Skoolie driver seat

[krazykrivda]

Swapping my old brown seat for a newer one. Newer one is air ride and I have a few questions.

What is the best way to make this a swiveling seat? I bought a base thinking I'd chain based together, but it adds too much height and I think would hit the wall on swivel.

2nd, I forgot to check what the standard airline size is. I need to by a coupler to connect it to my old stop sign line.

Thanks!

 

[Booyah45828]

They make seat base swivels for semi trucks. They're used to swivel toward the bunk side of the sleeper. Using one of those for your particular seat model would be the best way IMO. But, You'll likely hit the cabinet on the left side though, so you might have to move the base of the seat on the floor towards the rear.

 

[rossvtaylor]

Like Booyah said...they do make them. Buy they're expensive and I've not found that our buses have enough clearance to rotate. They're designed to work next to a door which opens and no bus we have will accommodate one, because of the sidewall and panels on the left.

The seat air line should be 1/4 inch, if it's standard. While you're at it...stop at any truck stop and look in the trucker section for a seat air line blow nozzle. They come with a 1/4-inch tee and a coiled hose and an air nozzle, so you can blow dirt off the steps and such...super handy and pretty cheap.

 

[WIbluebird]

You can buy a whole bag of push to connect fittings on Amazon for a couple bucks...people complain they cause leaks but I've had good luck with mine. I forget what the standard size is but it's very easy.

Correct on the swivel, I bought one but quickly realized it doesn't work in a bus, no room for it to swing around. It now lives under my passenger captain's seat which sits far enough away from the sidewall to be useable.

 

[magnakansas]

Air ride and swivels

I don’t think you are going to find an “off the shelf “ solution to your want. If you are not a handy person, find a place that builds race cars or off road race buggies.

I have RV seat swivel mounts, 7” high. I might have to make it shorter. I moved the pedals, steering column and seat to the left, so that I could fit a passenger seat up front and keep the bus doors. Lots of work.

William

 

[shaymcquaid]

My seat is a National Seating cush-n-aire. The OEM swivel was $89.00 and works flawlessly. Great purchace:biggrin:

 

[HamSkoolie]

My seat is a National Seating cush-n-aire. The OEM swivel was $89.00 and works flawlessly. Great purchace:biggrin:

I went to their website. No prices so that sucks. I don't do business with such folk.

 

[o1marc]

I went to their website. No prices so that sucks. I don't do business with such folk.

Since they are a manufacturer, you can't do retail business with them. You need to check pricing at their dealers.

 

[Simplicity-SKO]

I was at the International dealer today (my bus is broken) and sat in the seats they have on display. Comfy!

The point has been made, there has to be enough room to swivel, yet more importantly, to square you up behind the wheel.

Like to see what you come up with.

 

[musigenesis]

I was at the International dealer today (my bus is broken) and sat in the seats they have on display. Comfy!

How much do they cost?

 

[WIbluebird]

Just check your local marketplace/craigslist for semi truck seats. Truckers throw those out all the time, often despite being brand new.

 

[Booyah45828]

Just check your local marketplace/craigslist for semi truck seats. Truckers throw those out all the time, often despite being brand new.

That's where I got mine. 20 bucks for both the air ride driver and the solid mount passenger seat. The driver had some wear on the cushion, so I swapped the passenger seat's cushion over to the air ride base.

No idea why he replaced them, and I didn't ask. You can go mild to wild on truck seats, so I assume mine is a base model and he upgraded to something more luxurious.

We actually just swapped out a solid based passenger seat in a KW for an air ride unit. Cost was about 700 bucks, and we still have the old one that looks near new in the shop yet. I might see if I can repurpose it in the bus somehow.

 

[WIbluebird]

After seeing my local marketplace i would NEVER pay more than like $200 for an air ride seat. I scored mine for free and the guy even loaded it in my truck for me :biggrin:

We have lots of small companies and O/Os in my area that are always upgrading to super high end seats and throwing out the (still nice for a school bus) seats that come from the factory. I've even seen one still wrapped in the plastic from the factory That air lumbar support is so nice and the cushions and adjustments are all way better.

 

[Oscar1]

My passenger seat is from a smashed 2018 Kenworth, it is mounted 2.25" from the side wall and swivels in to the living space area. The no wall contact is achieved by siding the seat forward first. This seat has has air lumbar support and heat and was purchased from the wrecking yard complete with seat belt for under $400. This seat was built by Paccor and they do make a driver side swivel seat as well.

 

[Rucker]

Swapping my old brown seat for a newer one. Newer one is air ride and I have a few questions.

What is the best way to make this a swiveling seat? I bought a base thinking I'd chain based together, but it adds too much height and I think would hit the wall on swivel.

2nd, I forgot to check what the standard airline size is. I need to by a coupler to connect it to my old stop sign line.

Thanks!

I opted not to change the driver's seat, yet. But even if, I can't see the merit in a swivel.

The passenger seat is definitely a swivel. I'm in the middle of that now, and there's no simple solution. Requires quite a bit of design, some welding, else pretty stiff money for a swivel base. And/or some combination of the above.

I bought a few van seats with integrated seat belts, then decided to go with a fully reclining van seat without the integrated seat belt that somebody left on the front porch. This is the current project on the bus and I'm slogging through it.

 

[musigenesis]

I opted not to change the driver's seat, yet. But even if, I can't see the merit in a swivel.

What is the merit in even having the passenger seat swivel? For safety, you wouldn't want the seat to be facing any direction but straight ahead while driving. It would make the seat usable as general furniture while parked, I suppose, but do people really spend much time in the passenger seat while parked?

 

[DeMac]

What is the merit in even having the passenger seat swivel? For safety, you wouldn't want the seat to be facing any direction but straight ahead while driving. It would make the seat usable as general furniture while parked, I suppose, but do people really spend much time in the passenger seat while parked?

The furniture helps create the activity bus, Musigenisis. Clearly, no activities happening on Rusty87.
Our bus can get so hot, no visible neighbors, minimal clothes. It's not surprising that most couples want rotating chairs, sturdy counters and stowaway beds. Active lifestyles.
How does it work in the hammock. Good tensile strength?

 

[HamSkoolie]

What is the merit in even having the passenger seat swivel? For safety, you wouldn't want the seat to be facing any direction but straight ahead while driving. It would make the seat usable as general furniture while parked, I suppose, but do people really spend much time in the passenger seat while parked?

We plan a swivel passenger seat, right behind the stairwell with a drop down floor while underway. Swiveling 135 degrees to the left when parked will give another seat in the "living room" thus adding to the usability. The seat will be mounted on a custom welded and bolted frame secured to structural members of the bus to provide crash protection and three point restraint. Since that frame is being built from scratch it's no biggie to include a folding desk attachment so that one of us can sit in a very comfy chair while doing computer or other desk work.

We'll probably replace the seat itself for the driver but won't be swiveling it unless the floor plan undergoes unexpected changes. At the moment the idea is that when parked it will be the HAM radio station with HF/VHF/UHF capabilities as well as computer logging and all modes.

 

[Oscar1]

Everyone has different needs but being able to swivel the passenger seat in to the living space and facing the dinette works for us. Sounds like Ham and I are on the same page, cut down wheel arch and welded a frame then bolted through body cross members.
Cheers

 

[WIbluebird]

Yes, passenger seat should absolutely have swivel capabilities. It allows me to build a dinette behind it and then passengers can make use of the front living area better when it's parked.

Plus I travel with multiple people and it's nice for the copilot to be able to swing around and hang out with the people in back.