Demolition of my MC-5 is nearly complete. Ceiling, walls, floor, insulation, mouse nests, etc., are all removed. We have a skeleton of a bus. It took one week.
The two seat rails that run the length of the bus are still there, welded on both sides every 8 inches or so. I was thinking of taking them out, but I'm getting tired and the thought of 72 welds to grind loose is not a pleasant one.
Does anyone have an opinion on whether its worth it to grind these rails out to lay in a flat subfloor? Or, should I just build up the rest of the floor with 1/4" plywood, furring strips over that, insulation over that, and top off with 5/8" plywood that runs over the whole thing, rails included?
I understand your pain. I just finished demoing my MCI 8. I didn't remove the floor. IMHO if ihad the floor completely out I would bite the bullet and grind out the seat rails. Takie into consideration that you will have to "fit" the sub-floor around the rails if you leave them in. That is a lot of extra cutting, plus extra material and hardware. Hope this helps!
I would take them out so you can have your floor that much lower. Every inch of head room counts.
JC
I think if you have floor out you should remove the rails. IMO. I used a 4" grinder and cutting wheels. I used plenty of them but was able to be more precise. I used a big chisel as a wedge and would drive it under the rail. While I was cutting the weld it would break free. I found this to work pretty good and didn't damage the metal below.
Have fun John
If you have the whole floor out i would give serious thought to leveling the floor when you put in the new subfloor. Looking back I wish I had taken the time to level the floor. It slopes something like 3.5" from back to front. Everything was built square to the floor so the bus always looks like it's pointing uphill when I level her up.
My opinion, no it is not worth it! Use thicker plywood and route out where the rails are.
Not sure of floor structure, but maybe thin plywood in between rails, 3/4" rigid foam, grooved if needed where rails are. Covered with plywood or hardwood flooring? Original flooring is not 3/4" tongue and groove but 1/2 or 5/8 multi ply.
Getting wrapped up in details is the death of many bus conversions.
IMHO JIm
Why not use them for the mounting of walls and cabinets fridge ect... This is what is done in the aircraft industry. They are attached per DOT specs
I'm a little unclear about what the issue is. Are you talking about only a 1/4" loss? If so, I would not consider it an issue.
I'm going to have to stop asking questions on this board, because every time I do, I find myself with more work to do. :)
At least this will justify getting a new grinder to replace the fabulous harbor freight model I've been playing with up to now.
Thanks for the feedback gents.
Mike
When you buy a new super duper deluxe executive professional grinder and drop it off the roof of the bus you will wish you had bought an HF instead ;D BTDT JIm
Mike -
Remember that the floor also helps keep the bus "square," since there is no frame in the traditional sense. So you don't want to use thinner material than OEM for your floor.
JJ's suggestion about using thicker lumber and routing out the area for the existing seat rails seems like a good compromise.
JC's comment about headroom is very valid also - especially if any of the troops are over 6' tall.
FWIW & HTH. . .
;)
Rip em out! We did. And just so you know, my little 5 foot wife ground all the welds herself with a grinder and several cutting wheels. Do it right. You won't regret it. The rails are heavy and will pay you a little money at the scrap yard.
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I took mine out and found some surface rust that needed to be addressed. I would take them out since you are already there. Rod
Why is ripping them out "doing it right"? JIm
FWIW, we left ours in. We put insulation right over the top of the existing floor (which was in decent shape). Then we put a grid of 2x2's down then 3/4 plywood on top. Then again we had an 8in roof raise, so we had a tad more room to play with.
Enjoy.
John
When I replaced the floor in my MC9 I left the rails in. I read somewhere from a guy that said he took his out and found that they stiffened the floor somewhat, in his opinion. The plywood in the buss was 1/2" and I replaced that with 3/4" so the rails ended up just below the plywood. In the bedroom I just bridged right over them without any issues when I laid down the hardwood floor. I plan to tile the bathroom and will apply the backer board right over the rails, I might fill the small void to avoid any flexing if I feel it is necessary. I plan on laying hardwood in the front of the buss and will use the same technique as in the bedroom. I also plan on using the rails when I mount my sofa and chairs up front, I think it will help hold them in place safer than without, and yes I plan on incorporating the side wall mounting as well, I like the idea of using mci's already existing engineering for mounting seating. I found cutting the plywood less difficult than ripping out the rails, but I guess that depends on where your skills are.
Hears a link to what I did. MCI 9 new insulated floor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOhLxBhGWV8&list=PL24A5AEC8B27BDD79&index=10&feature=plpp_video#ws)
Quote from: jjrbus on June 04, 2012, 05:08:53 PMWhy is ripping them out "doing it right"? JIm
Anytime someone asks a question that suggests "I'm tired, and just don't feel like ripping out 72 welds" they need the encouragement to go for it. This wasn't a question of "are they structural" or are they "needed for another purpose". He was just looking for opinions as he wasn't looking forward to the process. Removing the seat rails, as someone mentioned, it allows you to inspect for rust deterioration underneath the rails. Ours had some and we addressed it with welding in new metal in certain places as well as a cleanup of surface rust and a spray down of rust control paint and then bedliner. Removing them also saves a tiny bit on weight. Add up those "remove it or leave it" decisions and you have a lot of weight either left on or taken off. ;D All smiles here! Hope that helps! I just received a PM that suggested I should use my words more carefully. Edit my response to "do it your way" instead of "do it right". Whatever you do, take pictures! I can't tell you how many times we've looked back at our photos and beamed with pride knowing just the two of us accomplished this amazing and huge project!
Quote from: Scott Bennett on June 06, 2012, 06:35:30 AM
Anytime someone asks a question that suggests "I'm tired, and just don't feel like ripping out 72 welds" they need the encouragement to go for it.
...
Whatever you do, take pictures! I can't tell you how many times we've looked back at our photos and beamed with pride knowing just the two of us accomplished this amazing and huge project!
Thanks Scott. We did go for it. Took about 8 hours if tallied up altoghether, but that's small potatoes when one is putting in 12+ hour days. Found a little surface rust; Gigi treated it today and we'll paint tomorrow.
And thanks for the advice about the pictures. I've started having the family photographer take many pics of the bus in it's fully-demolished state so I know where everything is located when covered with plywood later. For example, I use sticky notes to label each line in the tunnel, then have her photograph it. Going around the bus doing this for everything. And she's a natural with the camera -- she's asian (why yes, I AM stereotyping).
Mike
Great to hear you got them out without too much drama! It surely was work. Did the welds pop as you cut them? There is some definite spring pressure of sorts on the rail. If you get a chance I'd love to see a current interior pic at the
point you're at right now. Here's a pic or two of heather ripping the seat rails on ours:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j5Qug_WmjPQ/TpbeMuF26pI/AAAAAAAAEKw/zpbo1H0XAXs/s800/Coach-116.JPG)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BBJn7vy4cmk/TpbeNwJ-RwI/AAAAAAAAEK0/CI3H59dx4V8/s800/Coach-117.JPG)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j97lJPoPE4w/TpbeK07xwFI/AAAAAAAAEKs/Cex7-7hMFaE/s800/Coach-115.JPG)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6qSweA0Fh-g/TpbeQe4qwRI/AAAAAAAAEK4/znOuN-8Tw10/s800/Coach-118.JPG)
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