Lower wall panels and bar

[MissMoTurbo]

Hi guys!
I have a turbo diesel 4 window short bus. That I’m converting into an rv.

I went a little crazy with the demo and took out all of the paneling on the walls including the heavy bar across the middle (forgive me for not knowing the technical lingo) along with the lower panels.

Of course, now that I’m watching more videos and doing more research, some say that that bar is structural and most, if not all, are leaving the bottom panels and the bar on...

Does anyone have any info on this? Are the bottom panels necessary? And if so what should I do to remedy this?

Thanks

 

[o1marc]

The chair rail is a significant part of the cabin box, adding necessary rigidity to the floor and ribs. Definitely reattach the metal with the rib (chair attachment flange. The wall panels above the chair rail plate can come out and be replace with new building materials.

 

[Ninjakitty]

The panel is structural. Your bus may not have the same chair rail lip as bigger buses. The lip is where the seats bolt to. I've recently seen on a post where some one had a bar the was bolted in place above or on to the bottom panel. Pictures would help

 

[o1marc]

If you go to the UserCP in the upper left you can fill out your profile so we know where you are and what bus you are dealing with.

 

[dazdconfsd]

The structural input of the seat rail and lower panel varies. I don't think the channel that Collins uses is contributing much since it appears to be attached to a solid bar inside. The panels do of course offer some stiffness, but not enough for me to want to keep them.

You can see the inside of the skins and bar I'm talking about in this thread
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f27/2002-chevy-short-preschool-bus-25897-4.html

Different manufacturers do this design differently, so it's worth looking at what yours did