How to remove seats without a partner or an angle grinder?

[brokedown-SKO]

Science! lol that is awesome. Guess the bottle jack doesn't work very well. I still like the part where you wonder if it is messing up your floor, but then keep going until the bolts break off. I would have done the same thing, just to abate my curiosity.

I figured if the floor for damaged it needed to be fixed anyway right? Might as well find out early.

 

[banman]

Has anybody tried a plasma cutter?

I just discovered how much this task is going to (time!) suck...

 

[DreamWeaverBus]

Just started the process of seat removal this evening and discovered doing it alone is going to be a little more work.

My Mom is always saying she wants to assist me with the skoolie conversion but I kinda feel bad about having an 85 y.o. woman rolling around under the bus...but she DID say she wanted to help !

My Grampa helped me tear out the seats and interior walls, and Gramma has helped me do the interior build by holding pieces while I cut or drill. They're both hale and in their early 70's. We all took our sweet ass time, and I told them if they weren't in the mood or didn't want to, not to. It was actually rather nice, some memory building and bonding.

 

[gabrielah77]

Has anybody tried a plasma cutter?

I just discovered how much this task is going to (time!) suck...

YES!
When I bought my bus, the guy who sold it to me (a bus dealer) had all seats cut out of there with a cutting torch in less than an hour. He didn't charge me anything for it because he wanted to sell the seats. He did flood the bus with about an inch of water to do it, so things don't get torched. Worth it!

 

[sportyrick]

Has anyone tried an air chisel? Just wondering, my seats came out so long ago I don't remember how I did it.

 

[o1marc]

Has anyone tried an air chisel? Just wondering, my seats came out so long ago I don't remember how I did it.

100-5/16" bolts is a lot to ask of a chisel.

 

[banman]

YES!
When I bought my bus, the guy who sold it to me (a bus dealer) had all seats cut out of there with a cutting torch in less than an hour. He didn't charge me anything for it because he wanted to sell the seats. He did flood the bus with about an inch of water to do it, so things don't get torched. Worth it!

Since I don't know if/when I'll be getting the plywood up I wouldn't want to leave it saturated...

100-5/16" bolts is a lot to ask of a chisel.

I wish my bolts were only 5/16" -- with the flanged head bolts sitting in a recess it's more like a 1/2" bolt...

Native's suggestion to cut an "X" onto the head of the bolt through the flange though still effin' tedious is the least painful method so far...

Wishing I'd sprung for the plasma cutter -- only $320 for the model I've been eyeing...

 

[EastCoastCB]

Has anyone tried an air chisel? Just wondering, my seats came out so long ago I don't remember how I did it.

They're grade 5 and pretty hard and tough. Unless they're completely rusted to oblivion I don't think an air chisel would do much.

 

[banman]

They're grade 5 and pretty hard and tough. Unless they're completely rusted to oblivion I don't think an air chisel would do much.

Mine are grade 8 -- not braggin'...

(I am saving all the bolts from the chair rail -- that's a good bit of hardware!)

 

[EastCoastCB]

Mine are grade 8 -- not braggin'...

(I am saving all the bolts from the chair rail -- that's a good bit of hardware!)

Huh- now I'll have to go check next time I'm at my Thomas. My IC had grade 5.

 

[banman]

Huh- now I'll have to go check next time I'm at my Thomas. My IC had grade 5.

My cheap HF cutting discs would hold up longer to grade 5...

 

[Truthseeker4449]

My cheap HF cutting discs would hold up longer to grade 5...

Try one of these.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Diablo-...e-27-Depressed-Center-DBD045250701F/202831019

That's what I used on half of my seats, which from what I've seen of your bus are just like yours. Only bought one wheel and although it's now missing an inch of width it's still working really well as I currently use it to remove stripped screws in the floor. I drove the wheel right into the head, reduces the entire head to slag. Worked great, though I did start a couple of small fires that put themselves out almost immediately. But I also don't have plywood, so be ready with a fire plan just in case.

 

[banman]

Try one of these.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Diablo-...e-27-Depressed-Center-DBD045250701F/202831019

That's what I used on half of my seats, which from what I've seen of your bus are just like yours. Only bought one wheel and although it's now missing an inch of width it's still working really well as I currently use it to remove stripped screws in the floor. I drove the wheel right into the head, reduces the entire head to slag. Worked great, though I did start a couple of small fires that put themselves out almost immediately. But I also don't have plywood, so be ready with a fire plan just in case.

Oh my goodness! I have grinding wheels a plenty -- grinding the entire (recessed!) head off sounds like a lot of time and heat...

I'll be shunned but for now I'm planning to keep the plywood and the 1/8" rubber mat...

 

[brokedown-SKO]

I had to grind them on my BBAA because it has undercarriage storage cabinets blocking access to the underside of the floor. That look a long time and made a lot of metal dust...

I will start shunning you immediately for not pulling up your plywood and rubber!

 

[Truthseeker4449]

Oh my goodness! I have grinding wheels a plenty -- grinding the entire (recessed!) head off sounds like a lot of time and heat...

I'll be shunned but for now I'm planning to keep the plywood and the 1/8" rubber mat...

A lot of heat, very much yes. A ton of dust that I should've been using a dust mask in, yes. A lot of time, well if I was using a corded one then not really. My Milwaukee Fuel Grinder made really short work of my 3.0Ah batteries. Got about a seat to a battery, perhaps no more than 10 minutes to a seat.

But it got the job done and the bus didn't burn down so I'm pleased with the results. And yes, mine were recessed as well.

You do you, I'm taking my floor up with a hammer and a chisel that I'm going to abuse the lifetime warranty out of. I'm 7 feet in on one side and already on my second one :biggrin:

 

[banman]

Tried something a little different yesterday -- I used visegrips to hold a boxend wrench to the nuts underneath the bus. Then I tighted the bolts from inside the bus -- an easy ½ turn twisted them off...
Having 4 ½" wrenches and vicegrips (can't never own too many visegrips!) meant I could do several bolts at a time for each roll under the bus session...
I was even able to hold the open-end of the wrench in place this way for the nut that are too close to the subframe to take the box-end.

This was probably a little slower then grinding the bolt heads but so much more pleasant, and maybe even a littler easier on my back...

ALSO I wanted to remove some of the seats non-destructively for resuse.

 

[Tall Grass]

Keep at it, you will get it done.


The angle grinder with a cut-off can indeed get those hard to remove ones. You may need to cut from the bottom of the head (from inside the bus) down into the foot at a shallow angle and you may need to do this from the other side of the foot as well. Once the angled cut has been made, hit it with a cold chisel and hammer to remove the head of the bolt then a punch to drop the bolt down through the bottom of the floor.


You may even need to cut the foot off and remove the seat to gain access. That is how I will do my NEXT bus as I discovered it on the last few seats.


P.S. I removed all of our seats by myself. I cut them all out. The bottom nuts were too well corroded to easily remove them with a wrench.

I agree with you. Just cut the seat legs and get the seat out of the way. Seats are junk anyway.No need to be a contortionist for us old guys.

 

[mc11237]

I used an air impact driver on top. Once the bolt got a little loose, I jammed a pry bar under it to keep tension on the nut underneath and let the impact go full speed.

I believe this to be the winning comment!

 

[SolomonEagle]

I just did the job by myself. Vice grips for the bottom and an impact driver with a socket for the top. Had an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel handy for the tough ones.

 

[NoFretBrett]

*Some* SeatBrackets Have 'Space' for SawzAll/HackzAll Blades...

*Some* SeatBrackets have room for SawzAll/HackzAll Blades between the Bracket/Floor (from Front&Back, because they are 'Channeled Extrusions)...
There are Metal 'Demolition' Blades of various lengths (over 12") and widths to tackle this process with WAY Less Dust and TIME...
You can use the steel channeled Bracket 'walls' as a cantilever pivot for more leverage... (only if *Needed* - do not break blades or labor the saw!)
Many of those BOLTS that cannot be (easily) reached from *BETWEEN*, can be gotten to by cutting the head off (carefully, as there is potential for 'kickback' and bending blades and such...
... and a few may still need a grinder, or SDS Hammer type of tool or Acetylene Torch or something else...

I ground (grinded?) the Head off of one (two-turn) loosened BOLT, one Spinning BOLT... and OneSide off the RustyNut on three (from below - then put vice-grips on the open&opposite sides so I could ImpactGun the BOLTS out from the top -because the Rusty 'C' NUTS 'Expand' (or break) and 'bypass' the RustyBoltThreads - easier & quicker than GrindingHeadsOff, yet still 'Dirty' & Dusty & Rusty and not as good as ReciprocatingSaw...)...

[I 'liked' the even quicker/cleaner idea of ImpactGun TIGHTENuntilBROKEN Bolts, but they just *SPUN* (even with ViseGrips on RustyNuts)...]