiently, plus the tool can't reach most of the screws. Can anyone shed some light? Thanks much!

MeasureThrice is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-08-2021, 06:48 PM   #2
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Suburbs of Winterset, OH
Posts: 802
Year: 2005
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: FS65
Engine: Mercedes 6.4L
Rated Cap: just the 2 of us
My bus had those as well. I used a circular saw with the blade set almost deep enough to cut through the rubber mat and the plywood flooring.(refer to other post about floor removal) Then I pried up the plywood flooring. This left the wheel chair tracks. I discovered that there is a rubber gasket between the tracks and the metal floor. I used a sawz-all with a metal cutting blade to cut under the track, basically cutting out the rubber gasket. Once I had a couple of the bolts cut, I drove a wedge under the track which made cutting the next bolts easier, moved the wedge along as necessary. The cheapy sawz-all blades only lasted through 4 bolts, the more expensive 8 to 10..it was a lot of work as my bus had bolts at about 4 inch intervals.
The sawz-all blades were medium length and flexible enough to bend while sawing leaving hardly any marks on the metal floor.
Hope this helps.
BarnYardCamp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-08-2021, 10:10 PM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
MeasureThrice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Edmonds, WA
Posts: 13
Year: 2006
Coachwork: International
Chassis: 6-window short bus
Engine: VT365
Having access to the photos I was referring to might help Here they are! ...
Attached Thumbnails
wheelchairscrewhelp01.jpg   wheelchairscrewhelp02.jpg   wheelchairscrewhelp03.jpg  
MeasureThrice is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-08-2021, 10:17 PM   #4
Mini-Skoolie
 
MeasureThrice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Edmonds, WA
Posts: 13
Year: 2006
Coachwork: International
Chassis: 6-window short bus
Engine: VT365
Quote:
Originally Posted by BarnYardCamp View Post
My bus had those as well. I used a circular saw with the blade set almost deep enough to cut through the rubber mat and the plywood flooring.(refer to other post about floor removal) Then I pried up the plywood flooring. This left the wheel chair tracks. I discovered that there is a rubber gasket between the tracks and the metal floor. I used a sawz-all with a metal cutting blade to cut under the track, basically cutting out the rubber gasket. Once I had a couple of the bolts cut, I drove a wedge under the track which made cutting the next bolts easier, moved the wedge along as necessary. The cheapy sawz-all blades only lasted through 4 bolts, the more expensive 8 to 10..it was a lot of work as my bus had bolts at about 4 inch intervals.
The sawz-all blades were medium length and flexible enough to bend while sawing leaving hardly any marks on the metal floor.
Hope this helps.
That totally helps. Thank you for sharing your experience. It's especially helpful to now know about the rubber gasket.
MeasureThrice is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:24 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.