Seats And safety?

[bluedogz]

So here come more newbie questions!

I know skoolies aren't normally required to have seatbelts.

How does that affect the conversion? Will I have to "install" them at the driver's seat?

Also, the GF loves the idea of the captain's chairs she's seen in display RVs at shows. What do y'all normally do for front 'passenger' seating?

 

[PNW_Steve]

Welcome!

There is usually a seat belt installed on the driver's seat at the factory.

For "co-pilot" seating the captains chairs are quite popular. I am shopping for one myself. Another, similar, solution would be a seat from a full sized van.

 

[Rusty-SKO]

Shoot, I forgot the girl's name, but she had a video of cool flip-down seat her dad made using a nice van seat.

Help me out, East Coast- you know it.

Modern vans have some super nice seats, some even recline- Craigs or boneyard. Whatever you do, secure the seatbelts to frame/support as the sheet/ply floor isn't enough. A scrap of angle underneath spanning 2 floor ribs is good if alignment isn't ideal.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Shoot, I forgot the girl's name, but she had a video of cool flip-down seat her dad made using a nice van seat.

Help me out, East Coast- you know it.

Modern vans have some super nice seats, some even recline- Craigs or boneyard. Whatever you do, secure the seatbelts to frame/support as the sheet/ply floor isn't enough. A scrap of angle underneath spanning 2 floor ribs is good if alignment isn't ideal.

Fred and Dan aka OneNationUnderGoat!

 

[cadillackid]

you can install your own seatbelts.. just remember that if the seat you buy has the belt attached to the seat that you need to use seatbelt washers under all of the seat legs when you mount it..

if you are installing a skoolie style seatbelt for a passenger.. it needs to be securely mounted to structural members for the harness and a seatbelt washer for the lap belt anchor point and for the latch.

a seatbelt that partially dislodges in an accident is worse than none at all as it can strangle the occupant.

ive heard bad things about seatbelts being used in side-facing seats.. many people building party busses will turn school bus seats that have seat belts on them sideways.. those belts arent designed for the full frontal collision force sideways..

from what info ive been able to gather, seatbelts in front and rear facing dinette seats are fine.. but its suggested to have a high back / headrest on a rear facing dinette seat, as a frontal collision whiplash to a rear facing passenger can be quite severe..
it seems to me that seatbelts in dinette seats would be very important.. I could imagine a dinette table doing serious injury to a person flying forward from the seat into it.. that edge smacking most people right in the rib cage or chest..

I dont know if newer commercial motorhomes have seatbelts in auxilliary seating positions or not? I do know people dont think twice about sleeping in the bed, or hanging out on the couch, etc while someone else drives..

the Prevost I drove years ago had belted seating positions for only 4 people..
-Christopher

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

I used four point harness, manually adjust type seat belts from jcwhitney for about 50$ a piece.
The shoulder belt attached to the ribs in between the windows with 3/4 bolts,washers and lock nuts high enough and exposed where I can see them and check them periodically.
The bottom buckle ends are in some positions bolted through the chair rail,bolted through the ribs to the outside and in forward or rearward facing condition they are attached to heavy grade u bolts that span the ribs under the floor. Safety belts take planning to get your seating right and then build around that.
For me any seat that a body can be in while traveling has a seat belt and I won't accept a bed or laying down on the sofa while moving.
Good luck

 

[Johnny Mullet]

You could install a bench seat so you can both sit up front.

 

[cadillackid]

when I was working on my DEV bus in the beginning i had a bench School bus seat up front.. it was actually kind of cool.. i only did it for a short time...

-Christopher

 

[CaptSquid]

I'm tempted to use the flip-up E-Seat from the E-Door.