interior wall panel removal

[Fahntastic Life]

Thanks to all the have answered a few of my questions. Thank you. I have completed my bio regarding the bus.

To my question. I have watched a lot of videos and i have not seen anyone address this. When removing the interior wall skin, are people not removing the very bottom panel that has the lip that the seats were attached to. I would think you want to remove that. .

Thanks,

[jimmythomas]

That part is called the chair rail, and it is a welded in structural element of the bus wall.
Basically it is a brace for the side wall. It's a really good place to bolt in the fixtures of your bus conversion.

[DeMac]

You may already know this....

The screws holding the interior panels are of the PoziDriv type, #2 size. Using a philips head will result in some additional work.


(HomeDespot or bLowes)

The interior wall panels fold under the windows, then rivet to the exterior steel & top rub rail.


Cut the steel about an inch below the windows. I used an Ocilating tool & radius blade (pictured). A grinder, cutting wheel or other means will do well, too.


My IC RE300 is similar to your FE300. Please peruse my Demo albulm, I've written details in the photo descriptions. You may them helpful or at least entertaining.
Skoolie.Net/DeMac-Albums-Interior+Demo
(mild nudity)

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by jimmythomas

That part is called the chair rail, and it is a welded in structural element of the bus wall.
Basically it is a brace for the side wall. It's a really good place to bolt in the fixtures of your bus conversion.

The chair rail is indeed structural but it's a wee bit more than just a brace. It is attached to the edge of the floor (via screws in Internationals and Blue Birds - not sure about Thomases but I think it's welded there) and then the ribs of the bus are screwed or riveted to the chair rail. So it is the primary way in which the walls are attached to the floor. If someone was to cut it away (and there has actually been a rash of posts recently on Reddit showing people doing exactly this) your walls would no longer be connected to your floor except via the outer wall sheeting which happens to be riveted to both the ribs and the "knees" on the underside of the floor that support the side skirts. This is not how you want the top part of your bus to be attached to the floor.

OP: DON'T TOUCH YOUR FREAKIN' CHAIR RAILS!!!

[DeMac]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Screenshots from
How It's Made - Navistar Bus


Chair rail is attached to floor, first.


Then, ribs are attached to the chair rail.